Highlights of the Muscat -Oman Summit
Category: Features
The newly elected members of the IFJ Executive Committee #IFJCongress2022
The 31st World Congress of the International Federation of Journalists was took place from May 31 until June 3 in Muscat, Oman. Over 250 participants representing journalists’ unions and associations from 92 countries will attend the Congress, with key themes including the surveillance of journalists and action to end impunity for crimes against media workers.
IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: “The IFJ has a strong history of international journalist federations across the world. The Asia Pacific region was the missing piece. We hope the Federation of Asia Pacific Journalists (FAPaJ) will be a strong platform for journalists and media workers in this diverse and important region.”
The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 140 countries
Twitter: @ifjasiapacific, on Facebook: IFJAsiaPacific and Instagram
| President | Dominique Pradalié
SNJ – France
|
| Senior Vice President
|
Zuliana Lainez Otero
ANP – Peru
|
| Vice-President s
|
Nasser Abu Baker / Sabina Inderjit
PJS – Palestine/ Indian Journalists Union
|
| Honorary-
Treasurer
|
Jim Boumelha
National Union of Journalists (NUJ) |
| Advisers | Mohamed Al Araimi
OJA – Oman
Dhairan Almutairi KJA – Kuwait
Maria José Braga FENAJ – Brazil
Larry Goldbetter NWU – USA
Adriana Hurtado FECOLPER – Colombia
Mohamed Yassine Jelassi SNJT – Tunisia
Joachim Kreibich dju in verdi – Germany
Raffaele Lorusso FNSI – Italy
Filemón Medina Sindicato de Periodistas de Panama
Marion Medjo Obam SNJC – Cameroon
Luis Menendez FAPE – Spain
Jennifer Moreau UNIFOR – Canada
Omar Faruk Osman NUSOJ – Somalia
Adam Portelli MEAA – Australia
Maria Luisa Rogério SJA – Angola
Ali Youssef ORLB – Lebanon |
| Reserve Advisers
|
Africa
1st Eduardo Constantino SNJ – Mozambique 2nd Stephen Ouma Bwire UJU – Uganda
Asia
– Rashid Al Hamer BJA – Bahrain – Mohammed Al Hammadi JA – UAE
Europe
1st Serhiy Shturkhetskyy IMTUU – Ukraine
Latin America
1st Jose Altagracia Guzman Beato SNTP – Dominican Republic 2nd Domingo Vargas FENATRAMCO – Chile
Oceania
1st Karen Percy MEAA – Australia 2nd Leigh Tonkin MEAA – Australia |
| General Reserve Advisers
|
1st
Indira Priyadarshini Nawagamuwa FMETU – Sri Lanka 2nd Wanchi You ATJ – Taiwan
|
The 31st IFJ World Congress Muscat -Oman
The 31st IFJ World Congress was held at the Convention hall of the Muscat Oman from 31st May 2022 to 03rd June,2022.
The 31st May 2022 was a very significant day for Asia Pacific Region. After years of struggle it was able to establish a Federation for Asia Pacific Region called FAPaJ.
The FAPaJ becomes the fourth IFJ regional group after the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) and the Federación de Periodistas de América Latina y el Caribe (FEPALC) and comprises representatives from the Pacific, Western Asia, Eastern Asia, Southern Asia and Central Asia.
Federation of Asia Pacific Journalists Chaired by Ms. Sabina Indrajith and the rest of the executive will be as Follows:
Chairman : Ms. Sabina Inderjit, General-Secretary of the India Journalists Union (IJU) and IFJ Vice President, was elected as the first FAPaJ president.
Vice Chairman : Mr. Salem Al Jahwari was elected as FAPaJ Vice President .
Mr. Mousa Abdul Nour, Ali Yousef, Mohammad Alhammadi, Leigh Tonkin, Jonathan De Santos and Badri Sigdel elected as members of the Executive Committee.
World Press Freedom Day interactive webinar…..
The presentation was done at the World Press Freedom Day interactive webinar, organized by the Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions and Rainbow Institute of Communication. The theme of this webinar was the same as the Press Freedom Day, theme – Journalism under Digital Siege. The presenter was Ms. Thusari Gamage, Senior Lecturer in Communication studies, Open University of Sri Lanka.
In spite of the challenges of power cuts, there was a cross-section of media students and professional journalists from several provinces, operating in print, electronic and digital media. There was a great deal of interest in the topic and the discussion was lively.
Hijacking of journalists’ mobile phones is MPs’ thuggery!
Press release
May 18, 2022
Hijacking of journalists’ mobile phones is MPs’ thuggery!
