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Journalists express dismay at govt expansion of media censorship

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) states in a press release the latest moves by the Sri Lankan Government for the expansion of censorship regulations governing media coverage of the on going civil war are in "flagrant violation" of its pledge made upon coming to power of strengthening constitutional guarantee for a free press.

The full text of CPJ's press release is as follows.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express deep dismay over your government's expansion of censorship regulations governing media coverage of the civil war between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

On August 17, the Defence Ministry imposed an immediate ban on publishing any news regarding the transfer of officers within the government security forces high command. The ministry maintained that such information could be used by the LTTE in devising their own military strategy.

When Defence Secretary Chandrananda de Silva announced, on June 5, that you were introducing regulations "Prohibiting the publication and transmission of sensitive military information," CPJ joined the press in Sri Lanka in condemning this anti-democratic move. We noted, in a letter sent on June 9, that the regulations are exceptionally harsh, and all the more troubling for the military's direct role in deciding what is censored. We are alarmed that instead of responding to these concerns, you have decided to further restrict an already muzzled press.

As a nonpartisan organization dedicated to the defence of our colleagues worldwide, the Committee to Protect Journalists respectfully calls on your Excellency to honour the commitments your government made upon coming to power in 1994, promising to strengthen constitutional guarantees for a free press. The Free Media Movement of Sri Lanka has noted that these latest moves by the administration are in "flagrant violation" of that pledge.

CPJ believes that the present conflict in Sri Lanka can only be resolved through an open exchange of information and ideas, and so once again urges you to lift the restrictions you have placed on both the foreign and local news media.

Saturday Commentary
PA rethinks Presidential Elections
by Prasad Gunewardene

With the postponement of the Provincial Councils election, the question that is being now asked in political circles is whether the government would go ahead with a Presidential election by February next year. The PC elections were postponed indefinitely this month using emergency regulations which were clamped islandwide through a Presidential proclamation. Government's constitutional expert, Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris made it known to the Mahanayakas of the Asgiriya and the Malwatte Chapters that the PC elections were postponed to put the country first before elections as armed forces men if pulled out for election duty would result in hindering the ongoing war against the LTTE. Prof. Peiris went a step ahead to tell the people that the government was much more keen to go for a Presidential election to take up the challenge thrown by the UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Mr. Wickremesinghe who got wind of the government's move to postpone PC elections threw that challenge and urged that a Presidential election should be held by November this year. The PA government which gave security problems as the obstacle for going for such an election made it known that it would face a Presidential poll in February next year. There was speculation that the government was going to hold it in January next year. Reliable sources last week disclosed that the government was likely to drop this idea and President Chandrika Kumaratunga would run the full term of office, a six year period due to end in November 2000.

Top level PA sources revealed that President Kumaratunga who is reported to have made an evaluation of the performances of her government was unhappy on the achievements made so far. They said that a major part of the promises made to the people in her election manifesto was yet to realise. The UNP last Monday decided to kick off the protest campaign against the postponement of elections from Tuesday in Parliament.

When the House sat on Tuesday morning UNP MPs carried placards screamed and protested in the House forcing the Deputy Speaker Anil Moonesinghe to bring the sessions to an abrupt end. However, many opposition and senior government parliamentarians were unhappy over the stance taken by the UNP that morning as the business of the day was messages of condolences on late Members of the House. They felt that the UNP should have staged that protest on some other day in the House as Members of Parliament by tradition are bound to maintain a solemn attitude when motives of condolences are moved.

UNP backbenchers were annoyed that their partymen were attacked on the eve of the Hyde Park meeting the Friday before when the party organised a peaceful meeting to protest against the postponement of the PC elections. 'Therefore, we thought that we must start our protest from the highest place and that is the Parliament' said a UNP backbencher.

The People's Alliance government of late have been silent on the issue of holding a Presidential election early next year. Instead it has once again refocussed to the controversial devolution package. Architect of the package Minister Peiris, the new SLFP Chief Organiser for Colombo East was busy last week back again to muster the support of the opposition parties for his package. The coalition partner in the government, the LSSP first came out to support the package after months at the Lipton Circus day before yesterday. The theme of the protest was to ask the people to force the UNP to accept the devolution package for implementation early next year. This protest campaign of the LSSP was given wide publicity in the state electronic media both before and after the event. It is learnt that the Communist Party which is also an alliance partner in the PA will conduct a similar protest early next week under the same theme.

The UNP is yet to submit its final set of alternate proposals to the package. Early this year the government warned that if the UNP did not submit its set of proposals before the end of last February it would decide to get the people's consent to the package through a referendum. The UNP paid scant respect to the PA threat and continued to ask for time. Finally the PA threat appeared to have died a natural death with the package still in the brief case of the government. Tamil political parties last week hinted that it was not only the previous government but also the government of the day was playing with the ethnic problem by delaying the process to resolve it.

The Kumaratunga government completed four years in office last Wednesday. It had been accused of giving false promises to the people. The latest attack is to emerge from none other than the pensioners who are apolitical. They have decided to hold a meeting in Colombo next week to pressure the government on the pledges given to pensioners. The meeting will remind the government of these pledges in the manifesto (a) The arrears due from the Rs. 260 pension allowance will be paid immediately. (b) Special consideration will be given to the children of pensioners when vacancies in their former work places are filled. (c) An extra allowance will be added to the pensions of those who have children attending school. (d) Anomalies with regard to pensions will be rectified and an uniform and equitable structure introduced. Action will be taken to make pensions index linked. Concessionary fares will be available for senior citizens in respect of public transport. The pensioners claim that these recommendations were made by the PA and they voted for the PA with much expectations to get them. 'Four years have gone and we are still at square one', lamented a senior pensioner of the Pensioners' Association.

Rights application filed on behalf of student
By Chitra Weerarathne

A fundamental Rights application has been filed on behalf of an year eleven student of Southland Balika Maha Vidyalaya of Galle, alleging that the principal of the school had denied her the opportunity to sit the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination in December 1998, as an internal candidate of this school.

The petitioner is Koonage Shirmila Chandrasekera of Kaluwella, Galle. The petition said that the mother of Shirmila is a teacher of the same school, and that the teacher was suspected of having petitioned against the principal.

In July this year, the principal had entertained admission applications from other year eleven students of the school, to enable them to sit the examination. But Shirmila's had not been entertained by the principal, who had used unkind words on her on certain occasions.

The parents had spoken to the principal, and the relevant educational authorities, to enable the girl to sit the exam. But there had been no positive response.

The petition alleged unequal treatment, and requested the Court to grant leave to proceed, declare the violation of Fundamental Rights of Shirmila and further to direct the Principal, Neli Kumarasinghe and the Commissioner of Examinations, to admit the said student to sit the Ordinary Level, G.C.E. examination as an internal candidate of the school, in December this year.

The petition has been filed by Attorney-at-Law Upula Gamini Kalugalwinna on behalf of the minor student.

The respondents are the Principal, Neli Kumarasinghe, The Commissioner of Examinations, and the Attorney General.