Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
President
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Presidential Secretariat
Colombo-1 Sri Lanka

Fax: + 94 1 – 333 703

Vienna, 21 June 2001

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives, is deeply worried about recent articles appearing in two state newspapers and an independent newspaper accusing the editor of the Tamil Net of acting as a spy for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

According to information provided to IPI, the state-owned Thinakaran, the state-owned Divaina newspaper and the independent English-language Ceylon Daily News, all published stories last week alleging that S. Sivaram, editor of the Tamil Net news website, was working for the LTTE. Under Sri Lankan law, the LTTE is a proscribed organisation and membership is a criminal offence. Although the Ceylon Daily News only reported that accusations had been made against Sivaram, both the Thinakaran and Divaina carried prominent articles together with photographs of the editor. In the case of the Divaina the article also used the editor’s real name and his pen name.

Aside from the accusations of spying, the reports in the newspapers allege that Sivaram, a former Tamil militant, was directly connected with the execution of two people. Responding to the charges, Sivaram has stated that it is not the first time that these charges have been made against him but, this time, the use of his photograph and real name may endanger his wife and children. He also expressed fears that the articles would prevent him from carrying out his professional responsibilities as editor of the Tamil Net. In recent years the web site has gained a large following, both inside and outside the country, and has focused on human right’s breaches against the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka.

IPI fears that these articles may be part of a concerted campaign by the government to silence Sivaram’s attempts to write about human rights violations against the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, they appear to be part of a pattern of behaviour in which the government, or those connected to the government, make unsubstantiated claims against journalists without proper regard to the risk that such allegations carry.

On 18 July 2000, the pro-government Jana Ravaya published an article in which Sivaram and three other journalists were accused of “betraying the country to the Tigers (LTTE). The initial accusations came from a group calling itself The Patriotic Journalists Front (PJF) which issued a press release stating that the journalists “gave military information to the Tiger’s movement”. In June of the same year, after a seminar organised by Tamil journalists, the PJF accused the same journalists of being linked to the LTTE. Allegations which all of the accused vehemently deny and which have never been substantiated.

Another example occurred on 23 February 2001, when the state run Daily News and Dinamina carried lead stories alleging that the United National Party (UNP) and the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) were conspiring to overthrow the government. The article in the Dinamina also mentioned the names of Saman Wagarachchi, editor of the Peramuna, and Sujeewa Gamage, editor of the Peraliya. According to the article, “The responsibility of carrying out the propaganda and media campaign for this plan had been entrusted to mediaman Saman Wagarachchi, formerly of the JVP and presently a member of the UNP.

Given the heightened state of tension in Sri Lanka, due to the war in the north of the country, such unfounded accusations can have a serious affect on those accused. Sri Lanka has a history of reprisals and vendettas against those who are perceived to collude against the government. As a result, journalists’ lives are actively being endangered.

With this in mind, IPI calls on Your Excellency to ensure that, within Sri Lanka, there is an environment in which journalists can practice their profession without being in fear of their lives or forced into hiding. By doing so, you will be upholding the right of individuals to “seek, receive and impart information” in accordance with article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director