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INDICTMENT AGAINST SRI LANKA
Censorship, Disinformation & Murder of Journalists
Press Freedom Suffers as Violence Accelerates in Jaffna,
Sri Lanka
International Federation of Journalists, 22 December 2005
"The International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ) is concerned of a clampdown on media freedoms in Jaffna following
incidents of journalists being beaten, arrested and newspaper offices being
searched. The concern is that these three incidents are just the beginning
of the targeting of media and journalists in Jaffna which will result in a
total clampdown of freedom of expression and free and independent
reporting.... .Intimidation of journalists such as the searching of a
newspaper office is an attempt at intimidating the media against a pro Tamil
nationalism editorial stance..�
 The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned of a
clampdown on media freedoms in Jaffna following incidents of
journalists being beaten, arrested and newspaper offices being
searched. �The concern is that these three incidents are just
the beginning of the targeting of media and journalists in
Jaffna which will result in a total clampdown of freedom of
expression and free and independent reporting,� said IFJ
president Christopher Warren.
The IFJ is concerned over the following incidents in Sri Lanka:
Three journalists beaten in Jaffna
On December 19, government security forces assaulted
three journalists, covering a peaceful demonstration, at
Jaffna University.
T. Sabeswaran, reporter, Thinakural; Winston Jeyan, reporter
from Thinakaran and G. Jerad, reporter, Namathu Eelanadu
were beaten and their cameras damaged when the Sri Lanka
Army opened fire during a demonstration march at Jaffna
University. Several university lecturers and the vice
chancellor were injured in the attack.
Journalists arrested
On December 17, B. Parathipan, a lawyer and journalist with
the Tamil language daily Thinakkural along with Kulukulan
and Prameshwaran from the newspaper were held in custody
overnight after being stopped at a Colombo checkpoint.
The three were arrested despite having produced identity
papers and press cards. They were finger printed and
photographed with no explanation and were only released
after the intervention of a Tamil parliamentarian.
Newspaper searched in Jaffna
On December 15, the editorial, administrative and press
offices of the Tamil daily newspaper, Namathu Eelanaadu were
searched by government military personal who conducted
lengthy interrogations of staff.
According to an IFJ affiliate in Sri Lanka, the Free Media
Movement (FMM), the search was a direct result of an
escalation in violence in Jaffna in the past few weeks,
which has resulted in the deaths of a number of soldiers,
citizens and separatists.
The FMM and the IFJ fear that the media will become a target
as a direct result of the increase in violence due to the four
daily Tamil newspapers in Jaffna, including the Namathu
Eelanaadu�s editorial support of Tamil nationalism putting them
in ideological opposition with the military.
�It is essential that the role of journalists and the media is
respected as independent from the conflict,� said Warren.
�Intimidation of journalists such as the searching of a
newspaper office is an attempt at intimidating the media against
a pro Tamil nationalism editorial stance,� said Warren.
The IFJ supports FMM�s calls for both sides of the conflict to
respect the independent role of the media and to ensure the
safety and ability of journalists to do their job of informing
the public.
For more information please contact IFJ Asia-Pacific +61 (2)
9333 0919
The IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in more than
110 countries
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