We as FMETU issued a statement on the incident of ITN senior journalist Ms. Ishara Dewendra. You can read the full statement below.

Press release

April 24, 2023

Do justice to journalist Ms. Ishara Devendra!

Ms. Ishara Devendra, a senior journalist of the Independent Television Network (ITN), posted on her Facebook page and said that she had to face various sexual harassment from an institution head on a regular basis. As a journalist, the Federation of Media Employees Tarde Unions strongly appreciates her bravery and the steps she took to expose this barbaric act without fear.

It has been said that although she complained about this to the responsible people including the Chairman of the ITN with evidence, none of the responsible people paid attention to her, so she decided to leave the service to protect her self-respect. She has further said that there is an environment in the institution where women constantly face such harassment.

It is a common tragedy in our country that such persons get political protection and live in freely those institutions by committing sexual violence against women. Therefore, the country’s political leadership should conduct a formal investigation into this incident. Violence against women and sexual harassment is a serious offenses under the Penal Code in Sri Lanka. This incident, the free conduct of such persons by doing such activities, is another occasion that reveals the weaknesses in the governance of our country.

We note that it is the responsibility of the heads of media organizations to create the environment necessary for especially women journalists to carry out their media work freely without harassment in their newsrooms. In addition, together with the International Federation of Journalists, we urge the authorities to do justice to Ms. Ishara Devendra and conduct a proper investigation into this act, which could not be tolerated by a civilized society. The International Federation of Journalists is the world’s most powerful media organization with over 600,000 members from 167 media organizations in 146 countries.

Sincerely.

                                          

Dharmasiri Lankapeli                                                                                         

General Secretary

 

The International Federation of Journalists issues the statement and its affiliates strongly condemn the proposed ATA and urges the Sri Lankan authorities to immediately withdraw the bill and amend the existing draconian PTA.”

The new Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) proposed by the Sri Lankan parliament, designed to replace the existing Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) of 1979, threatens to further exacerbate restrictions on the right to assembly and gravely curtail freedom of expression and press freedom. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its Sri Lankan affiliates, the Sri Lankan Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), the Federation of Media Employees Trade Union (FMETU), and the Free Media Movement (FMM), in strongly condemning the bill and urging Sri Lankan authorities to withdraw the proposed draft and repeal the punitive PTA.

On March 17, the Sri Lankan government announced its intention to replace the country’s current draconian terrorism act with the new ATA. The proposed legislation has been criticised by trade unions, human rights organisations, civil society, legal experts, and press freedom advocates, who have identified the bill’s potential to crack down on dissent and civic space amidst ongoing instability across the island.

The law would expand the legal definition of terrorist offences beyond international guidelines and include the infliction of serious damage to any place of public use, the obstruction of essential services, and participation in an unlawful assembly deemed by the government to be connected to ‘terrorism’. The law would also criminalise the distribution of materials or services that allow others to possess ‘terrorist publications’ and the publication of words or signs that may be understood by members of the public to conduct, encourage, or induce a terrorist offence, among many new and arbitrary charges.

Non-judicial detentions, previously only invocable by the Minister of Defence, could now be requested by a Deputy Inspector General Of Police, the third highest rank in the Sri Lanka police force. Abuses of power historically recorded under the PTA may be increased as law enforcement would be sanctioned to create ‘approved places of detention’ outside of Sri Lanka’s court structure, which has previously allowed for police torture of the arbitrarily detained. All arrests would occur before any formal charges were submitted.

Under the proposed ATA, the president would have the power to invoke proscriptive orders, restricting organisations labelled ‘terrorist’ from accessing funds or maintaining membership. The president would also have the power to order curfews, declare places ‘prohibited’, instate rehabilitation programs, and obtain restriction orders that prohibit movement and activities, all conducted outside of the court system. The Attorney General may also compel those charged under the ATA to produce guilty testimonies, as the AG may relieve an individual charged under the act for up to 20 years if they conduct conciliatory actions.

The legislation has been announced after decades of local and international criticism surrounding human rights abuses, often directed towards journalists, and ethnic and religious minorities, that were conducted under the PTA by successive Sri Lankan governments. According to Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, the bill is expected to be presented to the Sri Lankan Parliament in late April and could come into law as early as May 2023.

Dharmasiri Lankapeli, the General Secretary of the FMETU, said: “This so-called Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) has provisions more draconian and tyrannical in nature compared to its predecessor PTA. […] The government has been compelled to put off the presenting of the ATA bill to Parliament due to vehement opposition by people, including lawyers’ organizations, civil organizations, trade unions, and media organizations. We, the FMETU, call on all those who uphold the values of democracy and rule of law to rally against this government’s attempt to arm itself with oppressive powers against people.”

The FMM said: “Although the national security of a country is an essential issue for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the citizen, Free Media Movement strongly condemns the government’s imposition of laws to deprive citizens of freedom of expression and speech under the guise of national security. The Free Media Movement raised its voice against the cases where the government tried to violate the freedom of expression of the citizens through the arbitrary laws brought by the government earlier, such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The Free Media Movement recognizes that many of the inhuman and arbitrary clauses in the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act are preventing citizens, especially human rights activists, from expressing their free opinion and criticizing the mal behaviour of state institutions.”

