IFJ Denounces Smear Campaign Against Journalists in Sri Lanka

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly denounces an appeal by Sri Lanka’s Defence spokesman urging journalists in Sri Lanka to inform authorities about what he described as suspicious activities by fellow journalists.

 

Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella was reported in local media on January 23 to have called on "journalists and all those attached to media organisations … to be vigilant about those who enter the media field”. He asks journalists to report “any person who appears suspicious".

 

Rambukwella reportedly asked journalists to help in apprehending cadre of the insurgent Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who he alleged are “moving about in the guise of journalists”.

 

“The IFJ deplores efforts by government members to recruit journalists into a McCarthy-style witch-hunt. The role of journalists is to report all sides, fairly and accurately, without fear or favour,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said.

 

“The Defence rhetoric is an attempt to divide journalists at a time when the challenges they face in terms of professional freedom and physical security are at their most acute. There is a clear effort under way to stamp out independent reporting and critical commentary of the Government and its conduct of the war with the LTTE.”

 

The call for journalists to inform on one another came as the Defence Ministry reported arresting Prakash Shakthi Velupillai at Colombo airport on January 22.

 

The Ministry accused Velupillai of being an LTTE activist and posing as a journalist. The Ministry claimed he was about to take a flight to Singapore and was allegedly carrying forged press credentials. Rambukwella is quoted as saying Velupillai was attached to the IFJ and its partners in Colombo.

 

The IFJ reports that Velupillai is not attached to the IFJ or any of its affiliates, although it is believed that he had worked as a freelance journalist. The IFJ calls on authorities in Sri Lanka to make public his whereabouts and the conditions in which he is being held. 

 

The climate of fear surrounding Sri Lanka’s media community has resulted in several prominent journalists, including the leadership of some of the main unions and associations, leaving the country in fear for their personal safety.

 

Sources say at least 10 journalists have gone into voluntary exile in the past week. This is apart from more than a dozen who left over the past year on account of threats to their lives.

 

The exodus of journalists follows the daylight murder of the well-respected editor of The Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge, on January 7 and comes as unknown assailants attacked the editor of the Sinhala weekly Rivira, Upali Tennekoon, and his wife with a knife on January 23.

 

“The IFJ is extremely concerned that several of the journalists who have been forced into exile have been directly threatened by people holding senior positions in the Government and the Sri Lankan security services,” White said.

 

The IFJ is also concerned by any attempt to discredit the work of international organisations which assist to promote human rights in Sri Lanka, including the right of Sri Lankan citizens to a free media, freedom of expression and freedom of association.

 

The IFJ urges Rambukwella to withdraw his insinuations about the IFJ.

 

The IFJ clarifies that in Sri Lanka, as elsewhere in the world, it operates through local affiliate organisations that are fully compliant with national law.

 

The three formal affiliates of the IFJ in Sri Lanka are the Free Media Movement (FMM), the Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association (SLWJA) and the Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Unions (FMETU). Together with the Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF) and the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (SLTMA), these organisations form a strong coalition of journalists’ organisations in Sri Lanka.

 

All these organisations have contributed richly to keeping media issues in the spotlight all through Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil war, including in the latest phase of hostilities.

 

The IFJ calls on President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse and the senior leadership of Sri Lanka’s armed forces to take a strong public stand to end the persistent intimidation and harassment of journalists in Sri Lanka.

 

“The strongest affirmation from the highest level is required to prevent lasting damage to the foundations of media freedom in Sri Lanka,” White said.

 

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919

 

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 122 countries