Sirasa journalist Kasun Samaraweera and the President of the Parliamentary Reporters’ Association, journalist Prageeth Perera were using mobile phones to cover their reporting. Indika Anuruddha and D. Weerasinghe two MPs by abducted on these mobile phones with brutal malicious. The Federation of Media Workers’ Trade Unions, in association with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), strongly condemns this malicious act by members of parliament.
Journalists have been given the Speaker’s permission to use mobile phones in their reporting. Following the day swearing-in of Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new Prime Minister, on the first-day meeting of the 17, ruling party group, journalists have been covering the incident as usual. At that time, the mobile phones of the two journalists were abducted by these two MPs named above. What is even more ridiculous is the statement made by Channa Jayasumana, who supported the move, that a group of strangers was videotaping him in Parliament in front of the Speaker.
It is even more ridiculous that MP Channa Jayasumana describes these two journalists, who are very close friends with 225 MPs, as unidentified men. After handing over the two hijacked phones to the parliament officers, the Speaker should draw attention to the fact that the officers deleted all the data stored in them and handed them over to journalists. The two journalists have already lodged a complaint with the Speaker and the Welikada Police regarding the incident. The Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions emphasizes that this whole incident is a serious threat to the freedom of the media in general and the professional dignity of journalists.
The accuracy of the massive protest being waged by the people of the country against 225 MPs in Parliament explains what this thuggery of the Members of Parliament is all about. The Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions strongly urges the Speaker to draw the attention of the entire Parliament to this shameful act of the Members of Parliament and to take appropriate action against the actions of the Members of Parliament.
Sincerely.
Dharmasiri Lankapeli General Secretar
Journalists support #Gota Go Home 2022 people’s struggle! Journalists march April 20 at 3.00 pm near Fort Railway Station.
#Gota Go Home Journalists have organized a march near the Fort Railway Station to join the struggle in support of the struggle.
The march is scheduled to leave the Fort Railway Station on April 20 at 3.00 pm and journalists from all over the country are expected to join the march. Following is the full text of the press release issued by the Federation of Media Workers’ Trade Unions regarding the march.
Press release
April 18, 2022
Journalists support #Gota Go Home 2022 people’s struggle!
Journalists march April 20 at 3.00 pm near Fort Railway Station.
More than 10 days have passed since the people’s struggle that began spontaneously, unable to bear the oppression of the Gotabhaya Rajapaksa government. The struggle against the government, which began without any discrimination, is turning into a growing nationwide struggle demanding the empowerment of the people of the country.
All journalists in Sri Lanka, irrespective of their organization, profession, or language, have decided to give their full support to these people’s struggles. The Solidarity March organized by journalists from all over Sri Lanka will commence on April 20 at 3.00 pm near the Fort Railway Station.
The Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions (FMETU) urges all island-wide journalists to participate in this march in support of the Galle Face People’s Struggle, regardless of organizational, professional, or linguistic differences.
FMETU cordially invites the heads of media institutions are also to participate in the People’s Struggle Solidarity March organized by the people of the country against the oppressive government. The Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions (FMETU) has also kindly requested the heads of media institutions to allow all journalists working in their media institutions to participate in this march and to be free of duty that afternoon.
Thanking You,
Dharmasiri Lankapeli
General Secretary
Government should take responsibility of attack on journalists who covered Mirihana public protest – FMETU
The Federation of Media Employees Trade unions issued a Press statement about attacks by police and security forces last Friday 31st to peaceful demonstration.
The full statement is as follows.
Press release
April 02, 2022
Government should take responsibility for the attack on journalists who covered the Mirihana public protest.
The Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions along with the International Federation of Journalists vehemently condemn the heinous and shameful attack by police and security forces on journalists who covered the public protests at Nugegoda Mirihana on March 31. The IFJ is the most influential media organization with over 600,000 members of 167 media organisations and unions in 146 countries worldwide.
During the aforementioned protests, a group of individuals who had identified themselves as the members of the President’s Media Division have threatened the journalists to step out of reporting and intimidated senior journalist Tharindu Jayawardena with threats. The journalist has lodged a complaint at the Mirihana police on the incident. Among those who had been taken into custody after beating and torture by police and security forces were journalists Avanka Kumara, Chatura Deshan of Sirasa TV, Sumedha Sanjeewa Gallage, Pradeep Wickramasinghe, Nissanka Werapitiya of Derana TV and Waruna Wanniarachchi of the Lankadeepa newspapers. The police were not merciful to admit those journalists with severe wounds and injuries to a hospital.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the brutal attack on journalists had been unleashed with the intention of preventing them from performing their duties to report the protests. The journalists had been attacked even after they produced the Media Accreditation Cards issued to them by the Director-General of Government Information. The FMETU emphasizes that the government should take full responsibility for the heinous crime committed against journalists.
