THE  UNICEF funded Mine Risk Education  Road Show, implemented by Internews  for the three Northern districts of Vavuniya, Maulaitivu and Killinochchi was successfully completed from end June to early Sept, having reached a total of 5250 persons( 2081 adults( M 967 F 1114) and 3169 children & students),  in 61 sessions  in 40 days.

In December, 2009, Internews launched a new program for Mine Risk Education (MRE) in partnership with UNICEF. The program supported  the safe return of people displaced by armed conflict in the North of Sri Lanka. CalledKannivedi Kavanam! in Tamil, Internews MRE program’s objective is to help reduce the risk of injury from mines and unexploded ordnance among IDPs, returnees and communities in the north by raising awareness and promoting behavioral change

The recently concluded Road Show visited communities and delivered life-saving information on landmines and unexploded ordinances through short films, discussions and presentations. Internews partnered with local organizations Community Trust Fund (CTF), Sarvodaya, and Rural Development Foundation (RDF) and  Humanitarian Demining Unit(HDU),  to inform local communities across the Vanni region of the north about the dangers of landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW)

Internews has also pioneered a new interactive electronic training approach  in Sri Lanka by delivering MRE information through a computer game in Tamil  to be  played by children in each mine-affected area

Slogan:  “Rally to Safeguard Media Freedom”,

The 5^th Delegates Conference of the Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions (FMETU) was held on 11^th September 2010 at Hotel Janaki, Colombo, Sri Lanka, with the participation of around 150 provincial Journalists from all over the country, representing their affiliated Trade Unions and district media organizations. These district Trade unions were established with the support of Internews.

They represented following  mainstram state owned media organizations.

Lake House employee’s Union,

Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation Journalists Union,

Independent Television Network  technical Offices Union,

There were  also participants from each of the following district organizations .

Puthathalama District Journalists Union, Polonnaruwa District Journalists Union, Hambantota District Journalists Union, Matara District Journalists Union, Kurunegala District Journalists Union, Ampara District Journalists Union, Galle District Journalists Union.

There were a number of participants who were present at the conference as observers from the following districts.

Jafna, Mannar, Vaunia, Trincomali, Batticallow, Kegalle, Kandy, Monaragala, Colombo, Kalutara, Nuwaraeliya,

Ms Shamini Boyle , Ms Hana Ibrahim, Mr N. M. Ameen, M Muzamil, and W Wincent also took part in the conference representing the following organizations.

South Asia Free Media Association,

Muslim Media Forum,

Tamil Media Alliance,

The conference was programmed in four sessions

1st Session:

Mr Dharmasiri Lankapeli, the General Secretary of FMETU, Pathma Kankanamge from Puttalam Journalist Union, and W. Parameshwaram from Jafna Journalist Organization presided at the inaugural session.

To ceremonially inaugurate the session the invited guests,  Hon Dew Gunasekara, the Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Affaires, Lakshman Kiriella, UNP MP for Kandy District, Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne the party leader of Left Liberation Front, Dharmasiri Lankapeli, General Secretary of FMETU, S.Viwekaraja from Mannar Journalists Organization, Manique Mendis from Internews and Sharmini Boyle representing SAFMA illuminated the oil lamp.

Dharmasiri Lankapeli General secretary, FMETU

In his welcome speech, Mr Dharmasiri Lankapeli highlighted the importance of journalists  uniting as a strong group, capable of addressing problems faced by journalists throughout the country, such as  safety and security concerns, lack of media freedom, disrespect for labour laws  etc. He also mentioned the need for finding solutions for these issues within the journalistic community itself. He thanked Internews for supporting journalists in Sri Lanka  over the last few years and for having extended support for this gathering.

Dew Gunasekara, Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Affaires

Addressing the conference, Minister Gunesekara  pointed out the fact that media  is similar to any business. Thus the state media is run in accordance with  norms of the government and the private media works  on their personal agendas. In such a situation free and independent media becomes a myth.   He stated that on the other hand, the  state media is bound by certain responsibilities  and controls, while private media uses its maximum freedom.  He stated that It is a fact that only 4 percent of the net profit of these private media institutes that  is divided among media workers as wages. Journalists should take action and questions these issues.

Lakshman Kiriella UNP MP for the  Kandy District

Addressing the gathering, Mr Kiriella  explained about the significance of free media and democracy in the development of a country. Media freedom is a must to unearth rat holes in the system. Limited democracy also limits growth of a nation. He also pointed out the fact that the public expected a positive change in the system of governance and media freedom as the war came to an end last year. He concluded his speech  by urging the importance for journalists to unite towards   a change.

