Sri Lanka abuses Anti-Terror Laws to Muzzle the Media: HRW

By John Peter – TNS

NEW YORK – The Human Rights Watch said Sri Lanka shamefully using antiterrorism laws to silence peaceful critics in the media. It’s also demands the Sri Lankan government to free the jailed journalist J.S. Tissainayagam and publisher, N. Jasiharan, and his wife, V. Valamathy immediately.

“The Sri Lankan government is shamefully using antiterrorism laws to silence peaceful critics in the media,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “This is no way for a government that claims to be a rights-respecting democracy to act,” he further said.

“The Sri Lankan government should immediately drop charges and free J.S. Tissainayagam, a prominent Tamil journalist on trial for his writings, Human Rights Watch said today. A Tamil publisher, N. Jasiharan, and his wife, V. Valamathy, who were also arbitrarily arrested, should be freed immediately,” HRW said in a statement on Wednesday, December 3.

Tissainayagam, a columnist with the Sunday Times newspaper and editor of the Outreach website, was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) of the police on March 7, 2008. The previous day, the terrorist investigation unit had arrested Jasiharan, the owner of E-Kwality press, and Valamathy. Tissainayagam and Jasiharan are co-directors of the company Outreach Multimedia. Valamathy has no official role with the company.

Human Rights Watch said that the written passages over which Tissainayagam has been charged reflect mere opinions about the conduct of the armed conflict between the government and the LTTE, which is seeking an independent Tamil homeland. The rights to freedom of opinion and expression are protected under article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Sri Lanka is a party.

Article 14 of the Sri Lankan constitution enshrines the right to freedom of speech. However, since 2006 the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse has increasingly intimidated and tried to silence the media, nongovernmental organizations, and others with independent or dissenting views of the government's military policies and human rights practices.

“The government's disregard for the basic rights and well-being of three well-known detainees raises even greater concerns for the hundreds of others detained under the security laws,” Adams said.

Meanwhile Mr. Tissainayagam has been nominated for a media freedom award by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). RSF said in a statement that J S Tissainayagam is one of six journalists from different countries to be nominated for the award for “journalists who through their work, their principled stand or their attitude have displayed support for freedom of information.”

Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi will present the prize to the winners on Thursday, December 04 in Paris.