The FMETU strongly demands that the government should take immediate action to conduct an impartial investigation of the attack on journalists and ensure the sacred right and responsibility of journalists to report facts and disseminate information to people and not infringe on people’s rights to freedom of expression.
Sincerely.
Dharmasisr Lankapeli,
General Secretary
Prompt intervention for the job security and professional dignity of journalists
March 17, 2022
Mr. Dullas Alahapperuma, Minister of Mass Media,
Ministry of Mass Media
Dear Hon. Minister,
Prompt intervention for the job security and professional dignity of journalists
It is unfortunate that incidents that harm the job security and professional dignity of journalists are increasing day by day. We present this letter to you in anticipation of your prompt intervention to prevent such actions.
The service of Nilepthi Ranasinghe, a freelance journalist of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, which is under the direct control of your Ministry, has been suspended with immediate effect on the instructions by the administration. She was informed by the SLRC administration that the reason for the termination of her service was a note she had published on her Facebook page regarding the President.
Duminda Silva, the chairman of the Housing Development Authority, had telephoned and threatened journalist Rahul Samantha about his news report. Duminda Silva is convicted of murdering Bharatha Lakshman and was serving a prison sentence, was later released on a presidential pardon. We learned that both these incidents have been reported to you. Our federation believes that you, as a well-experienced professional journalist, do not approve you both incidents.
The Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions, a full member of the International Federation of Journalists, which represents more than 600,000 member journalists in 160 countries, strongly condemns both actions. We also urge you to expedite the investigation into these two incidents and intervene to protect the job security and dignity of journalists while safeguarding their freedom of speech and expression.
Thanking You, Yours sincerely
Dharmasiri Lankapeli
General Secretary
077 364 1111
cc To all media institutions
Sri Lanka’s Personal Data Protection Bill Leads to Public Uproar.
A major fuss has arisen over Sri Lanka’s Personal Data Protection Bill, to be taken up for the 2nd reading in Parliament on Wednesday (9th March 2022).
Media organisations and civil society have both protested over the fact that a ‘Government controlled entity will be given the power to decide what data should be protected with very wide coverage on ‘special categories of data. The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka has pointed out that this will be a problem to journalistic reporting of corruption stories as the Bill places obstacles by protecting ‘personal data relating to offenses, criminal proceedings, and convictions.
In an editorial that first pointed to the dangers, the widely read the Sunday Times asked on February 13th, 2022 as to why, ‘In an era of information disclosure that Sri Lanka has pledged to be part of after passing a world-class Right to Information (RTI) Act in 2016, …a Bill on Data Protection presented to Parliament recently by the Prime Minister must revert to ancient terminology by including a clause on Official Secrecy?’
The editorial warned that ‘care must be taken to ensure that protection of data does not prevent the release of information which is in the public interest and observed that the Bill, as it stands, ‘contains too many ambiguities that must be corrected before it passes into law.’
The Young Journalists Association (YJA) meanwhile challenged the Bill in the Supreme Court but the petition was dismissed by the Court on a technicality, that it had been filed in the Supreme Court registry out of time. This was despite the petition being filed just minutes after the official time of filing which was 3 pm. The YJA had stated that ’journalistic purpose’ should be stated as an exception to the processing of data as is the case in all other countries, that the RTI Act should be balanced with the purpose of data protection, and that the Data Protection Authority should be independent rather than ‘Government controlled’ as the Bill provides.
It also pointed to the dangers of a ‘Government controlled’ Authority being given the power to impose hefty fines up to ten million rupees per every act seen as ‘violating’ the Act without these other concerns being addressed.
Colombo Telegraph learns that the Government has promised media organisations that their concerns would be addressed while the Opposition has assured that it would support the amendments proposed by the media to the Bill.
On Monday, the Sri Lanka Press Institute together with the Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka (NSSL), Free Media Movement (FMM), Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), Tamil Media Alliance (TMA), Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF), Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions (FMETU), South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) and the SLPI, issued a press release informing that they had handed over a letter to the Minister of Mass Media, Minister of Justice and the Secretary of the Ministry of Information Technology highlighting key concerns with the Bill.
They pointed to the fact that while the proposed Personal Data Protection Act is being recognised as an important one in the digital era, serious thought should be given to the implication and infringement to the rights of professional journalism and media freedom. It was emphasized that definitions regarding personal data and special categories of personal data remain arbitrary given that special categories also include data related to offenses, criminal proceedings and convictions which do not recognise the journalistic right to exercise free speech in delivering such information.