Mr.Parameshwaran of the Jaffna Journalists Association, presented  a message from  the President of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) JIM BOUMELHA

“I write on behalf of the International Federation of Journalists and our member unions in 130 countries around the world to congratulate delegates of  FMETU on your 5^th congress.

We are very proud of the commitment of your members to the cause of journalism and the work that your Federation has done over the past 12 years in the defense of the safety and social rights of Sri Lankan journalists and media workers.

Being a journalist today is full of risk. As well as being targets of physical attacks, we are subject to more undue political influence, more surveillance, and more restrictions than ever before. Our freedom of expression is also under attack resulting in widespread censorship resulting in many of our members being harassed, attacked, kidnapped or imprisoned.”

Deputy Country  Director of Internews, Manique Mendis

Ms Mendis addressed the gathering,  stating that as someone who started her career  as a journalist, she would like to emphasize on the potential of journalists  in Sri Lanka  to become strong as a group and  move forward without being dependent always on foreign aid. She stated that she was happy that Internews had supported Sri Lankan Journalists for so many years.  As Internews was concluding it’s current phase of support to  Sri lanka, it was pleased to support this gathering which brought together journalists from all over the country to unite in the common goal towards professional development .

The General Secretary responded by stating that  FMETU believes that in such an atmosphere where Internews is to leave Sri Lanka ,  the support given by them throughout the program was highly  impressive.

Linus  Jayathilaka,  President of United Federation Of Labour

Pointed out the role of a journalist  and stated that the journalist was  one of the most important   members of  an active labour force. He also urged the importance of addressing problems of journalists through a  collective social movement without framing them within trade unions.

Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne – Leader of the Left Liberation Front

One important question that he raised was about the purpose of heading towards a monarchy, whether is to attract more foreign aid or to ensure the rights of the citizens. He also emphasized the responsibility of government to secure the lives of journalists. He suggested that an insurance scheme would address this to a certain extent.

2^nd session: “Media Law and Challenges faced by journalists and civil society activists”

Conducted Ms  Nimalka Fernando, eminent  lawyer and human rights activist

Ms Fernando  began her speech by commenting on the gender imbalance of the audience which was dominated by males.  She mentioned that the audience at this gathering bore testimony to the fact that the  active participation of women in the media sector in Sri Lanka was   less. She also spoke about media laws and the responsibility of the civil society. It is internationally accepted that the right to information  is a basic human right.  Therefore journalists should have  the right to report the truth to the public. If this right is disturbed,  the general public should also question it,  as this  is not only a right of journalists, it is a right for society in general.     Answering  a question  that a journalist raised whether they can  fight for human rights through media trade unions,  she said it is possible according to her opinion and that is not something against the  government.  She further described that it is an iconic feature of a democratic country.

She also stressed  the importance of reducing the  information gap between those who are aware of  what’s going on and  the general public. She stated that the media has a huge role to play in this context.

3^rd session

Establishment of a provincial journalists’ network throughout the country.

Ranjith Gamage representing LHEU, W. Chandrapala representing Hambantota Journalists Union and General Secretary of FMETU, Dharmasiri Lankapeli presided at this session. .

The aim of this 3^rd session was to discuss about establishing a provincial journalists’ network throughout the country.

The General Secretary started this session by  presenting  the Secretary’s  report to the audience. In his speech he emphasized the fact that the only way out of the  problems  is to get united as trade unions. Excessive dedication, commitment and feeling for others is a must in this regard. Therefore the already established provincial trade unions must encourage others to join the network.

A lively discussion followed with suggestions, opinions and proposals where the participants were able to clear their doubts about the registration as trade unions.

The 4^th session

“Media rights, ethics and Journalists Safety”

By Journalist Kamal Liyanrachchi,  Chief Executive Officer,

Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka

Mr Liyanarachchi pointed out that in a competitive reporting environment journalists can be more  effective and wield greater power by working in accordance with  journalistic ethics and responsibilities. He stated that he was   glad to see many journalists from all over the country united to work collectively for their professional development.  He discussed at length about the prevailing risks to the safety and security of journalists and stated that it was important for journalists to be united in the face of such challenges.

As the programme concluded, the participants left for their homes in all parts of the country with new energy and motivation to adhere to better standards of professionalism and work in  unity to safeguard their rights and professional credibility.

