By Amantha Perera

Journalists love their newspapers; they hate it when they see them used as lunch-packet wrappers, which invariably happens. They would hate it even more when newspapers, still-to-be distributed are found smouldering. And they would do anything to salvage at least few scraps, though dirty and cannot be sold.

As the printing press smoked and bundles of paper still burnt, fellow journalists at The Sunday Leader tried in vain to save some of the salvageable copies from the embers.

Among the few copies saved on November 21 morning was one such destined to the President's Office, a complimentary copy of that day's Morning Leader. Many such complimentary copies are distributed usually, and few were saved last Wednesday.

But they tried, some in anger, some in disbelief, others benumbed. First it was a feeling of disbelief that hit many not only from The Sunday Leader, but other outlets as well as they made their way along Katukurunduwatte Road and the smell of burning chemicals hit them as they approached the Leader compound. They stared in disbelief and in utter helplessness as brute force appeared to have won the day.

Shock and disbelief

As the morning light streaked through the cracked asbestos roof and silhouetted figures waded through the still smoking newspapers, it hit them; yes, the press had been burnt. The SMS messages and telephone calls had by then kicked in and news had travelled far and wide.

"How could they?" replaced, the usual "Hello machang, kohomda?" (Chum, how are you?) from a distraught colleague from Anuradhapura who called in. How could they - we will never know the answer to that question, but it is certain that they can and they would do it again if authorities holding public office do not make a genuine statement, backed by action that freedom of the press is sovereign, as many say from the podiums but few, if any, practice.

That is where the onus now lies as local and international media watchdogs and other rights activists believe that the burning of the press is the nadir of a deteriorating media culture in Sri Lanka and it is time the authorities matched words with action.

Sri Lanka on the mat

On the very day the press was burnt, the German based International Press Institute (IPI) put Sri Lanka back on an international watch list after a four year absence. Sri Lanka was the only country newly added and shares the list with Ethiopia, Nepal, Russia, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

The IPI watch list consists of countries where press freedom is rapidly deteriorating. The organisation made up of worldwide editors and journalists said: "Unfortunately, the situation has deteriorated over the last 18 months, and the report of an international mission to Sri Lanka that included IPI in June 2007 noted, 'the pressures on the media have multiplied. with increasing fears for the safety of journalists.' The report also criticised the government for a lack of progress on the investigations of murdered and attacked journalists," IPI said.

IPI Director, Johann P. Fritz said that IPI hoped that the inclusion in the list would effect a change in Sri Lanka as it did when it was put on the list in September 2000 and remained there for three years.

A telling detail is that the IPI board decided unanimously to put Sri Lanka back on the list on November 17, four full days before the attack on the Leader press.

The attack on the press sent Sri Lanka's stock within the IPI further down. "This latest attack on Leader Publications bears all the hallmarks of a highly organised attempt by groups who may be close to the government to silence any critical reporting," Fritz said.

"Sri Lanka is a country with a deteriorating press freedom record. We urge the relevant authorities to do all in their power to apprehend the perpetrators, bring them to justice, and to work towards establishing a media environment in Sri Lanka where such attacks no longer occur."

On the scene

Soon after the press was attacked, several police teams were at the scene, about four hours after the attack, an army mobile patrol too stopped at the press. President Mahinda Rajapakse had telephoned Chairman, Leader Publications, Lal Wickrematunge on Wednesday morning and promised a 'high level inquiry.'

Media Minister, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said that President Rajapakse had personally instructed that a proper inquiry be conducted on the torching of the press and also on the national security implications of it taking place within a high security zone.

Media Minister, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said the attack was carried out by a gang bent on discrediting the government. "This is clearly an attempt to embarrass the government and tarnish the good image of the President at a time he was leaving the country to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in Uganda," he said.

