Excerpted from a parliamentary speech made by Mr. Eran Wickremaratne
( June 9, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The judiciary and the media are two very important institutions which help us to protect our freedoms. Unfortunately, when we think about the judiciary today and its subjugation to the Executive, the more recent history of the irregular and unethical removal of the Chief Justice and also the appointment of members of the executive to the judiciary are all a part of our unfortunate history. However, media, though somewhat frightened and weakened, is still the fourth estate of this Republic. Today we have an opportunity to actually speak on its behalf.
I see the activation of the Press Council Bill and also the attempt to bring in a Code of Ethics for Journalists as dangerous and to be viewed with suspicion. I have reasons for saying this. I would say that even some Ministers of the Government are actually not completely responsible for the instruments that are used to execute the plan guiding Sri Lanka to use a term with reference to in Indonesia’s ‘guided democracy’, a euphemism, moving in the direction of more and more of a totalitarianism.
Now if you look at history, I have reasons to say this. If I look at the World Press Freedom Index 2013 made by Reporters Without Borders, Sri Lanka is ranked 162 out of 179. People could contest any index and I would invite you to contest the Index subsequently, but I have to refer to these because otherwise it will be like, we set the examination paper; we marked the paper and we considered ourselves good, but we have to get others to actually mark our paper which is internationally marked and then decide whether our performance is good or bad. In the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Index of 2013, which is another index, Sri Lanka ranks fourth from the bottom and only Iraq, Somalia and the Philippines ranked worse. The Committee to Protect Journalists say, I quote:
"But four years after the end of the nation’s long civil war, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration has shown no interest in pursuing the perpetrators in nine journalist murders over the past decade. All of the victims had reported on politically sensitive issues in ways that were critical of the Rajapaksa government."
Today, we heard the news that one court in this country has upheld a murder conviction against a politician. Even though we make no comment on the case itself as we do not know the facts of the case, it is interesting to note that a politician has actually been convicted.
"The Freedom of the Press 2013" published by the Freedom House, ranks Sri Lanka 164th out of 196 nations and the status given is, "Not free".
The Committee to Protect Journalists - CPJ - says that 13 journalists have been killed since 2005. That is one of the worst records of impunity. Impunity here is defined as "unresolved murders as a percentage of the population of that particular country" and Sri Lanka has been ranked fourth in that.
Then, according to "Journalists in Exile", there are, at least, 23 journalists in exile.
So, that is the reason why we are having this debate today and talking about the necessity to continuously fight for the freedom of the media and the freedom of the press.
The Press Council Bill was first introduced in 1973, in the time of the 1970-77 Government, soon after the takeover of the Lake House and "Dawasa." It was in that background that this Bill was introduced.
Today, there were references made to many Parliamentarians here and the press or the media that they own. There was also a reference made to the illustrious Wijewardena family and also to the Uthayan Newspaper that is being singled out by the Daily News. Actually, it is more than a matter as to who owns the newspaper. We are talking about the freedom of journalists. Anybody could own it. In every country, even in Western countries, different vested interests own the press, but it is clear as to which particular person owns it and which particular overall stance that the particular media institution will take. The public can filter and decide after they have an array of views as to which view that they want to subscribe to.
Then, I would like to say something about the attack on the Editor and the Deputy Editors of the Uthayan Newspaper. I am not holding the Minister of Mass Media and Information responsible for this. But, I am certainly holding the Board of the Daily News and its Chairman responsible for this. The Hon. Minister of Mass Media and Information could take note of the fact that it is the Government media that first needs to have a code of ethics than having a general code of ethics.
In 2002, the UNF Government led by the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, was able to repeal the Criminal Defamation Provisions in the Penal Code and the Press Council Law in 2002 including the repeal of Section 118 of the Penal Code. -[Interruption.] The establishment of the Sri Lanka Press Institute, the Press Complaints Commission and the Sri Lanka College of Journalism were welcome developments. But, very little has happened since then to improve the press freedom and the citizens’ right to information.
Restrictions are needed and in every country there are restrictions. But, these restrictions should be confined to the exceptions permitted under Section 3 of Article 19 of the ICCPR, which specifically refers to the respect of the rights or reputation of others, and secondly for the protection of national security, public order, public health and public morals. That is the restriction. In time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation, the existence is officially proclaimed and then there is a necessity for restriction.
Such measures however must not be inconsistent with International Law. We live in a globalized world; we live in a world which gets instant information; we live in a world in which we are born in one country, we study in another country, we work in another country. We are also very important part of the global community. Therefore, we cannot ignore in anyway our responsibilities to the universal family.
As we talk of the press freedom, one important thing in press freedom is the right to information. Sri Lanka is the only country in South Asia - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan included - every country in South Asia has a right to information or a freedom of information Act. Sri Lanka does not have such an Act and it becomes the exception.
The rights that citizens of Scandinavia have enjoyed for more than a hundred years is denied to the citizens of this country. Right to information is needed because of the principles of transparency and open government. So, I would like to say this. I would like to say that the Government’s attempt to bring in a Code of Ethics for the media has to be looked with suspicion, because when you have a State controlled media as at present, there is defamation, slander, baseless reporting, adopted by the media. Why is not the Government self-regulating its own media at present without attempting to bring a Code of Ethics which will inevitably control only the private media?
The media’s problem is not that there is too much freedom. The country ranks as I said earlier near the bottom in terms of press freedom the world over. What is the moral basis on which this Government is contemplating to further control press freedom? I think what they should do is actually get out of the way of the free media. Stop leaning on editors and publishers. Stop buying newspapers and TV channels indirectly or directly, self-regulation is necessary. The Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka was set up more than ten years ago. The Editors’ Guild, the Sri Lanka Press Institute - they have undertaken to ensure that the newspapers abide by certain criteria and standards. The PCCL guidelines are on the web-site. And the fraternity needs to take responsibility in protecting the rights of every individual. A supplicant judiciary will ensure that the State media is insulated from the danger of laws while the independent media will report with the sword of damocles over its head. A free press and independent judiciary are enemies of totalitarianism. The attempt at subjugating these two vital democratic organs offers the best clues of the future direction of this Government.
 The judiciary and...){kind=link}