The SLWJA said: “The SLWJA expresses grave concern regarding the Government of Sri Lanka’s proposed Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). The SLWJA believes that the proposed ATA is even more dangerous than the PTA as it could label, delegitimise, and ultimately dehumanise those the government considers to be its political enemies. The SLWJA urges the Government of Sri Lanka to engage in meaningful dialogue with civil society and the international community to address the concerns regarding the proposed ATA.”

The IFJ said: “The proposed Anti-Terrorist Act is a condemnable and dangerous alternative to the already flawed PTA, threatening to further undermine freedoms of expression, press, and assembly in Sri Lanka. If passed, journalists, media workers and their representative unions and organisations who are deemed critical of the Sri Lankan government face legal persecution under undemocratic and arbitrary ‘terrorist activities’. The IFJ strongly condemns the proposed ATA and urges the Sri Lankan authorities to immediately withdraw the bill and amend the existing draconian PTA.”

 

Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions (FMETU), issued a press statement of deepest condolence on behalf of the Sri Lankan Journalists’ death of comrade Ponnayya Manikkawasagam. The full statement is below.

Press Release

2023 -04- 13

Deepest condolence death of comrade journalist Ponnayya Manikkawasagam

Awarded, Very Senior Journalist Northern peninsula, Ponnayya Manikkavasagam passed away Two days (11^th) before. He started his journalism career as a provincial journalist in Weerakesari newspaper Vavuniya district and later joined the BBC. He has worked as a feature writer and reporter for several international media organizations including BBC Tamil Service. The Manikkawasagam journalist who was able to work in all three languages is a journalist who has received several awards including the Northern Province Governor’s Award.

He worked very closely with every journalist representing all communities in the south and all provinces in Sri Lanka and never hesitated to guidance to the journalists by facilitating mentor new journalists.

He was 76 years old when he died after suffering from a brief illness for a very short period. The funeral will be taken to be on the 13th in Vavuniya.

We as the Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions (FMETU), on behalf of the Sri Lankan Journalists, present our deepest condolence death of comrade Ponnayya Manikkawasagam to his wife and daughter who are grieving his loss.

Yours Sincerely,

                                                                       

Dharmasiri Lankapeli

General Secretary.

077 364 1111

 

The announcement issued by the Federation of Media Workers Trade Unions explaining its position regarding the Anti-Terrorism Act to be presented and passed by the Government of Sri Lanka is given below in its entirety.

Press Release

2023 -04- 11

Let’s rally to defeat the ‘Anti-Terrorism Act’!

The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) introduced as a temporary legislation in 1979 has been in operation for more than forty-four years. The civilized world, human rights activists, civil society organizations both local and  foreign and international bodies including the United Nations have been clamoring throughout to show the inhumane nature of the PTA. Following the mounting pressure, the Sri Lankan government pledged to abolish the PTA and took action to bring about an Anti-Terrorism Act in place of the PTA.

This so-called Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) has provisions more draconian and tyrannical in nature compared to its predecessor PTA. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has warned of the abuse of ATA provisions by the rulers to dub legitimate public protests as acts of terrorism.  The South Asia Director of the Asian Human Rights Watch has pointed out that the new anti-terrorism law prevents peaceful demonstrations and gives tyrannical powers to the government authorities to label the political dissent and arrest to detain them for long periods without giving them access to the judiciary.

The government has been compelled to put off the presenting of the ATA bill to Parliament due to vehement opposition by people, including lawyers’ organizations, civil organizations, trade unions, and media organizations.

We, the FMETU, call on all those who uphold the values of democracy and rule of law to rally against this government’s attempt to arm itself with oppressive powers against people.

The FMETU is a member organization of the International Federation of Journalists is the world’s most powerful media organization with a membership of more than 600,000 journalists from 146 countries, and 167 media organizations, and we join with them and urge the government to withdraw the draconian laws being introduced by the ATA.

Yours Sincerely

                                 

Dharmasiri Lankapeli

General Secretary.

077 364 1111

Please see below the published full press statement against the suppression of the ‘Siyata’ media network and harassing Journalist Lal Hemanta Mavalage by the Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions.

With the guidance and support of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) under the IFJ-Union to Union (UTU) Global Union program, the Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Unions conducted one unique research about the professional status of journalists and the challenges.

Jaffna District Journalist, Kandasami Selvakumar presented 16 videos showing survey reports and professional issues of journalists to the Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment Mr. Manusha Nanayakkara at the Ministry of Labor.

On that occasion, the Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, R. P. Wimalaweera, Labor Commissioner General Advocate Prabhath Chandrakirthi, General Secretary of the Federation of Media Employees Trade Union, Dharmasiri Lankapeli, President Krishni Irfam, National Organizer Douglas Nanayakkara, Executive Committee, and a large number of district leaders of Federation also participated.

Addressing the journalists here, the Labor Minister Mr. Manusha Nanayakkara stated that whether they work on piece rate, contract, or freelance, it should be a policy to protect the professional security of all those. He recalled that as the Ministry of Labor, he is bound to serve in this way, and while presenting the budget speech in Parliament, the President paid special attention to the need to enact labor legislation to include contract and part-time workers.

