“While on one hand verbally urging Colombo to curb impunity in human rights, the international community on the other hand rationalises the impunity of state terrorism and illegitimate sovereignty of Sri Lanka in the island."
"India and the powers diluting the national question in the island as minority issue will never address the crisis in the island but will only contribute to the escalation of state terrorism in all its forms. Tissainayagam case is a classic example,” the journalist commented.
If unchecked, the dangerous experiment of powers in the island, setting an ugly precedence in contemporary history, is going to be a serious challenge to the free world, the journalist further said.
The sentence to Tissainayagam is seen in the Tamil circles as a response of Colombo to the leak of a video clip allegedly showing extra-judicial killings of Sri Lanka army. The video clip was released last Tuesday by a group of Sinhala and Tamil journalists called Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka.
Democracy in chains, JDS condemns Tissainayagam's verdict
[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 September 2009, 03:13 GMT]
Describing Sri Lanka as a country where "democracy [is] in chains," Journalists for Democracy (JDS), a Germany-based advocacy group consisting of a multi-racial members exiled from Sri Lanka, condemned the 20-year jail sentence as "flagrant violation of media freedom," and added that, "every political party that has been involved in the creation and perpetuation of the PTA [Prevention of Terrorism Act] is complicit in the judgment against Tissainayagam." Full text of the release follows:
Democracy in chains in Sri LankaJournalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka condemns the sentencing of journalist J.S. Tissainayagam to twenty years rigorous imprisonment under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) on August 31, 2009.
The sentence is based on a ‘confession’ that he has refuted and two articles written and published by him in 2006. The judgment also states that the two articles written by Tissainayagam that are the subject of this investigation contain material that causes ‘communal disharmony’, and this too is considered a basis for his sentence. Tissainayagam has never engaged in, or promoted, violence of any kind, and we have always known him to be committed to co-existence and inter-ethnic justice.
Since Tissainayagam was first taken into custody in March 2008, we have continuously appealed for his release on the basis that the allegations against him were unfounded. In addition, we protested against his conditions of detention and the failure to comply with minimum humanitarian standards including providing Tissainayagam with the medical treatment that he needs.
As a community of Sri Lankan journalists and media persons in exile, we express our solidarity with our colleague Tissa on this occasion and commit ourselves to appeal against this sentence and draw the attention of the world to this flagrant violation of the freedom of thought, opinion and expression in Sri Lanka.
In addition, having followed the developments in this case with grave concern, we wish to highlight the following issues with regard to the Prevention of Terrorism Act which defies principles of natural justice and is in violation of established human rights norms.
According to the judgment, writing or publishing any article that can be defined as being against the Prevention of Terrorism Act can merit a sentence of twenty years rigorous imprisonment under the terms of this Act. No journalist in Sri Lanka has ever received this type of sentence, which is a flagrant violation of media freedom. Thus, this judgment once again highlights the need to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act which violates human rights including the rights of the freedom of expression and opinion.
Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka consider this judgment to represent a critical turning point in terms of restriction of media freedom through the law in Sri Lanka. We call on all democratic forces in Sri Lanka and outside to take all possible steps to ensure a reversal of this decision.
We feel that initiating a campaign for the repeal of the PTA in Sri Lanka must be a first step in this direction. We call on all democratic nations that enter into bilateral agreements with the government of Sri Lanka and on all donors to ensure that the repeal of the PTA is placed high on their list of critical concerns in negotiations with the government.
We wish to point out that every political party that has been involved in the creation and perpetuation of the PTA is complicit in the judgment against Tissainayagam. We appeal to all political parties and organizations committed to democratic principles to come forward to build the broadest possible platform to challenge the PTA. The repeal of the PTA is essential if we are to move towards disarmament in Sri Lanka.
We commit ourselves to work for the release of Tissainayagam and his colleagues V.Jesiharan and Valarmathy in the interests of justice and peace in Sri Lanka.
[TamilNet, Monday, 31 August 2009, 23:42 GMT]
The sentence of 20-year rigorous imprisonment to J.S. Tissanayagam on Monday mark a sad day for journalists and those who believe in the ’freedom of expression’ all over the world, says Deputy Chairperson of Northeast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), K Sivapalan, an Atterney-at-Law from Trincomalee, in whose opinion this is an extra-judicial way to punish people. ”The provisions of the PTA are not in conformity with the International Criminal Law especially the ’confession’ being admitted in evidence agaist the accused and with regard to the burden of proof.UNHRC requested the GoSL to repeal or amend many of the provisions which were not in conformity. However this was not followed by them on the basis that it was an erosion of the sovereignty of Sri Lanka,” Mr. Sivapalan, now exiled in Norway, said. Full text of the statement by Lawyer Sivapalan follows:
K. Sivapalan
Today is a sad day for the journalists and those who believe in the ’freedom of expression’ all over the world. Journalist J.S.Tissanayagam, Editor of Northeastern Herald Monthly and the online magazine ’outreach.com , has bee found guilty under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) by the Colombo High Court and sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment.
This has come as a shock hot on the heels of the Video clipping published by the ’Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka’of the extra- judicial killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka during the war said to be by the Sri Lankan Army personnel.
