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SRI LANKA: Threat to a journalist for reporting torture cases

June 20, 2002

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION
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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM
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21 June 2002
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UA-24-2002: Threat to a journalist for reporting torture cases
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SRI LANKA: Denial of the freedom of speech; intimidation and threat to journalist
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Asian Human Rights commission (AHRC) is bring to your notice threat to a journalist for reporting torture cases - T.J. A Abeynayake, journalist of Island¡¯s new paper group
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For your action, we are sending you a copy of a letter written by A Sri Lankan journalist, T.J. Abenayake, to the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, seeking protection from intimidation and threats to his and his families lives due to reporting some serious human rights cases against some officers of the Kandana Police in Sri Lanka.
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The immediate threats concerns reporting of Lalith Rajapaks¡¯s case, after court hearings on 16 and 17 May 2002. Two reports and one editorial were written about the issue. Night visits by unknown persons to vicinity of his house, sound of guns have happened after that. His family great fears that some harm may happen to him.
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We urge you to send letter to Sri Lankan authorities, urging them to intervene immediately and take appropriate steps to protect him.
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THE TRANSLATION OF HIS LETTER
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A.J.A. Abeynayake
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No. 390
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Negombo Road
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Kandana
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Hon. Chairperson
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Human Rights Commission
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Colombo 8
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Dear Sir,
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RE: AN APPEAL TO PROVIDE FUTURE SECURITY
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I, Abeynayakage Jusey Appuhamy Abeynayake, permanent resident of the above address, but temporarily residing at No113D, Peralanda, Ragama is 39 years of age and is a father of one child.
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Up until now, while working as a district reporter for the &quot;Island&quot; newspaper, I also continue to work for a number of national papers as an independent district reporter. Besides, I have been functioning as a member of the editorial board of several weekend papers and magazines for over a period of six years, with quite expertise and experience. With the conviction that it is the main responsibility of a journalist to cover events and incidents with utmost impartiality, I worked hard as a reporter to reveal the real truth behind the mysterious death of Bernard Silva of Welisara while in the custody of the Kandana Police three years ago. Similarly in the recent past, the injustice done to the eighteen year old Lalith Rajapakse, who was so badly tortured by the police of the same police station had to struggled between life and death for fifteen days in the hospital, was divulged to the public by me.
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In fact through the editorial of these paper by commenting on these incidents, we have tried to reflect the responsibility of the national papers which were also taken up human rights organizations both nationally and internationally.
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Hon. Chairperson,
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As a journalist of repute, I made reference to the above two reports, out of so many reports of injustices, not out of the desire for self justification or self satisfaction but to bring to your notice the serious threat posed to the members of my family and to me personally.
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With the publication of the proceedings at the Wattala Magistrate Courts regarding the above mentioned case, a number of unknown persons that surrounded our house started knocking at our doors and windows at midnight thus inflicting severe pain and fear in our hearts and mind. In fact for the last three weeks this has been happening, compelling us to live in terrible fear for our lives. Besides, I have noticed that the same unknown persons are frequenting our street and the area surrounding our premises both day and night. On the 14th of this month at 1.30 in the morning, there were knocks on the windows by the unknown persons followed by a distinct sound of a gun being prepared for firing. About half an later, we heard these persons getting into a stationed vehicle and leaving our house. Due to these incidents and the warning received through one of my friends from the police that I should refrain from reporting the current events and those that happen at the police station, I have a reasonable fear that something terrible is about to befall on me and my family. Given the present atmosphere where attacks are made on the life and person of journalists for their impartiality and honesty, I wish to bring to your kind attention the fear for our work and life under which we are living now.
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Even though no direct attempt has been made on my life or the life of our members of the family, I am writing this to seek your assistance to provide the necessary security so that our lives are safeguarded and the dignity of our work is upheld.
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Thanking you.
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Yours sincerely,
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Signed (A.J.A abeynayake)
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SUGGESTED LETTER
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Dear Sir,
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I am writing to you about the case of T.J.A Abeynayake, a well-known journalist who is threatened after reporting two cases relating to Kankandana police.
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I have read a translation of a copy of a letter the journalist had written to the National Human Rights Commission and feel concerned about his security. One of the cases he has reported is of Lalith Rajapakse, whose injuries were described, in medical report as injurious to life.
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It is duty of a journalist to report matters with out fear. As you are well aware journalist need special protection from state. I kindly request you take urgent action to protect him.
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Thank you
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Sincerely yours,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO;
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1. Honourable Prime Minister
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Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe
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Cambridge Place
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Colombo 7
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Sri Lanka
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Fax: 941 682-905 or 542919 (Secretary to the PM)
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Email: secpm@sltnet.lk (Secretary to the PM)
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SALUTATION: Hon. Prime Minister
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2. Hon. Mr. K.C. Kamalasabesan
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Attorney General
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Attorney - General's Department
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Colombo 12
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SRI LANKA
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Fax: +94 1 436 421
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SALUTATION: Dear Attorney General
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Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-24-2002
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.