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The report refers to various attacks since the beginning of this year: the Jan. 6 attack on the Sirasa Media Network building, which was set on fire; the Jan. 8 assassination of editor Lasantha Wickrematunge; the Feb. 23 attack on the Max TV station; the Feb. 24 attack on editor Upali Tennakoon; the Feb. 26 abduction of editor N. Vidyadaran; and the Mar. 12 abduction of Professor Dhammika Ganganath Dissanayake.
It also mentions attacks that took place last year on Nadarajah Guruparan, a journalist with Suryan FM radio, and Keith Noyar, deputy editor of The Nation newspaper, as well as the brutal attack and attempted abduction of journalist Namal Perera and the media secretary of the British High Commission, Mahendra Ratnaweera.
The armed group that entered the Max TV station and brutally attacked security personnel and journalists was proved to be police officers from the Mirihana Police Station. Nothing was done to prosecute these officers; instead a senior officer arrived and expressed regret, stating that the attack had been a mistake.
The media groups’ report was presented to leaders from the Congress of Religions on April 7. The religious leaders, who listened to the presentation of the five media organizations, undertook to bring the report to the notice of the president of Sri Lanka. Earlier the U.S. State Department, in its annual report on human rights, had stated that paramilitaries and others believed to be “working with awareness of the government” carried out unlawful killings, torture and kidnappings of civilians with impunity.
That the Ministry of Defense has become an ultra-powerful authority and that death squads operate under the patronage of the existing regime are facts commonly known throughout the country. That the policing system has failed to uphold the rule of law and is in a pathetic condition is also a routinely repeated, noncontroversial statement.
That the politicization of the police and the armed forces prevents their conduct from being scrutinized or investigated by any legal authority is also uncontested, except by the government spokesmen whose sole task is to pooh-pooh all allegations of the government’s involvement in criminal activities. The spokesman for the police, for example, when questioned about this report by the BBC Sinhala Service, retorted that making such allegations against the police and military was an insult to war heroes.
Under normal circumstances the government would respond to a report of this nature by initiating a high-level inquiry into the allegations. The judiciary would also direct the relevant authorities to respond to such allegations with proper investigations and actions. However, in Sri Lanka the state apparatus no longer responds to criminal allegations against state agencies with any form of serious action.
Therefore it is not surprising that the five leading media organizations had to go before the Congress of Religions to present their report. When the legal authority completely fails, people turn to those who represent the moral authority of the country.
The report may not reveal anything new to these leaders of various religions, who naturally would have links to their congregations. The challenge for the Congress of Religions is to raise its moral voice against widespread lawlessness that encourages any and every form of crime. Will the voices of morality in the country prove capable of raising their voices against the ultra-powerful authority that stands above the law?
The leader of the opposition has raised the issue of the suppression of media freedom. He has stated that if he were in power and journalists were killed, and the inspector general of police failed to conduct effective investigations, he would remove the inspector and others responsible for such inaction.
If the Congress of Religions wants to credibly raise its voice in the present situation, it should question why the government does not investigate serious crimes, including those mentioned in this media report. Those who represent the country’s moral authority must confront those who represent the country’s legal authority, yet fail to uphold the law.
There is today a significant conflict between the very foundations of morality and the callous neglect of the legal obligations of the state. At this juncture, should the Congress of Religions and others who claim to represent the moral authority of the country fail to confront those in power who have allowed the rule of law to be undermined, they will disappoint not only the journalists but also the whole country.
While the leaders of the religions face this challenge, Santha Fernando, a well-known committed Christian social activist, has also been arrested for no justifiable reason. Even attempts to engage in acts of charity and compassion have now come under attack by the same ultra-powerful authority, which is using powers of arrest and detention without regard for legal principles. The religious leaders may themselves come under such threat if they do not use their moral authority now to change the situation for the better.
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(The full media report may be found at: http://colombotoday.com/english/articles/1375.htm)
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(Basil Fernando is director of the Asian Human Rights Commission based in Hong Kong. He is a Sri Lankan lawyer who has also been a senior U.N. human rights officer in Cambodia. He has published several books and written extensively on human rights issues in Asia. His blog can be read at http://srilanka-lawlessness.com.)
