By IANS
Brussels : The International News Safety Institute (INSI) has protested against a Sri Lanka Army official’s labelling of some journalists as traitors and urged the government to take steps to ensure the safety of all media persons working in the country.
In a Jan 2 interview with state-controlled daily Dinamina, Sri Lanka Army Commander Major General Sarath Fonseka reportedly said that the media’s “treachery” was hampering the military’s fight against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and added that “we have a small number of traitors amongst the journalists”.
The statement followed an attack by the Sri Lankan Air Force on the official LTTE radio station last November, which killed at least three editorial staff.
“These words can only reflect and encourage more hostility against journalists. We hope and pray they do not foreshadow more attacks,” INSI director Rodney Pinder said Wdnesday.
He added: “I would remind General Fonseka that freedom of expression is a basic human right and it is the job of journalists to report the views of all sections of society and all sides in a conflict. Journalists in conflict zones are protected as civilians under the Geneva Convention.”
UN Security Council Resolution 1738 additionally urges all parties in situations of armed conflict to respect the professional independence and rights of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel, he pointed out.
“We urge the government of Sri Lanka to take a stand for freedom of expression and guarantee the safety of journalists,” Pinder added.
The journalist safety organisation said the plight of media persons in Sri Lanka was of increasing concern. Six news media staff died there in 2007, making the country one of the most dangerous in the world in a year in which a record 171 news media personnel died. Others had been reportedly subjected to death threats and other forms of intimidation.
INSI’s global survey of news media casualties since 1996 places Sri Lanka 14th out of more than 70 countries where journalists died trying to do their jobs.
INSI is a coalition of news organisations, journalist support groups and individuals dedicated to the safety of news media staff working in dangerous environments.