Sri Lanka slid further toward all-out internal conflict, as foretold last year, and the media in that country continues to be a casualty of unrelenting war, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) says in its Asia Press Freedom Report 2007-08.The downward slide in Sri Lanka accelerated as the government unilaterally withdrew in January 2008 from a ceasefire with Tamil separatist insurgents, the report said.
Admittedly, however, the early optimism engendered by the 2002 ceasefire had eroded all through the preceding year.
The relationship between the state, civil society and the media has deteriorated rapidly.
Weakening democratic commitments on the part of the authorities led in turn to an environment of impunity for corruption and human rights violations, according to the IFJ report.
It has been common practice for ministers and other prominent political figures to severely impugn the patriotism of conscientious and critical-minded journalists.
With few willing to publicly condemn such rhetorical excesses, the ground is prepared for more serious threats to the safety and security of journalists and media workers across the island.
Physical attacks, harassment, restrictions on movement and death threats have become a part of the working lives of journalists, photographers and all those engaged in the gathering, publication and dissemination of information in Sri Lanka.
The IFJ notes further in its report that already, journalists and media workers in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are reportedly leaving the profession.
They are concerned for their safety on the job, frustrated by censors, compromised by pressures to self-censor, and demoralized by poor working conditions and pay.
In Sri Lanka, Tamil journalist Munusamy Parameshwari is now 24.
She fled her country recently and is in hiding after receiving death threats for several years.
Her family was also threatened.
From November 2006 to March 2007, Parameshwari was detained without charge under antiterrorist laws.
Shortly after her release she was abducted and assaulted by several men in uniform who warned her to discontinue her reporting.
Her crime?
Parameshwari gathered information for articles that exposed government participation in abductions, as well as other human rights abuses.
She is called a terrorist because she belongs to an ethnic group with which Sri Lanka’s Government is at war.
In seeking assistance to escape her tormentors, Parameshwari explains she needed to leave Sri Lanka in order “to live a fear-free life and regain my self esteem”.
She adds, “The long period of detention and the constant harassment, coupled with the fear for my life, has had a serious impact on my psychological well-being and I am forced to seek counseling in order to function on a day-to-day basis.”
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