tamilweek.com/news-features

Full Text of National Peace Council Press Release:

The increasingly poor human rights situation in the country has come under the international spotlight in recent months. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, who recently visited Sri Lanka noted that the absence of the rule of law and the violations of human rights in the country was of alarming proportions. In this context the National Peace Council is concerned about the suspension of the license of a popular radio network with five radio stations in the Sinhala, Tamil and English languages, on the ground that it misreported an incident regarding the presence of LTTE cadres in Tissamaharama and thereby caused panic amongst people living in that area.

Natural justice dictates that penalties imposed need to be proportionate to the offence, and that due process needs to be followed. We believe that the government’s punitive action is extremely severe, particularly given that all the radio stations in the network have been targeted without a free and fair inquiry into the facts surrounding the reporting of the incident. We note that the ABC network has filed legal action in the courts of law against the withdrawal of its radio licenses.

The National Peace Council also wishes to express its concern at the arrest of a 23 year old journalist, Arthur Wamaman, who writes for the Sunday Leader newspaper, as well the detention and questioning of his mother. This action by the police would provide yet another indication of a heavy handed disregard of democratic freedoms. According to media reports, the journalist has been detained after the Sunday Leader published a story that a Government Minister had allegedly used state funds to pay an international roaming telephone bill for a telephone registered in his wife’s name. The journalist had been taken in for questioning after the Minister made an uncorroborated allegation that Wamanan had tried to blackmail him. Furthermore, the journalist’s mother was also questioned on the grounds that her son had allegedly used her mobile phone.

It is also reported that the Police had objected to releasing the journalist on bail on the grounds that he is a Tamil and that granting him bail would lead to a public outcry. The National Peace Council is appalled that government officials should seek to intimidate and harass media personnel and their families on the grounds of their ethnicity and to stop them from reporting news that is adverse to powerful members of the government. It has also been reported that although he is an ethnic Tamil, and wished to make his statement to the Police in the Tamil or in the English language he was compelled to make it in Sinhala.

We are reassured that the courts of law have stood firm in the defence of democratic rights by granting bail to the journalist in question despite the insistence of the Police that he should be remanded. The Chief Magistrate has also reprimanded the Police stating that arrests of this nature created a bad precedent besides being a threat to media freedom. We call on the government to recognize that a free media is essential to the proper functioning of democracy and attempts to stifle it by repressive actions will be harmful to the best interests of the country and also bring it into international disrepute. In the absence of remedial government action, it will be left to the judiciary to uphold the democratic rights that the media and the people of Sri Lanka are entitled to.

Executive Director
On behalf of the Governing Council

National Peace Council
of Sri Lanka
12/14 Purana Vihara Road
Colombo 6

E Mail: npc@sltnet.lk

Arthur Wamanan, A Staff Reporter at The Sunday Leader is reported to have been arrested by the Sri Lanka Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on Wednesday October 24th, over a news item published in the paper relating to Enterprise Development Minister Mano Wijeratne.

Arthur’s mother was also detained since the young journalist uses a cell phone registered in his mother’s name. Reportedly the CID questioned the mother for telephone call being made by the journalist to the Sri Lankan Minister from this phone, during the course of the write up of this news item.

The Free Media Movement released a statement today and has called the arrest is precedent to creating a new method of intimidation and harassment of journalists in Sri Lanka.

The following is the full text of FMM Statement:

Free Media Movement expresses its serious concern that the arbitrary arrest of Arthur Wamanan, a staff reporter of The Sunday Leader is likely to create a dangerous precedent where journalists could be arrested on uncorroborated statements as a means of intimidating and harassing them.

According to editor of the Sunday Leader, Arthur Wamanan in the best of journalistic traditions telephoned Minister Mano Wijeratne to obtain his comments using his mobile telephone with regard to a story that appeared in last Sunday’s edition of The Sunday Leader titled “Minister gets Gem Authority to pay wife’s roaming charges.”

The story was published in the Sunday Leader on Sunday the 21st October 2007.

Journalist Arthur’s mother also was arrested and made to make a statement as the mobile was registered on her name. His arrest, based on a complaint lodged by Mr. Wijeratne will also create an unhealthy precedent where any one on a whim could claim to have received calls demanding ransom or other favours.

This will also prevent journalists from verifying information which is the established journalistic practice. It is important to note that Mr. Wijerate who made this outlandish statement claims that he also did not record his conversation which does not add credence to his statement in anyway at all.

Further, he also took cover under parliamentary privilege and made a statement regarding this in parliament that was given wide publicity which precludes others from an opportunity to respond.

In FMM’s opinion this incident would have a negative impact on the entire media community and would naturally result in the further creating different method of intimidation, harassment and even arrests of journalists.