It was also noted that the proposed Act would prevail over every other law in any inconsistency, including the Right to Information (RTI) Law which would compromise the access to information that the public and journalists have via the prevailing RTI law.
Transparency International Sri Lanka meanwhile also raised similar concerns, asking the drafters of the Bill why they had decided to omit important protections in the initial draft on personal data protection released in 2019. The preamble of the 2019 framework refers to Sri Lanka’s constitutional Right to Information (RTI)as a crucial right, recognizing the need for the public interest to be balanced with the protection of personal data.
However, as TISL pointed out, this balance is not reflected in the Bill which had omitted that reference. Also, the 2019 framework had called for the appointment of independent three members to a nine-member Data Protection Authority through a public application process. The Bill has deleted that safeguard, saying only that the Authority is to be a ‘Government controlled entity.’ This is in violation of all international standards which call for the Data Protection Authority to be independent of the government.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka(BASL) has however remained silent on concerns relating to the Bill, particularly the lack of independence of the proposed Data Protection Authority. Its office bearers, including its President Saliya Pieris and others, have applauded the Bill while not acknowledging its serious drawbacks, young journalists who challenged the Bill in the Supreme Court say, pointing out that it is the duty of the Bar to objectively respond to bills that infringe on rights.
Colombo Telegraph also spoke to several experts on data protection, including a senior law academic associated with the early drafts of the Bill who questioned as to why the 2019 data protection framework had been radically changed. A researcher who had worked with the Right to Information Commission (RTIC) clarified that though it is claimed by those pushing the Bill through Parliament, that the Bill had been examined by the RTIC, this was distorting facts as it was only the 2019 framework on data protection that had been sent for feedback to the RTIC.
If Parliament approves the Bill in its current form, it will force all Sri Lankan editorial newsrooms, non-governmental organisations, and research institutes to have Data Protection Officers who will answer to the dictates of a ‘Government-controlled’ Data Protection Authority, experts warn. This will further erode the freedom of expression in Sri Lanka, already under massive threat by a security state, they say.
Courtesy Colombo Telegraph
Sri Lanka: High profile journalist attacked by armed gunmen
MEDIA RELEASE
The residence of prominent television journalist, Chamuditha Samarawickrema, was attacked by four unidentified assailants in the Piliyandala district of Colombo on February 14. The International Federation of the Journalists (IFJ) and its Sri Lanka affiliates, the Federation of Media Employee’s Trade Unions (FMETU), the Free Media Movement (FMM), and the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), urge the Sri Lankan authorities to expedite their investigation and bring justice to the perpetrators.
The assailants reportedly stormed the Cambridge Court housing complex, where Samarawickrema and his family were staying, at around 2:00 am and began throwing stones and feces at the house, damaging several windows.
CCTV footage showed the assailants arriving in a white car and threatening the security guard on duty by pointing a gun at his head. The suspects, who concealed their identities by wearing helmets and facemasks, were also seen carrying several items while entering the home, including a bag and a cardboard box.
According to police, Samarawickrema, who has been known to criticise the ruling Rajapaksa government, was “shaken but unhurt” after the raid. The journalist, affiliated with Hiru TV and who also runs an interview program, ‘Truth with Chamuditha’, has previously aired episodes investigating government corruption, the Rajapaksa family, and the Sri Lankan police.
An investigation into the attack was launched by police on February 15, and a court ordered security to be given to Samarawickrema following the incident.
This is not the first time Samarawickrema has been targeted. He has been vocal about receiving several phone call threats and in 2021 claimed that his life was under serious threat.
FMETU’s General Secretary, Dharmasiri Lankapeli, said: “It is no secret to the people that there were powerful political hands behind all these incidents. The attack on journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrema can be suspected of being a similar act. Therefore, the FMETU strongly urges the government and the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the attack and reveal to the country the real thugs behind the attack.”
FMM Convener, Lasantha De Silva, said: “This attack underscores the dangerous environment in which journalists have been working in Sri Lanka in recent decades. Therefore, we urge serious attention of the government on journalist’s safety.”
SLWJA Secretary, Frank De Zoysa, said: “If there was an issue regarding Chamuditha Samarawickrama’s use of media, it should have been reported to the relevant authorities in accordance with the law of the country. SLWJA strongly condemns such arbitrary attacks on journalists and urges the government to investigate the case and punish the guilty.”
The IFJ said: “The attack on Chamuditha Samarawickrema’s residence is yet another deliberate attempt to stifle press freedom in Sri Lanka. The IFJ urges the government and authorities to expedite their investigations, bring the perpetrators to justice and end the culture of impunity for crimes against journalists in Sri Lanka.”