Restrictions on Media
"Why don't you write about the Sri Lankan conflict again in your blog ?"
I have been asked this question many times since my return from Sri Lanka about a week ago. The answer is pretty clear...the restrictions imposed by the Sri Lankan army and the government have made impartial reporting impossible.
Reports that have been filed featuring interviews with members of the reportedly pro-Tamil Tigers' parliamentary grouping the Tamil National Alliance or using footage from rebel held territories are seen as "anti-military." This despite the fact that they also featured interviews with government ministers and army officials.
I have been told I will not be issued a fresh visa unless I explain my previous reports to the Sri Lankan ministry of defense by submitting details of my reports to them through the foreign ministry.
In my 15 year career as a journalist, I have reported from over a dozen countries world wide. I have never faced such a situation.
I have been reporting the conflict in Sri Lanka since 1999... government controls and restrictions on the media applicable now are the toughest I have even seen.
The Sri Lankan establishment is happiest when foreign journalists limit their reports to briefings given by divisional commanders or the military spokesman during guided tours. They are expected to tow the government line..I am amazed by how many do so without asking any questions.
Sri Lankan journalists have to contend with more than just the displeasure or snub of foreign, defense ministry, and military officials. Killings and beating of local journalists have now become routine. The wide coverage given to these incidents in the Sri Lankan and international media seems to have done little to check the faceless attackers who continue to attack with impunity.
The various police commissions set up by the president's office have not been able to gather much leads into these attacks...probably they are looking at the wrong place. Some say they are not looking at all.
I will, over the next few weeks, seek to write a series of articles here on the current situation in Sri Lanka. I start with the two pictures that describe best the current situation on the island.
( Photo 1: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse with troops in Vakarai;
A civilians being carried to a medical facility after being injured in Shell fire in a rebel held enclave in Mullaithivu district)
