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Sei Lanka Media Organizations met the then Minister of Media Keheliya Rambukwella on Monday 15th March 2021  and handover their proposal for an independent regulatory authority to monitor print, radio, television, and social media.

Participated Media Organizations are the Sri Lanka Media Owners Association (NSSL), the Sri Lanka Editors Guild (TEGOSL), the Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions (FMETU), Free Media Movement (FMM), the Tamil Media Alliance (TMA) The Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF), South Asia Free Press Association (SAFMA) and Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI).

The Press Statement issued by Dhamarsiri Lankapeli, General Secretary of the Federation of Media Workers’ Unions regarding the Electronic Broadcasting Authority Act proposed by the government is published below in full.

Press Statement

June 03, 2023

Let us defeat the government’s move to bring an

‘Electronic Broadcasting Regulatory Authority

The government’s new proposal for an Electronic Broadcasting Regulatory Authority is a reminder that discussions for a free and fair media tradition date back to 1994 when the Chandrika Bandaranaike government attempted to reform the state media. Several committees such as the RKW Gunasekara Committee and the Sidath Sri Nandalochana Committee had been appointed for the purpose but at least their reports were not made public yet.

We firmly believe that independent, balanced, and unbiased media culture is essential for the existence of democracy and good governance of a country. History shows that for more than two decades, media organizations led by the Editors’ Guild, media agency owners, media agency heads and civil organizations have been trying for an ‘independent media regulation’ commission.

The ‘Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social Responsibility –1998’and the Tholangamuwa Declaration titled Charter for a Democratic and Pluralist Media Culture and Social and Professional Rights for Media and Journalism in Sri Lanka – 2005 were two other efforts for the same purpose. In the year 2005-2006, a draft was prepared jointly by the media organizations and civil organizations of Sri Lanka with the intervention of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) for the creation of a public service electronic broadcasting authority and a tradition of public service journalism in Sri Lanka. That was scheduled for discussion in Parliament in 2005, yet the subsequent political changes did not permit its materialization.

Let us mention that in the year 2021, the then Minister of Media, Mr. Dullas Alahapperuma, also tried to create a similar discussion. Now the incumbent government is planning to pass a bill to set up an electronic broadcasting regulatory authority.

The Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Unions is of the opinion that the latest proposal for an Electronic Broadcasting Regulatory Authority is a move inimical to the fundamental right of the people for freedom of expression as well as their right to know. It is our understanding that this move is actually intended to control electronic media and to muzzle down social media. As such, we the FMETU call on every citizen who aspires for a free public service journalism tradition in Sri Lanka to stand up against the government’s move.

We would like to present the following proposals alternative to the government’s move for media regulation:

We suggest that the present government should strengthen the Sri Lanka Press Institute, which was supported by the 2002 government. In addition, we strongly recommend abolishing the Sri Lanka Press Council. The guidelines and recommendations made by media organizations and other civil organizations for the sake of the self-regulatory Commission over the past two decades should be taken into consideration.

The Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions suggests that the government should provide facilities to start an open discussion on the personal safety and job protection of journalists and the preparation of a necessary work procedure for a media self-regulation system. And we suggest that the support of media organizations and interested civil organizations, and international media organizations should be obtained.

For an independent media regulatory mechanism, we are engaged in a collective process with other media organizations including Sri Lanka Press Institute, Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association, Free Media Movement, Editors’ Guilds of Sri Lanka, and Newspaper Publishers’ Association. The Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions is a full-member organization of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which has more than 600,000 members of journalists from 170 countries in the world.

Yours sincerely

                                                         

Dharmasiri Lankapeli

General Secretary

For the Executive Committee

077 364 1111

Email fmetu123@gmail.com

dlankapeli@gmail.com

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.

Law enforcement and ministry officials visited the offices of Voice of Democracy (VOD) on the morning of February 13 ordering journalists to stop publishing immediately. Sen instructed the Ministry of Information to cancel the outlet’s publishing and broadcasting licences, revoking its right to continue radio and online news services. Since the decision, VOD’s online Khmer and English services have been blocked by several internet service providers throughout the country.

On February 9, VOD released an article in Khmer that claimed Hun Sen’s son, Lieutenant General Hun Manet, had signed a donation of USD 100,000 for earthquake relief in Türkiye under his father’s name. Hun Manet, the head of Cambodia’s military, disputed the claim, and urged the outlet via social media to provide sources for their article. On February 11, Sen demanded a public apology from the outlet within 72 hours, later shortening the deadline to 10 am on February 13. Despite receiving an official, apologetic letter from the Cambodian Centre for Independent Media, VOD’s parent company, Sen ordered the revocation of the licence.

The decision has been condemned by media rights and civil society organisations, who denounced the arbitrary and likely politically motivated closure of VOD. In a group statement, press freedom advocates identified how existing measures to remove or alter disputed publications already exist in Cambodia’s Press Law, and urged the government to speak out against harmful and sexist language directed towards the author of the article.

The Cambodian government has previously targeted critical and independent news outlets ahead of the 2018 election, including the shuttering of Cambodia Daily in 2017, and the coerced 2018 sale of the Phnom Penh Post to a business associate of Hun Sen.
The CamboJA said: “No journalist should ever be attacked as a result of their work or identity. We hope the government acknowledges the essential role of VOD and its journalists, along with the remaining independent media outlets in the country, and their right to do their work in accordance with the law and without fear of intimidation and harassment”

The IFJ said: “Hun Sen’s order to shutdown VOD represents an serious misuse of power and poses a severe threat to press freedom in Cambodia. The IFJ urges the Cambodian government to reverse its decision to shutter VOD and ensure the outlet is able to continue to produce independent and critical journalism without fear of reprisal.”

IFJ Reports