Tissanayagam was not arrested on the basis of any ongoing investigation against him. He was arrested at the Police station when he went to find out as to why his Printers Jaseetharan and his wife Valarmathy were taken to the Police Station. It has been held in the case of , Pathmanathan-Vs-Officer-In-Charge of TID Vavuniya, by the Sri Lankan Courts, that it is wrong to arrest a person and then search for evidence to indict him. This seems to be exactly the case here.
Tissanayagam was indicted in Court after holding him in detention under the Emergency Regulations (EMR) /PTA for well over six months. It is pertinent to mention here that in many cases persons are detained without indicting them or releasing them for long period, upto 18 months using the powers under the EMR/PTA said to be on suspicion and are freed later when a Fundamental Rights Application is filed in the Supreme Court under Article 126 of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. This is used as an extra-judicial way to punish people.
Seldom one gets any ’redress’ from the government / Police as the applicants, who are often the kith and kin of the detained persons are satisfied once the detainee is released without any further action. Further in 99 percent of these cases the detainees are tortured in order to obtain a ’confession’ from them, which is admissible in evidence in cases filed under EMR/PTA.
The Members of the United Nations Human Rights Committee(UNHRC) in the matter of Nallaratnam Singarasa on a communication by him against the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) expressed the view that many of the provisions of the PTA are not in conformity with the International Criminal Law especially the ’confession’ being admitted in evidence agaist the accused and with regard to the burden of proof.UNHRC requested the GOSL to repeal or amend many of the provisions which were not in conformity.
However this was not followed by them on the basis that it was an erosion of the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. Later on an application filed on behalf of Nallaratnam Singarasa, in the Supreme Court, S.C.Spl (L.A) No: 182/99,the then Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, Sarath N de Silva held that the accession to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which enabled individuals from Sri Lanka to take their cases to the UNHRC was in itself in excess of the powers conferred on the President of Sri Lanka under Article 33 (f)of the Constitution. That was the end of the matter.
In the case of Mariyadas, on an appeal, Learned Justice Hector Seneviratne Yapa held that the standard of proof required of an accused in a Preliminary Inquiry (Voire Dire Examination) held to decide upon the admissibility of the so called confession of the accused is lesser than ,’beyond all reasonable doubt’ expected of a prosecution in a criminal case. Mere doubt created in the mind of the Judge as to whether ’confession’ was voluntary, was enough in order not to admit the so called confession in evidence.
It would seem that this has not been followed in this case against Tissanayagam. Further, it is to be noted that Tissa has been assisting the Sinhala suspects belonging to JVP when they were being viciously targeted and killed by the S.L.Army and police. What he has written in the columns of Northeastern Herald Monthly was not considered to be material fit enough to bring disharmony between the communities for a very long time but was culled out now in order to find something to indict him.
In the same vein the poisonous racism spit out by many of the Sinhla politicians in their speeches would entail all of them to be found guilty if brought before court for creating disharmony between the communities.
In any event ’rigorous imprisonment’ is something for murderers and hardcore criminals and certainly not for journalists of the like of Tissainayagam without previous conviction of any sort.
Leader of an Independent group contesting the Jaffna Municipality Elections recently said in an Interview that people in Jaffna open their mouths only to eat.
With this sentence meted out to Tissanayagam only people of the calibre of Lasantha Wickramatunga may venture to put their pen to paper. In fact those who brought this prosecution against Tissainayagam might have put to rest freedom of the press and democracy in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
ஊடகவியலாளர் திஸ்ஸநாயகத்துக்கு துணிவான, நீதியொழுக்கமுள்ள ஊடகத்துறைக்கான பீற்றர் மக்லர் விருதும், சர்வதேச ஊடக சுதந்திரத்திற்கான விருதும் கிடைத்துள்ளது.
இதேவேளை ஊடகவியலாளர்களைப் பாதுகாப்பதற்கான அமைப்பு என்கின்ற சர்வதேச ஊடக அமைப்பு ஊடகவியலாளர் திஸநாயகத்திற்கு 2009ஆம் ஆண்டின் சர்வதேச ஊடக சுதந்திரத்திற்கான விருதைத் தாம் வழங்குவதாகவும் நேற்று அறிவித்துள்ளது. இந்த விருதானது வரும் நவம்பர் மாதம் வழங்கப்படும்.
கடந்த 2008 ஆம் ஆண்டு மார்ச் மாதம் 6 ஆம் திகதியிலிருந்து, பயங்கரவாதத் தடுப்புப் பிரிவினால் திஸ்ஸநாயகம் மொத்தமாக 425 நாட்கள் தடுத்து வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. இந்த வழக்கின் தீர்ர்பு இன்று திங்கட்கிழமை கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.
(மே 3 இல் இச்செய்தி வெளியிடப் பெற்று இக்குறிப்பும் இடம் பெற்றிருந்தது. இப்பொழுது அதே செய்தியை மே 4 இல் வெளியிடுவதாகக் குறிப்பிட்டு இக் கருத்து நீக்கப்பட்டுள்ளனது ஏன்? தினமணிக்கு என்னவாயிற்று?)
அன்புடன் இலக்குவனார் திருவள்ளுவன்
5/5/2010 4:36:00 AM