From: "Suman Basnet" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:55:47 +0545
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Subject: [Asiapacific-general] FW: Only 'community' radio in Sri
Lanka bombed by SL Air Force
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From: Nalaka Gunawardene [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 6:08 AM
Subject: Only 'community' radio in Sri Lanka bombed by SL Air Force
Dear colleague in media,
By now, you might have heard of the Sri Lanka Air Force bombing and
damaging the Tamil Tiger radio station, Voice of Tigers, which has been
strongly condemned by media freedom groups (see statement below from
International Federation of Journalists).
There is another dimension here. In a country where community
ownership and operation of radio has been persistently denied for
nearly 15 years under several governments, Voice of Tigers is the one
radio station that comes closest in Sri Lanka to the international
definition of community radio.
It certainly does far better than the wholly state-owned SLBC's
so-called 'community radio' channels!
Writing in October 2003 for Panos Features, I said:
"A globally persistent myth holds that community radio has been
thriving in Sri Lanka for two decades. In reality, all we have is
rural transmissions of SLBC masquerading as 'community radio'. For
sure, the stations are located in remote areas, involve local people
in programme production
and broadcast to a predominantly agrarian audience. But listeners
have no say in running the stations that are managed by a tight
bureaucracy in the capital Colombo, and whose rigid guidelines
control content: strictly no politics, and nothing remotely against
the government in office.
"This is not what the rest of the world calls community radio. AMARC,
the international community radio association based in Montreal,
Canada, defines community radio as being non-profit making, with the
community both participating and managing the station, with complete
control over content. Community radio is characterised by access,
public participation in production and decision-making and by
listener-financing.
"This has never been the case in Sri Lanka. Ironically, only armed
rebels have challenged this stranglehold by running clandestine
channels. The Marxist People's Liberation Front ran Rana Handa (Sound
of Victory) in the 1980s when it was spearheading a youth insurgency.
Later they rejoined the democratic process, entered Parliament and
abandoned their adventures in broadcasting. The Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) - now talking peace with the government after two
decades of war - ran Voice of Tigers which made a mockery of
Colombo's broadcast regulations. In November 2002, the government
granted a license for LTTE to continue its broadcasts legally, a move
that has since been contested in courts by other citizen groups."
See full feature at:
http://www.panos.org.uk/newsfeatures/featuredetails.asp?id=1160
Thus, it would seem that the Air Force has bombed and damaged the
country's only citizen operated radio station. We may or may not
agree with the politics of Tamil Tigers, but I believe we must
recognise their right to operate a government-licensed legitimate
radio station without military attack on its journalists and other
unarmed civilian staff.
Please pass this around, and encourage people to discuss this concern.
Thank you.
Nalaka Gunawardene
Myth-buster on Sri Lankan 'community radio'
23 October 2006
Air Force bombing of LTTE radio station leaves two injured; IFJ
denounces attack
SOURCE: International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Brussels
**For further information on IFJ's condemnation of the 1999 NATO
strike on Radio Television Serbia, see IFEX alerts of 23, 13 and 9
April 1999 and others**
(IFJ/IFEX) - The following is an IFJ media release:
IFJ denounces bombing of Voice of Tigers in Sri Lanka
The International Federation of Journalists has condemned the bombing
of the official radio station of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE), the Voice of Tigers (VOT), by the Sri Lankan Air Force in
Killinochch, an LTTE-held town in Northern Sri Lanka on October 17.
According to IFJ affiliate, the Free Media Movement (FMM), the attack
destroyed the broadcasting towers of the VOT and injured two workers.
"While the IFJ does not endorse or support the views of any
particular media organisation, we maintain that all media should be
treated as non-combatants and we strongly denounce the bombing of the
VOT," IFJ President Christopher Warren said.
The Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) of the government
reportedly said that although the VOT radio tower was not directly
targeted, it could have been damaged during air attacks on other LTTE
targets.
"An attack on a media outlet, regardless of viewpoint, is an attack
on freedom of speech and a serious violation of international law,"
Warren said.
"The journalists at the VOT are unarmed citizens and thus should not
be considered military targets under any circumstances," he said.
"The IFJ reminds the Sri Lankan government of their absolute
obligation under the Geneva Convention to respect the safety of
journalists."
The rights of journalists in conflict zones are defined in Article 79
of Protocol Additional to the Geneva Convention, which says that
journalists must be treated as civilians and non-combatants.
"This violent attempt to silence the media has endangered the lives
of media workers and the IFJ sincerely hopes this does not set a
terrible precedent for further targeted attacks on media outlets in
Sri Lanka," the IFJ president said.
"The bombing of a media outlet, irrespective of whether it is
initiated by the government or the LTTE, will result in the further
destruction of media freedom and freedom of expression in Sri Lanka,"
Warren said.
The IFJ has consistently protested the targeting of media in times of
conflict since the 1999 NATO strike on Radio Television Serbia in
Belgrade, when 16 media staff were killed.
The IFJ represents over 500,000 journalists in more than 115 countries.
For further information, contact IFJ Asia-Pacific, tel: +61 2 9333
0919, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED], or the IFJ, International Press Centre,
Residence Palace, Block C, 155 Rue de la Loi, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium,
tel: +322 235 2200 or +322 235 2207, fax: +322 235 2219, e-mail:
[EMAIL PROTECTED], Internet: http://www.ifj.org/
The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of
IFJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please
credit IFJ.
_________________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
555 Richmond St. West, # 1101, PO Box 407
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 3B1
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] general e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
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