Following the event, articles on this conference were published in  several newspapers highlighting the importance of such a gathering of Journalists.

Trincomalee Journalists who have been challenged by the brutal forces of war for several decades are seeing new light and enjoying new opportunities for professional development. These opportunities are offered by the Trincomalee Media House.

The Trincomalee Journalists were exposed to modern communication techniques with the Digital Media Training conducted on  4^th and 5^th of September, 2010 at the Trincomalee Media House training centre.

The trainers were led by Mr. Amantha Perera, a leading journalism trainer and foreign correspondent.

Mr C.Sivarasasegaram, Manager, Trincomalee Media House elaborating on this p rogramme stated as follows:

“  It was an excellent opportunity for the local journalists to follow  this training which was  sponsored and organized by the Trincomalee Media House in collaboration with Internews.   If the journalists are to undergo   training of this caliber by themselves or individually, they will  have a spend a lot of money and time.  This type of training is not available in  the Trincomalee District and they have to go to Colombo or elsewhere”.

Mr C.Sivarasasegaram went on to say that the impact of the training could be witnessed immediately after the training.  As soon as the training was over, the journalists started to work on Twitter, Blog and Wordpress. These  channels are important to the journalists to be more professional. With this ability they  can compete with their counterparts in Colombo or internationally.  This course has  upgraded their professionalism and they are happy to avail this facilities.  Now the journalists are able to create their own  blog  sites and  are using them.

Now, many of the journalists are using twitter, flicker, wordpress, youtube and videopress.

The Trincomalee Media House staff stated that it was   an amazing improvement on the part of the journalists  since they  picked up the cyber technology within a  couple of days and are now able to manipulate.

Uploading and downloading the video, images or photographs  is made  easy through this technology.

Following the success of this initial  training,  The Trincomalee Media House IT Officer,  plans to conduct internally further training  on the same lines, to equip  all the journalists in the Trincomalee District to successfully use  modern technology.

60 professionals  from the Triomalee districts including police officers and journalists attended.  The key representatives from the Poice Department were,  Mr. Charitha A.B. Jayasundara, Head Quarters Chief Inspector Trincomalee, Mr. Nimal Sripala, Officer- In-Charge of Uppuveli Police Station, and Mr. Priyantha Jayakody, Police Officer in charge of the Media .

Mr. Siva Chellappah, Manager Trincomalee District Media House welcoming the participants, pointed out that the Police duty and Journalists duty are  similar when it comes to serving and co-ordinating with the public. Once the Police officers receive a message,  they rush to the accident scene or any other crime scenes without delay. Similarly  the journalists present themselves on the spot to collect the news and send the news  to their media institutions  immediately Therefore,  the police and the media people should work together and create a better understanding among themselves to serve the public more effectively. He stated that the Trincomalee Media House provided an excellent information  and communication system for the co-existence among various professionals and citizen of all communities.  This way conflicts can be averted and friendship and relationship can be improved among the communities.

The Police Media staff spoke about the constraints  they faced in disseminating  news to the media.  All the news they are releasing  to the reporters be first cleared   by the top brass. Due to this, some times there are chances of delay in releasing  news stories  to the reporters.

The journalists elaborated on many problems faced by themselves and other citizens due to misunderstandings with the police. The Police representatives gave a patient hearing and cleared many areas for such misunderstanding .   Finally good understanding was established between the Police and the media and a mechanism to continue dialogue and communication was set up.

Dr. A.L.A. Gafoor, former district judge and  Lecturer of Faculty of Law, University of Colombo led the forum discussion. The East Media House Director, Mr Shadath,  moderated the discussion.

During the  discussion some focal questions were examined:   why , what , how and to whom the  constitution is  changed  and how the fundamental rights aspects and provisions  can  be included  to ensure the smooth operation of government mechanism  to ensure the rights of the people.

The agenda of the forum discussion also featured the replay of three segments to inform the Tamil speaking people of this country about  the perspective and opinion of  the Sinhala community on  the ongoing discussions  on  the process of constitutional changing.

The three radio programmes were  produced from the outcome of Sinhala medium forum discussion held on 11^th of July 2010 . By listening to these radio productions, Muslim and Tamil community participants  got an opportunity to understand the stand of  the Sinhala community on this issue.

During the discussion, the participants requested the Government and opposition to discuss with the citizens  of this country about the  contents of the constitution. Hence most of the participants expressed their opinion about the Post-war and the constitutional making process and maintained that this should be carried out  with sensitivity   to prevent the future conflict.