The government now finds its self pushed to prove its credentials on press freedom and not for the first time - "The fact that the publications of that newspaper house viz., Irudina, The Sunday Leader, and The Morning Leader have been severe critics of the incumbent government places a heavy burden on the administration to have ensured its safety. The natural inference that could be drawn from this attack is to the detriment of the government which is already under the microscope locally and internationally for the abuse of Human Rights, individual liberties, democratic rights and media freedom," the Editors Guild said.

Other watchdogs were harsher in their criticism of the attack and suspected a government role. "Armed men have once again attacked an independent news media in a high security area," the France based Reporters Without Borders said, adding "it unfortunately shows that the press freedom enemies have accomplices within the security forces. By attacking the Leader Publications Group, this gang wanted to silence one of the main sources of incisive criticism of the current government."

Past investigations into attacks on the press, including several directed at the Leader, and murders of media personnel have yielded no tangible results. That leaves journalists and media watchers dismayed that politicians in power prefer a media working within their agenda than what they profess on platforms - a free and an independent press.

Should yield results

"It's time official inquiries into press attacks in Sri Lanka yielded some results to counteract the message that critical newspapers can be threatened with impunity," Executive Director, New York based Committee to Protect Journalists, Joel Simon said.

The obvious pessimism in Simon's words, stem from the fact that no investigations into attacks against the press have seen a closure. "What we have seen is an attack followed by pledges to catch the culprits, inquiries, then nothing and then another attack - that is the trend," Convenor, Free Media Movement, Sunanda Deshapriya said.

"Investigations into countless incidents of a similar nature, throughout the country in recent times, including the murder of journalists, have not yielded results, with the government being unable or unwilling to bring the culprits to book," the Editors' Guild concurred, albeit diplomatically.

After attacks, journalists and media organisations have routinely held protests, mostly in front of the Fort Railway Station. There was one on Friday as well. Before that, the last such protest was held on November 6, and ironically one of the main slogans at the protest was the denouncement of the arrest of The Sunday Leader journalist, Arthur Wamanan.

Deteriorating situation

The message however has not sunk in as last week's attack showed.

Opinion is building that the attacks on the press are part and parcel of the deteriorating human rights environment in the country. UN General Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon last month spoke of Sri Lanka among other countries where the press has found itself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"In some cases, fatalities result from excessive risk-taking, or from being caught in crossfire. Others result from deliberate targeting by parties to conflict in order to deter or prevent reporting, particularly on abuses," he said in his report on civilians caught in armed conflict.

Responses

"This latest attack demonstrates a climate of impunity where wrong-doers think they can get away with anything," the National Peace Council said.

"The people of our country must take serious note that if brazen criminal acts of this nature are allowed to occur with impunity then we have no one else to blame but ourselves for the growing chaos and destruction," Anglican Bishop of Colombo, Rev. Duleep de Chickera, warned.

"This is the most brazen attack on a media house in recent times. it is equally an attack on the people's right to information and dissent," the Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka said.

There is also the view point that the government would not care too much for the demands made by civic groups and the local press corps, divided as it is with the government still in control of a behemoth - Lake House, SLBC, Rupavahini and ITN. Calls have increased that the international community should actively promote freedom of expression in Sri Lanka.

"We urge foreign diplomats to publicly express their solidarity with the group," RSF said the day after the attack. The local diplomatic community has been privately airing its concern over the burning of the press.

Last year and early this year, the British High Commissioner and the American Ambassador here made visits to The Sunday Leader and the Daily Mirror when their respective editors faced threats of arrest and intimidation.

Now it remains to be seen whether a government that has not shied away from locking horns with the UN on a number of human rights issues, prefers to take the head on attitude, or do otherwise.

As time wore on, on November 21, Poddala Jayantha, from the Working Journalists Association stood in front of the metal hull of the printing press and said "this is the reflection of media freedom in this country," pointing at the machine.

He probably was half right in his assessment - the true and full reflection of media freedom was what lay before his eyes that day, that despite terror, journalists are willing to work.

Freedom of expression is not a luxury handed down by temporary custodians of public office, however powerful they may be. It is an inalienable right of the people.