Further, addressing the gathering of journalists, he stated that he does not expect to delay the labor legislation for months and years. I am taking relevant steps to formulate the necessary rules and regulations as soon as possible to protect the workers and entrepreneurs.  The labor ministry will complete the whole legal framework before the end of 2023, the further minister said.

Press release- November 27, 2022 

The plight of Professional Journalists in Sri Lanka revealed

The survey reveals that Journalism is the only profession in Sri Lanka where the majority of employees are denied their basic professional rights.

A report was released on the professional status of journalists in Sri Lanka and the challenges they face.  The report was compiled by the Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions, FMETU through an all-island survey of journalists conducted during the latter part of 2022, under the IFJ-Union to Union (UTU) Global Union program, with the guidance and support of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ),

The survey was tailored to identify key challenges faced by journalists in Sri Lanka. An online Google application form was used to collect the data of the journalists. The main expectation of this research was to gather information on each individual journalist. Areas covered include training, adherence to local labour regulations, facilities, and work-related pressure. A representative sample of    340 mainstream and regional Sinhala, Tamil, and English language media professionals participated in the survey and furnished data that was used for the preparation of the report covering journalists from all districts of Sri Lanka.

To illustrate further the findings of the survey, young journalists were provided training on digital media and supported to produce videos on the professional status of Journalists in Sri Lanka.   Using the skills they developed through the training, 15 videos focusing on the media industry and the professional issues of journalists were produced by young journalists. The videos were produced in Sinhala, Tamil, and English.

The complete survey report, 15 videos, and details about the journalists who participated in the survey have been published on the FMETU website https://fmetu.org/?page_id=9839.

The survey brought to light some salient facts related to journalists and the media industry. According to the survey,  it has been revealed that 59% of the journalists working in Sri Lankan media organizations do not receive their salaries on a specified date. It has been revealed that 91% of journalists do not receive any special allowance. 92% of the journalists who participated have maintained that the current remuneration they receive is not sufficient in relation to their professional credentials and work carried out as professional journalists.

Currently, 26% of the journalists working in the media industry are under the age of 35. About 31% are between the ages of 35 and 45, and 25% are between the ages of 45 and 55. 16% of journalists are over the age of   55 years.

Most of these journalists have got through the GCE Advanced level examination.  In terms of percentage, it is 36%. Also, 19% have studied up to GCE O Level and 28% are  Diploma holders.  9% of the journalists have university degrees.

According to this report, the percentage of journalists in different languages are as follows:  65.2%,  Sinhala language media, 34.3%,  Tamil media, and 10.5%,  English media

Out of these, 53.3% work in print media, 47.9% in television, 27.8% in radio, and 27.5% in digital media. It is noteworthy that  90% of them are full-time media professionals. In addition, this survey has revealed that 18% of them have not received any formal training in journalism.

1% of these journalists are employed on a permanent basis.  Out of these,  only, 14% of them have prospects of a promotion scheme.  About 52% of journalists are employed on a piece-rate basis and another 26% are employed on a contract basis. Moreover, it has been confirmed that about 86% of journalists have no promotional prospects.

This survey has also revealed more than 80% of journalists who serve print, electronic, and digital media institutions are not officially entitled to annual salary increments, benefits of the Employees’ Provident Fund, or the Employees’ Trust Fund, service gratuities, and bonuses that are enjoyed by employees in most other sectors.

According to this report, 66.8 % of journalists have received appointment letters from their employers. There are 31.2% of journalists without appointment letters.  It has been found out that the letter of renewal of service is considered by them to be the letter of appointment. 78.2% of the journalists have a media identification card and 21.8% do not have an identification card.

About 68% stated that whilst working under such low conditions, there have been numerous instances where they have suffered professionally. 77% of journalists stated that they do not have adequate security while pursuing their media careers. 16.4% of the victims of violence are based on gender.

Under such a situation, 98% of them are of the opinion that they should organize themselves in order to improve their working conditions. Also, 95% have accepted that national and international support is needed for them to get better working conditions.

188 journalists involved in the print media participated in this survey,  with  53.3%. The percentage of journalists who have participated from the television media is 47.9%,  That is, 169,  98 radio Journalists, and 97 digital journalists. In terms of percentage, it is 27.8% and 27.5% respectively.

The survey report explains that among the professions in Sri Lanka, the media profession is the only profession where the vast majority of employees have been denied their basic professional rights.

This survey report makes it clear that the label of the fourth estate of the country, the watchdog of the nation, etc are mere terms and do not apply in reality to Sri Lankan Journalists.

The FMETU acknowledges with gratitude the young journalists, women journalists, and media colleagues all over the country, who supported this exercise by providing information and producing videos.

FMETU also thanks those who supported the implementation of the IFJ-Union to Union (UTU) Global Union program and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)  which has continued to provide FMETU and Sri Lankan media with invaluable guidance and help.

Dharmasisr Lankapeli                                                                                     

General Secretary

on behalf of The Executive committee.

 077 364 1111