A  forum Discussion in  the Sinhala medium on  “Constitutional changes in Sri Lanka,  Fundamental rights and human rights”,   was  held on 11^th of July 2010 at Ampara Media House.

22 opinion leaders including journalists, Local political party leaders and educationists participated. . Mr. Chandrasiri, Co-ordinatior of Ampara District Human Rights Commission was the main resource  persons. The forum was facilitated and moderated by  the Media house Director, Mr Shadath.

Mr. Chandrasiri flagged off the discussion by examining the exiting provisions and Articles on the constitution in relation to  fundamental rights   and  highlighted the challenges in  implementation.

Thereafter a  30 minutes radio programme was  played, elaborating on the issue  and  examining further the implications  of ongoing discussions  on constitutional changes / reform and rights of the people to participate in the constitutional  changing or reform process. Most of the participants  urged the government and opposition to ensure a  transparent process of constitutional change and not to return to the previous bad practice of changing constitution without the knowledge of the citizens.

Three segments of radio programmes  were aired as a result of  the out come of this discussion. The programmes  disseminates  the information what was gathered   through the forum discussion.

The  participants concluded  that the  process of consultation on  constitutional reform should be taken  to the grass root level people and media should play a catalytic role in this process.

]]> http://www.internews.lk/internews/emh-faciliates-discussion-on-constitutional-changes-in-sri-lanka/feed 0 http://perambara.org/featured/2010/08/no-peace-in-sight-in-human-vs-elephant-war http://perambara.org/featured/2010/08/no-peace-in-sight-in-human-vs-elephant-war#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 06:55:49 +0000 Shyamalee http://www.internews.lk/?p=2360

KONWEVA, Sri Lanka, Aug 4 (IPS) – Dusk creeps over Konweva like a black shroud slowly draping over the village. The edges of its paddy fields, where the agricultural plains meet the surrounding thick shrubs, are first to be blanketed in the darkness. Already, there are signs that the night will not be peaceful.

Villagers in Konweva, located in north-western Kurunegala district some 150 kilometres from the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, eye one another anxiously as loud booms are heard across the fields. “They have begun to move,” Immihami Mudiyanse, a farmer, warns in hushed tones.

This was the second such programme following the one in Matara.

The trainees were introduced to blogging, Flickr, Twitter and typing in Tamil using Google transliterator. At the end of the session, all the participants had created their blog, Flickr feed and a Twitter feed.

The participants mostly from rural families in Batticaloa found that the training conducted by Malinthe Samarakoon, one of Sri Lanka’s best known web designers and bloggers very useful.

They said that they hardly have any resources to undergo such training and requested for more such programme.

Their initial blog posts also showed that by training regional journalists, how stories from within their communities could reach a wider audience. one of the first posts was on the plight of Kelliveddi IDPs who have been displaced from  almost four years now.

One participant later wrote to the  trainers – “I am very thankful to you.This is first experience in my journalism field.We are expecting (more of) your services in our media house in future. I hope you will do.”

Journalists and law enforcement officials met at the Matara Media house on 8 July to discuss how they should strengthen their collaboration  to serve the community more effectively.

The meeting took the form of a Forum   Discussion on the theme,   “Police, Community and Human Rights”.

Under this theme DIG Neel Daluwatta,  DIG, Southern Province conducted a  lively session about  “Role of media and journalists in protecting law, public order and security”.

Vijaya Sri Damayantha – SP I, Matara Division followed with an interactive  session about “How to complete the duties of the police force while protecting human rights”.

23 journalists  from the Southern  province  participated to this forum discussion. Both  parties (Police officers & Journalists) requested for  a follow up  discussion soon, because they envisaged the need  to confer further  about duty of police officers and journalists in the context  of public security.

]]> http://www.internews.lk/internews/publicsecurityinsouth/feed 0 http://perambara.org/featured/2010/07/reporting-pressure-easing-in-the-east http://perambara.org/featured/2010/07/reporting-pressure-easing-in-the-east#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:02:38 +0000 admin http://www.internews.lk/?p=2335 The reporting climate in the Eastern Province has markedly improved compared  to two years back. We have spent the last two weeks traveling on assignment  in remote areas in the Batticaloa and Trincomalee Districts that were for years virtual no-go zones.  Access wise this was the best since 2006 when restrictions began to be imposed.

Traveling into remote  areas in the province is no different to any where else in the country.  Security checks have been reduced to a minimum.