Friday, February 06, 2009
What the main st(r)eam nationalist Sri lankan & Patriogothic Indian media may not tell you
The Truth Here Is One-Sided (& fully blinded as well)
Sri Lanka’s journalists are under pressure from their government to toe the official line
SUNANDA DESHPRIYA
Journalist
Not allowed to speak Journalists protesting after senior scribe Wikramatunga’s death
Photo: AP
SRI LANKA is among the most dangerous places in the world for a journalist. During the last three years, the media has come under unprecedented pressure. Journalists have been killed, abducted, assaulted, arrested and labelled as traitors. Media institutions were forced to close down, set on fire, and branded anti-national.
Since 2006, 18 journalists and media workers have been killed. The majority of journalists killed had been Jaffna-based Tamils. The most recent case was last month, when Lasantha Wikramatunga, editor of the Sunday Leader, was killed in broad daylight. Last month saw increased pressure on the Sri Lankan media. On January 6, petrol bombs had been hurled at the popular television and radio station MTV/MBC network. Two days later, a gang had entered the station and set it on fire after destroying the control room. Two days later, Wikramatunga was killed.
Within a week, Keheliya Rambukwela, the spokesperson for national security, named both Sunday Leader and MBC as media institutions that didn’t heed government advice on reporting defence-related matters. Media activists who spoke out against these attacks received death threats, and gangs visited their homes. Two weeks later, Upali Tennakoon, Editor of the Rivira Sinhala Weekly, was attacked. He survived as his wife covered him with her body.
On January 10, the website Lankadissent.com voluntarily closed its operations. In its last editorial it said, “A lesson learnt, that needs no repeats to learn. This ‘compassionate Sinhala Buddhist land’ does not tolerate ‘dissent’. Those who would not want to learn that living, would have to learn that in death. We, who live, would come back when ‘dissent’ comes back as a democratic right, accepted and enjoyed in a modern land of compassion. Till then, goodbye!” In the wake of these attacks, at least 11 senior journalists left the country, seven of them for India. Since the beginning of 2006, more than 30 journalists have left the country.
In his first address to the nation in December 2005, President Mahinda Rajapaksa made it clear that the media had to take its side against the war with the LTTE. The government has not left any room for ambiguity. The message to the messenger was clear: there was one truth in the war against terror and that was, the one that came from the official Media Center for National Security (MCNS) and like institutions.
In 2006, the government requested for media self-censorship. In a letter to the media, the Ministry of Defence appealed: “Please be advised that any news gathered by your institution through your own sources with regard to national security and defence should be subjected to clarification and confirmation from the MCNS in order to ensure that correct information is published, telecast or broadcast.”
Finally, in October 2007, the government put out a gazette prohibiting news reporting on proposed military operations. It was illegal to report material “which pertains to any proposed operations or military activity as well as plans to buy equipment for security forces or the police.” Under the terms of those regulations, editors could be jailed for up to five years. But due to strong opposition, the government backed down.
The systematic silencing of the Tamil media has been a grave indicator of the deteriorating space for freedom of expression. Tamil journalists, especially in the north and east, have been subjected to intimidation and harassment on a daily basis by security forces and armed groups. Certain Tamil newspapers, particularly in the east, have been set on fire and distributors prevented from selling them. Newspaper offices have been looted, burnt, vandalised and bombed.
Since 2006, the Tamil-populated Jaffna peninsula has become a nightmare for journalists, human rights activists and civilians in general. Murders, kidnappings, threats and censorship have made Jaffna one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists to work. At least 11 media workers, including three journalists, have been killed in the Northern Province since May 2006. Three media workers are missing, including a journalist.
OVER THE past three years, army officers have summoned Jaffna-based Tamil media chiefs several times to order censorship of certain events such as the speeches made by LTTE leader V Prabakaran, the students’ strike, kidnappings, and other matters the army would prefer not reported. This puts the Tamil media in an impossible situation, because the LTTE demands they cover such topics. More than 20 journalists have been arrested all over Sri Lanka, the majority of them Tamils. Four Tamil women journalists were taken into custody under emergency regulations. All were branded LTTE supporters and suicide bombers. Well-known Tamil journalist J Tissainayagam, trainee journalist, V Walarmathi, and her husband, V Jasiharan, were arrested and charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
[snipped]
Deshpriya is a Sri Lankan journalist living in exile in Chennai
From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 6, Issue 6, Dated Feb 14, 2009
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Ne140209the_thruth.asp
Sri Lanka’s journalists are under pressure from their government to toe the official line
SUNANDA DESHPRIYA
Journalist
Not allowed to speak Journalists protesting after senior scribe Wikramatunga’s death
Photo: AP
SRI LANKA is among the most dangerous places in the world for a journalist. During the last three years, the media has come under unprecedented pressure. Journalists have been killed, abducted, assaulted, arrested and labelled as traitors. Media institutions were forced to close down, set on fire, and branded anti-national.