Senator Hillary Clinton, says all terrorists cannot be lumped together whether the LTTE or the Basque separatists, and that, though they all may be connected in the tactics they use, the goals they are fighting for are different.

In an interview with Guardian, Mrs. Clinton, a US Presidential candidate, says that in her view terrorism is a tool that has been utilized throughout history to achieve certain objectives — some ideological, others territorial.

“The bottom line is: you can’t lump all terrorists together. And I think we’ve got to do a much better job of clarifying what are the motivations, the raisons d’être of terrorists. I mean, what the Tamil Tigers are fighting for in Sri Lanka, or the Basque separatists in Spain, or the insurgents in al-Anbar province may only be connected by tactics.

They may not share all that much in terms of what is the philosophical or ideological underpinning. And I think one of our mistakes has been painting with such a broad brush, which has not been particularly helpful in understanding what it is we were up against when it comes to those who pursue terrorism for whichever ends they’re seeking,” she said. [Photo courtesy: 2004dnc.com]

Related: Full Text – Guardian Interview: ‘You can’t lump all terrorists together’

Independent research, released October 22 at a conference cosponsored by the Business Software Alliance, the National Intellectual Property Office, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and the European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, revealed that in 2006 the software piracy rate in Sri Lanka was a staggering 90%. According to the IDC, a leading IT, telecom and consumer technology research firm which conducted the research, nine out of ten software programs installed on new (personal) computers in Sri Lanka were unlicensed or obtained illegally through software theft. This is significantly higher than the 53% piracy rate for the remainder of the Asia-Pacific region. It also places Sri Lanka in the bottom six of the 102 countries reviewed worldwide.

James R. Moore, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, welcomed the research: “We share the industry’s concern regarding extensive software piracy in Sri Lanka. The Embassy continues to provide technical assistance to help Sri Lanka improve its ability to enforce its strong intellectual property protection laws. We hope that, by demonstrating the extent of illegal software piracy in Sri Lanka, this study will lead to greater local protection of this vital sector. We encourage the government to take action to reduce software piracy and to prosecute those who violate Sri Lanka’s intellectual property laws. We also encourage the local business community to take action to ensure that the products they use are legitimate.”

[Full Text of Press Release - Source: US Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka]

Remarks by Ambassador Robert Blake at the Inauguration of the Bribery Commission Office, Colombo-October 19, 2007:

Attorney General de Silva, Chairman Ismail, Director General Ranasinghe, Mr. Withanachchi, Mr. Harold, and Mr. Weliamuna, thank you for coming today to inaugurate the newly renovated Bribery Commission. It is an honor for me to be here to demonstrate the support of the United States for this vital Sri Lankan Government body.

One of the U.S. Government’s key priorities in Sri Lanka is to support institutions that improve public service provision and accountability to the public. The Bribery Commission is one such institution.

The renovation of the Bribery Commission library and auditorium will give case investigation officers and researchers improved tools and environments in which to provide faster and better service to the public when handling complaints about bribery and corruption.

The cost of corruption is difficult to quantify, but there is little doubt that it has dramatically negative economic and political consequences. Corruption damages economic development and reform, impedes the ability of countries to attract foreign investment, hinders the growth of democratic institutions, and concentrates power in the hands of a few.

A recent Sri Lankan study indicated that Sri Lanka’s GDP would have grown by at least two percentage points in 2006 had government corruption been prevented. The best way to combat corruption is for a government, any government, to be open and transparent.

For the past 18 months, the U.S. and Sri Lanka have been working together to develop strategies to fight corruption. The Sri Lanka Anti-Corruption program was created by the U.S. Agency for International Development after the tsunami, and was designed to help minimize corruption in the distribution of post-tsunami assistance.

In addition to the renovation work for he Bribery Commission, USAID supported the publication of this children’s book about corruption [hold up book], written by Sri Lanka’s own Sybil Wetthasinghe. We hope that this little publication will raise public awareness and understanding about the negative impact of corruption on Sri Lankan society and contribute to an environment in which corruption is openly discussed and addressed. By focusing on children, we hope the book will inculcate in Sri Lanka’s next generation a strong aversion to corruption.

I’d like to thank our implementing partner Transparency International for all their good work on behalf of this project, and offer them our heartiest encouragement for continued success in their five-year strategy to combat public corruption in Sri Lanka, and our ongoing support wherever possible.

I also want to thank Attorney General de Silva for coming. Your presence here demonstrates the Government of Sri Lanka’s commitment to combating public corruption.

