Free Press in Sri Lanka?

In a democratic country, freedom of the press is typically taken for granted. In Sri Lanka, the events of the past few days call that freedom into question. It was reported on May 9, that three journalists were arrested and ordered to leave Sri Lanka for tarnishing the image of Sri Lankan government security forces. These journalists, part of the London-based Channel 4 television news, had been covering the fighting on the northeastern part of the island between government forces and the rebel group the Tamil Tigers.

Nick Paton Walsh, one of those arrested and the channel’s Asian correspondent, believes the arrests to be connected to a recent report he, along with producer Bessie Du and cameraman Matt Jasper, filed on conditions for war refugees and alleged sexual abuse in camps for those Tamils who left the war zone. The government denied that report, which included references to food and water shortages, dead bodies littering the camps and the separation of children from their parents. The report aired on May 5 and featured the first material shot independently at an internment camp.

The government has been accused by media rights groups of suppressing media in the war zone, despite recent military successes against the rebels. The government claims the northern area of the country is too dangerous for civilians and has largely banned journalists from the area, making it nearly impossible for independent journalists to confirm claims from either the government or the rebels. Access to the camps is prohibited unless under military escort. The Channel 4 cameraman managed to get into a camp and shoot some footage, as well as interview aid workers and some relatives of those inside the camp. According to Walsh, the Sri Lankan Defense Secretary called him several days after the report was aired, expressing his anger at the report and informing the team they could be deported for it. Within a matter of hours, the team had been stopped at a police roadblock, their vehicle searched, were asked to sign statements they hadn’t given, and finally allowed on a plane to Singapore.

The Sri Lankan government has come under attack for attacks on and the arrests of journalists who condemn the military offensive against the rebels. The government denies involvement in these attacks and arrests, but a February 2008 report by Amnesty International claims that “at least 10 media workers have been unlawfully killed since the beginning of 2006. Another has allegedly disappeared in the custody of the security forces, while others have been tortured and arbitrarily detained under emergency regulations granting the government sweeping powers.” Updated records indicate the number of journalists who have been killed is now at least 14. Twenty more have fled the country due to death threats. This latest arrest and deportation is evidence of the larger trend, and makes the future of independent journalism in Sri Lanka unclear. If a government stifles, sometimes brutally, any journalists who express views opposing the government during wartime, it leaves one to wonder what freedom those journalists actually have.

Published Date: May 14, 2009