Since 2006, 18 journalists and media workers have been killed. The majority of journalists killed had been Jaffna-based Tamils. The most recent case was last month, when Lasantha Wikramatunga, editor of the Sunday Leader, was killed in broad daylight. Last month saw increased pressure on the Sri Lankan media. On January 6, petrol bombs had been hurled at the popular television and radio station MTV/MBC network. Two days later, a gang had entered the station and set it on fire after destroying the control room. Two days later, Wikramatunga was killed.
Within a week, Keheliya Rambukwela, the spokesperson for national security, named both Sunday Leader and MBC as media institutions that didn’t heed government advice on reporting defence-related matters. Media activists who spoke out against these attacks received death threats, and gangs visited their homes. Two weeks later, Upali Tennakoon, Editor of the Rivira Sinhala Weekly, was attacked. He survived as his wife covered him with her body.
On January 10, the website Lankadissent.com voluntarily closed its operations. In its last editorial it said, “A lesson learnt, that needs no repeats to learn. This ‘compassionate Sinhala Buddhist land’ does not tolerate ‘dissent’. Those who would not want to learn that living, would have to learn that in death. We, who live, would come back when ‘dissent’ comes back as a democratic right, accepted and enjoyed in a modern land of compassion. Till then, goodbye!” In the wake of these attacks, at least 11 senior journalists left the country, seven of them for India. Since the beginning of 2006, more than 30 journalists have left the country.
In his first address to the nation in December 2005, President Mahinda Rajapaksa made it clear that the media had to take its side against the war with the LTTE. The government has not left any room for ambiguity. The message to the messenger was clear: there was one truth in the war against terror and that was, the one that came from the official Media Center for National Security (MCNS) and like institutions.
In 2006, the government requested for media self-censorship. In a letter to the media, the Ministry of Defence appealed: “Please be advised that any news gathered by your institution through your own sources with regard to national security and defence should be subjected to clarification and confirmation from the MCNS in order to ensure that correct information is published, telecast or broadcast.”
Finally, in October 2007, the government put out a gazette prohibiting news reporting on proposed military operations. It was illegal to report material “which pertains to any proposed operations or military activity as well as plans to buy equipment for security forces or the police.” Under the terms of those regulations, editors could be jailed for up to five years. But due to strong opposition, the government backed down.
The systematic silencing of the Tamil media has been a grave indicator of the deteriorating space for freedom of expression. Tamil journalists, especially in the north and east, have been subjected to intimidation and harassment on a daily basis by security forces and armed groups. Certain Tamil newspapers, particularly in the east, have been set on fire and distributors prevented from selling them. Newspaper offices have been looted, burnt, vandalised and bombed.
Since 2006, the Tamil-populated Jaffna peninsula has become a nightmare for journalists, human rights activists and civilians in general. Murders, kidnappings, threats and censorship have made Jaffna one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists to work. At least 11 media workers, including three journalists, have been killed in the Northern Province since May 2006. Three media workers are missing, including a journalist.
OVER THE past three years, army officers have summoned Jaffna-based Tamil media chiefs several times to order censorship of certain events such as the speeches made by LTTE leader V Prabakaran, the students’ strike, kidnappings, and other matters the army would prefer not reported. This puts the Tamil media in an impossible situation, because the LTTE demands they cover such topics. More than 20 journalists have been arrested all over Sri Lanka, the majority of them Tamils. Four Tamil women journalists were taken into custody under emergency regulations. All were branded LTTE supporters and suicide bombers. Well-known Tamil journalist J Tissainayagam, trainee journalist, V Walarmathi, and her husband, V Jasiharan, were arrested and charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
[snipped]
Deshpriya is a Sri Lankan journalist living in exile in Chennai
From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 6, Issue 6, Dated Feb 14, 2009
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Ne140209the_thruth.asp
Labels: fadar***r malafia, malaf***er meindia, mere outdia
// posted by ஜூலியன் @ 4:25 AM 