Finally, I’d like to commend the Bribery Commission, particularly Chairman Ismail, for the good work the Commission has done since its establishment in 1994. While there are always many opportunities for improving the environment to make it free from corruption, during its short existence, the Bribery Commission has become a deterrent to corruption and has lead the way in the Government to help restore public trust in government institutions.

Thank you.

[Source: Us Embassy Press Release, Colombo, Sri Lanka]

Remarks by Ambassador Blake at a press conference announcing a U.S. initiative to combat human trafficking in Sri Lanka – October 18, 2007:

Mr. Waidyalankara, Mr. Abdiker, Ms. Cohn, guests, and members of the press, let me extend to all of you a very warm welcome to the American Center.

We are here today to talk about a very serious issue, one that we may be aware exists but one that lurks in the shadows.

I am referring to human trafficking, something that takes place in many countries of the world, including the United States. Human trafficking is the third largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world, and is emerging as one of the most urgent human security issues of today. A recent report by the U.S. Attorney General estimated that 600,000-80,000 human beings are trafficked across international borders each year. 80% of them are women and girls.

Thousands of these are trafficked into the U.S. which is why President Bush has made the United States a leader in the fight against this terrible crime and why the Attorney General prepares an annual report on U.S. efforts to stop trafficking.

In Sri Lanka, high rates of domestic violence and migration, poverty, sex tourism and destruction caused by civil conflict and natural disasters have made Sri Lanka a country ripe for human trafficking.

Migration of women to the Middle East for domestic work, child recruitment and child sex tourism have overshadowed domestic human trafficking issues such as exploitation in domestic and industrial labor, and trafficking related to free trade zones.

According to Sri Lanka’s Foreign Employment Bureau, about one million Sri Lankans work abroad, of whom 60 percent are women. Of these, 54 percent work as domestic workers and are subject to risks of abuse, sexual harassment and forced labor.

The families of migrant workers remaining behind in Sri Lanka face challenges such as long absences of the primary caregiver and sometimes neglect by the remaining caregiver, leaving children vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

A recent US State Department report found Sri Lanka to be a country of source and origin for men, women and children trafficked for domestic labor and sexual exploitation.

Though the report states that the Government of Sri Lanka does not fully comply with standards for the elimination of trafficking, it said that the government is “making significant efforts to do so.”

Workers’ remittances, as the second largest source of foreign exchange in Sri Lanka, play a key role in the country’s economy and are important source of income for its citizens. Our concern, as a friend of Sri Lanka, is not to reduce foreign employment opportunities, but rather to help ensure that workers are not placed in situations where they are abused and exploited.

We commend the Government of Sri Lanka for amending its penal code in April 2006 to criminalize trafficking crimes in compliance with UN Trafficking Protocol standards, and for ratifying the South Asian regional convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution.

But the fact is, the real number of people victimized by trafficking is little known.

A second gap is that Sri Lanka needs a better trained network of law enforcement professionals to establish legal grounds under which instigators of trafficking can be identified and prosecuted under the law.

To enable Sri Lanka to identify those responsible and hold them accountable for trafficking practices, the U.S. State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development are funding a $500,000 program that will help train Government of Sri Lanka officials to pursue criminal investigations and prosecutions of trafficking offenses more aggressively.

Funded at a total of $500,000, the program will be implemented by our long-time partner the International Organization on Migration, or IOM.

The program focuses more on litigation and prosecution, as well as prevention through training of police and trainers, to build capacity for law enforcement professionals in Sri Lanka to combat trafficking.

Specifically, this program will:

· Enhance the capacity and awareness of the government to combat trafficking through training of about 500 law enforcement and government officials on human trafficking.

· Improve data collection and dissemination across all organizations to track trafficking cases.

· Develop collaboration and coordination among governmental organizations and NGOs to share experiences, establish joint work plans and develop national policies to combat trafficking in Sri Lanka.

· Train more than 50 trainers, who will continue to build police capacity to combat trafficking long after these programs are finished, and

· Establish a database to help prevent and identify trafficking incidences and assist the government and other interested agencies in focusing their efforts on where the need is greatest.

We hope the Government of Sri Lanka will make training for its law enforcement officials a priority to raise awareness of trafficking and to identify it as a crime. Another important deterrent will be prosecutions of those found to be involved in the practice.

In that way, we can drive human traffickers from the shadows and into the light, where law enforcement and justice officials can help protect those who may be victimized by human trafficking.

Let me conclude by thanking Mr. Waidyalankara in particular for joining us today. His participation and remarks signify the importance Sri Lanka attaches to addressing the problem of human trafficking. My colleagues at the U.S. Embassy look forward to working closely with the Government and IOM on this important matter.

Thank you.

[US Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka Press Release]