Journalists in Eastern Sri Lanka Constrained in

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000897 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SA FRONT OFFICE SA/INS (BRENNIG, DEAN) SA/PD (SCENSNY, ROGERS, STRYKER); SSA/PAS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED E.O. 12958:N/A TAGS: PHUM KPAO PTER EAID OIIP PREL CE LTTE SUBJECT: Journalists in Eastern Sri Lanka Constrained in Their Reporting REFTEL: COLOMBO 00887 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Journalists in the East of Sri Lanka, concerned about their welfare, hesitate to report fully on events in the region. Reporters from the Batticaloa Media Alliance allege they cannot report freely from the Eastern province due to pressure from the LTTE and Sri Lankan Army forces. While most Sri Lankan newspapers still report on major clashes or killings in the East, objective analysis of the situation by journalists living there rarely appears. Journalists self-censor out of fear of both the Tigers and the Army, compounded by the split between the Eastern-based Karuna faction of the LTTE and the Wanni LTTE in 2004. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) On May 9-10, Information Officer visited the Batticaloa area in conjunction with POL Officer. On May 9, citizens (likely urged on by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [LTTE]) organized a demonstration to protest the building of a new army check point in the area that our interlocutors thought was in violation of the Cease Fire Agreement. Security forces reportedly opened fire on the demonstrators, killing one and injuring nineteen others, including a Muslim journalist employed by the state-owned Rupavahini Television, who had come to report on the event. ¶3. (SBU) The Batticaloa Media Alliance, consisting of journalists from the government-owned Lakehouse Corperation as well as independent and freelance journalists, met IO at a guest house in Batticaloa on May 10. Correspondents from the government-owned Tinakaran newspaper and the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC),the mainstream Tamil daily Virakesari, the LTTE-sympathetic Thinakaral, the pro-LTTE Sudar Oli and the regional Muslim daily Ella Natham agreed that journalists in the Eastern Province could not report freely. They all nodded when asked if the concentrated presence of both the mainstream and Karuna factions of the LTTE in the area complicated matters of free speech, but none would verbally condemn either faction for restricting the media. All journalists from independent papers blamed the government, the army, and those allegedly in cahoots with the government for restricting the free press. (Later, a student from Eastern University asserted, "If I express a wrong opinion, I could be killed.") ¶4. (SBU) In subsequent conversations about the journalistic environment in the East, Colombo-based correspondents also expressed more difficulty getting stories from the region. One credible journalist who requested anonymity said: "It's no doubt more difficult to get independent stories from the East after the Prabhakaran-Karuna split, but in a sense it's always been more difficult from the East. As early as 2000, three or four Eastern journalists were given asylum in Western countries. Now, our non-media contacts, not just our local journalists, find it difficult to talk, but because we know the background, we generally know what they're saying between the lines." However, another Colombo- based journalist from the Sinhalese nationalist Island and Divaina newspapers, dismissing the fears of the journalists in the Eastern province, commented: "If journalists need security to report their stories, they can't be called journalists. They should be politicians." ¶5. (SBU) Comment: Journalists in general in Sri Lanka are not well trained. Moreover, most journalists in the East are sympathetic to Tamil grievances concerning discrimination. Thus, it is difficult under any circumstances to get objective reporting from the Eastern province. Nonetheless, the heavy presence in the area of cadres from both of the LTTE factions, along with frequent clashes with the security forces, undoubtedly intimidates some journalists and causes them to be more cautious in their reporting. End Comment. Lunstead