Christian religious and civil society call for end to hate campaigns in Sri Lanka
Colombo (AsiaNews) - Christian religious, activists, journalists, academics
and civil society organizations have called on the government of Sri Lanka to
stop the hate campaigns and protect human rights defenders. In
recent days, in fact, inside and outside the country there have been several
demonstrations against the
approval of the resolution of the UN Council for Human Rights on War Crimes
in Sri Lanka. Minister of Public Relations and Mervyn Silva has threatened to "break the legs" of the srilankan journalists who have spoken abroad ill of the country. Moreover,
during the session insults, threats and intimidation flew against the 71 Sri
Lankan delegates (see photo), in Geneva for the debate. The
Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Switzerland has received an anonymous threat.
Meanwhile
on the island, some newspapers, online sites, television and radio stations have
begun a veritable smear campaigns against activists and journalists who
supported the resolution. Giving names and surnames, they have described them
as the "NGO gang" and accused them of treason, mercenary activities
and links to terrorism. Many
readers have reacted to the news with demands to burn the houses of these
activists and kill them.
Some
threats were also made against three activists, present in Geneva to discuss
the resolution. The
three - Sunila
Abeysekara, Nimalka Fernando and Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu - issued a statement:
"It's a shame that in a moment in the history of our country where we have
the opportunity to transform our society, the government and its media have
considered it
necessary to embark on an unprecedented attack against us. Whether there is a
UN resolution on Sri Lanka or not, our job of protecting human rights must, and
will, continue. "
Minister of Public Relations and Public Affairs Mervyn Silva told some local media: "I'm the one who ran the
journalist Poddala Jayantha out of the country. Today I say to you that I will
break the legs of all those journalists who dare to go against our country and
all who dare to set foot here. " On
June 1, 2009 Poddala
Jayantha, secretary of the Sri Lanka
Working Journalist Association (Slwja) who worked for the Sinhalese
newspaper Silumina, was attacked and
kidnapped by a group. Dragged
aboard a truck, the man was beaten until his legs were fractured, the
assailants cut his beard and hair, and then dumped him near the IDH hospital in
Colombo. Following
the attack, he was forced to flee the country.
Navi
Pillai, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has urged the Sri Lankan
government to disassociate itself from such statements and instead protect the
human rights activists, to ensure the clear right of citizens to participate in
the International debate.
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