SRI LANKA: TAMIL JOURNALISTS DETAINED FOR ALLEGED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000280 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PTER PREL CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: TAMIL JOURNALISTS DETAINED FOR ALLEGED LINKS TO LTTE REF: COLOMBO 144 Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: J.S. Tissainayagam, a columnist for the Sunday Times, and two other journalists were arrested on March 7 by the Sri Lanka Police's Terrorism Investigation Division. Police also arrested B. Jasikaran, owner of the printing press that prints the Tamil weekly Sarinihar, his business partner and a video cameraman. The Sri Lankan authorities are reportedly investigating whether the two journalists received funding for their news website OutreachSL from the LTTE. International media watchgroups Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have expressed concern over these recent arrests, the latest incidents contributing to a deterioration in Sri Lanka's media freedom environment (reftel). Tissainayagam's family have put forward the theory that he is being harassed for authoring articles critical of the government, most recently a column debunking the GSL's response to the UN working group on child soldiers. Ambassador called Minister for Human Rights Samarasinghe to register the Embassy's concern about Tissainayagam's detention. End Summary. ¶2. (C) J.S. Tissainayagam, a columnist for the Sunday Times, and two other journalists were arrested on March 7 by the Sri Lanka Police's Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) and are reportedly being held on 30-day detention orders. S. Sivakumar, editor of the Tamil weekly Sarinihar and spokesman for the Free Media Movement, was questioned and released later the same night. Police have confirmed the arrests, but have not made public the reason for the detentions. Police earlier arrested B. Jasikaran, owner of the printing press that prints Sarinihar, and his business partner. A video cameraman associated with Tissainayagam was arrested on March ¶8. All remain in custody and have reportedly been denied access to legal counsel. ¶3. (C) Tissainayagam and Jasikaran, both advocates of Tamil self-determination within Sri Lanka, were involved in running a news website called Outreach SL (outreachsl.com). OutreachSL received 12,000 euros in November 2007 from the Facilitating Local Initiatives for Conflict Transformation (FLICT) foundation, which is funded by Germany and the UK. Contacts in the GSL, however, say government authorities suspect that the two journalists received funding for OutreachSL from the LTTE. (Note: Post is not aware of any evidence that supports this allegation.) ¶4. (U) International media watchgroups Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have expressed concern over these recent arrests. RSF issued a statement saying that "the anti-terrorist police squad are accusing these journalists of receiving money from the Tamil Tiger rebels, but after investigating the matter we could confirm that the funds in question came from a German foundation and from Tamil exiles." IFJ has called on the Government to "comply with international human rights and legal instruments" to ensure the protection of the rights of journalists. ¶5. (C) Tissainayagam's wife has been able to visit him twice, on March 8 and 13, and says he does not show signs of physical abuse. She told PolChief that she filed a fundamental rights petition on her husband's behalf on March 17, claiming that he has been inhumanely treated and not allowed to access to his attorney. The Supreme Court will hear the case on March 19. She said that during her two brief visits, which were supervised by the investigating TID officer in the case, Tissainayagam told her he was worried for his life and for hers. Pol Chief also spoke to an American citizen who is married to Tissainayagam's wife's sister, and Ambassador has responded to an e-mail inquiry COLOMBO 00000280 002 OF 002 from a cousin of Tissainayagam's in the U.S., who have all expressed deep concern for their relatives' well-being. ¶6. (C) Tissainayagam's wife told PolChief that no official charges have been brought against her husband. Investigators have reportedly told Tissainayagam that Jasikaran confessed to terrorism charges and implicated him as well. So far, they have questioned him on travel to the LTTE-held Vanni (his most recent trip was in 2004, according to his wife), contact with sources in the Vanni, possible work for the pro-LTTE website Tamilnet, his sources of funding for OutreachSL, and pictures of Prabhakaran they allegedly found on his computer. Police have said the detention is dragging on because of the lengthy process of translating and analyzing the material on his and Jasikaran's computers. According to the Deputy Editor of the Nation, Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa said Tissainayagam would be SIPDIS released once the questioning was complete. Gothabaya indicated that Tissainayagam was suspected of having connections to Tamilnet and recently arrested Singaporean businessman Muttusamy Illangovan. Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa told the Editor of the Nation, however, that the GSL planned to press charges against Tissainayagam. ¶7. (C) Tissainayagam's wife suspects that her husband has been detained and harassed because of his writing. In January, Tissainayagam's editor told him he should "cool off" for a while since the government was "watching" him. Tissainayagam waited two weeks before continuing to write. On February 24, he wrote an article for the Sunday Times entitled "Child Soldiers: What the Government Report Did Not Report," which countered the government's defense at the UN General Assembly Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict on the issue of child soldiers. After the article was published, lawyers from the Ministry of Human Rights and Disaster Management called the Sunday Times asking for his personal contact information. A week later, police visited his office building. A week after that, the arrests were made. She noted that Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe visited Tissainayagam in prison on March 7 and asked him about the article on child soldiers. ¶8. (C) Minister Samarasinghe told Ambassador on March 18 that he had visited Tissainayagam and talked with him without the presence of the police. Samarasinghe said Tissainayagam confirmed he was being treated well and asked why he was being detained. Samarasinghe told him he did not know. Samarasinghe said he asked the TID to continue to treat Tissainayagam well and to proceed quickly with the investigation. Samarasinghe added that no charges had been made against Tissainayagam, but that his name had "come up in connection with activities prohibited under the law." He declined to explain further. Ambassador urged that Tissainayagam either be charged or released as his continued detention without charge is seen by international observers as a media freedom issue. Samarasinghe said that he is pushing for a quick end to the investigation. ¶9. (C) COMMENT: These recent arrests are the latest incidents contributing to a decline in Sri Lanka's media freedom environment (reftel). Tamil media have long been severely harassed in Jaffna, and several Tamil journalists have been killed, but this marks an escalation of harassment for Colombo-based Tamil journalists. The Australian High Commission delivered a letter on the Tissainayagam case to the Inspector General of Police on March 17 on behalf of Tissainayagam's brother, an Australian citizen, and the British High Commission has told us it may also intercede. Tissainayagam, a two-time participant in the International Visitor program, has worked on the Track 1.5 One-Text Initiative since 2004. Post will report further developments septel. BLAKE