Defence Ministry must withdraw media guidelines

With attacks on media personnel on the increase and media organisations coming under immense pressure by the government with the Defence Ministry even going to the extent of issuing "guidelines" the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has taken objection to the latest moves at strangulation of the media and called on the Defence Ministry to immediately withdraw the 'guidelines' issued by it. The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 122 countries. Following is the IFJ statement.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) notes with alarm that Sri Lanka's Defence Ministry proposes 'guidelines' for the media that would effectively throttle media independence and deprive the public of the right to reliable and authentic information on public issues.

According to an IFJ affiliate, the Free Media Movement (FMM), the guidelines are proposed in an editorial on the Ministry's website which argues that critical media scrutiny of military issues risk national security and is akin to supporting terrorism.

The IFJ joins the FMM in calling on the government and the Ministry to withdraw the guidelines immediately.

The editorial was posted after another on May 31 that called on "all members of the armed forces to unite and guard against" a "treacherous media campaign (being run) against them." Journalists were accused of 'terrorist propaganda.'

Journalists who report on defence issues have been subjected to a series of attacks, threats and intimidation in the past month. On May 22, Keith Noyahr, associate editor and defence writer for The Nation, was abducted and violently beaten. On May 29, the home of senior defence reporter Sirimevan Kasturiarachchi of the Divaina, was stormed by an unknown group and he was warned to stop reporting on all matters related to the Sri Lanka Army and defence personnel.

The latest editorial expresses 'serious concern' over the 'unethical measures' used by 'so-called' defence writers to obtain information. It reiterates the earlier threat that any journalist who writes critically about the conduct of the armed forces and the security establishment in Sri Lanka will be branded by the government as a traitor.

The proposed guidelines stipulate, among other things, that the media should not:

.           Be critical of military strategy or seek to analyse it.

.           Scrutinise promotions and transfers within the armed forces.

.           Question military procurements and the processes adopted for these.

.           Espouse or discuss anti-war positions.

.           Obtain information from military officers other than officially designated spokesmen.

The IFJ endorses the FMM's characterisation of these proposals as unacceptable and inconsistent with democratic values and accepted practices of reporting on military and security issues.

Rather than place more restrictions on media freedom, the IFJ urges Sri Lanka's Government to address the environment of fear, intimidation and violence faced by journalists in the country.

"The media has an essential role in questioning military strategies and policies, and indeed to question policy options other than war. This position is consistent with the IFJ's belief that the freedom to speak and to seek information can be an effective antidote to endemic conflict," said IFJ Asia-Pacific.

"Communal and ethnic antagonisms can be resolved by promoting a process of social dialogue in which all aspects of public life, including the policy options favoured by the government in power, are freely discussed and debated."