Sri Lanka impounds 'The Economist' news magazine

By Charles Haviland | BBC News
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Sri Lankan officials have impounded the new edition of The Economist magazine. The move follows an opinion piece critical of constitutional changes.

The government has confiscated the magazine on a number of occasions this year, although usually its distribution is merely delayed.

The current edition has an opinion piece which said the changes showed President Mahinda Rajapaksa "put the consolidation of his family's power ahead of... national reconciliation".

Direct style

Sometimes it is The Economist's leader articles, which have a blunt and direct style, and sometimes the news reporting that appear to irk the Sri Lankan authorities.

The Sri Lanka distributor of the widely-read news and business magazine, Vijitha Yapa, said that the customs department had declined to release the latest edition and was deferring to the information department for a decision.

The head of that section, Ariyarathna Athugala, told the BBC he had not heard about the matter and no ban was in force.

But Mr Yapa said customs officials had no right to be acting as censors and alleged that they must be getting instructions from higher up in the government.

The current edition has an opinion piece which described the Sri Lanka envisaged in the revised charter as "not a pretty place".

The distributor said the authorities had delayed The Economist several times this year, sometimes for up to two weeks by which time it was not worth selling.

He said this tendency was counter-productive as the government lost out on tax revenues; he also believed it was not good for the country's image.

In the past, the head of the defence media centre has said that foreign publications are impounded if they are "harmful to national security".

© BBC News

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Sri Lanka heading towards 'a totalitarian state'

By Johan van Slooten | Radio Netherlands Worldwide
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A leading Sri Lanka expert has warned that with last week’s parliamentary victory on constitutional reforms, Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse has dealt a final blow to the country’s human rights, civil liberties and true democracy. Charu Latta Hogg, an associate fellow at London-based think tank Chatham House, says that Sri Lanka is heading ‘towards a totalitarian state’.

The constitutional reforms, backed by a large majority of Sri Lanka’s parliament, enable the president to seek a third term, which could keep Mr Rajapakse in office until at least 2022. Other changes include a reform of various councils and commissions, such as Sri Lanka’s national police commission, an anti-briberies council and the national human rights commission.

Independent

This is what Ms Charu Lata Hogg, who works for Chatham House’s Asia Programme, is most worried about. “These commissions used to be independently appointed by Members of Parliament, including opposition members, " Ms Hogg told RNW. “But now it will be the president who will solely appoint its members and its chairmen. Essentially, these institutions of democracy will now come under the control of just one man”.

Human rights

She is especially worried about Sri Lanka’s national commission for human rights violations. “It is supposed to document and investigate human rights violations against the people of Sri Lanka. But how effective will it be when the council will be appointed by the president himself? What happens if it is asked to investigate violations by the government or the president?”.

Mr Rajapakse is currently riding on a wave of popularity after he declared victory last year over the Tamil Tiger rebels in the northeast, ending a 25-year civil war in May 2009. Regarded as the main force behind the government army’s victory, Mr Rajapakse clinched an ouright victory in last year’s presidential elections - but not before he'd taken out his main rival, military chief Sarath Fonseka, by placing him under arrest and declaring his bid to run in the elections as invalid.

Totalitarian streaks

“The end of that war was a blessing for Sri Lanka in many ways,” says Ms Hogg, “but it has lead to totalitarian streaks creeping into Mr Rajapakse’s regime, as the government is simply not challenged anymore. Opposition comprises of many different factions and the government puts them under great pressure. Some opposition members even find it strategically wiser to side with the president rather than carry on protesting his policies”.

This was proven in last week’s vote, when many opposition MPs decided to vote in favour of Mr Rajapakse’s reform plans.

International community

The international community seems to be reluctant in breaking ties with Sri Lanka, says Ms Hogg. “The EU is quite firm in its criticism, but the US is not very clear. They’ve shown support in the war on the Tamil Tigers, but they have also criticised Sri Lanka’s poor human rights record”. Not that it will matter to the people of Sri Lanka – the government seems to be more interested in consolidating ties with countries like India or China, which have been wooing Sri Lanka for a long time.

Patriotism

“The government is stirring up patriotism, saying the West is against the people of Sri Lanka," says Ms Hogg. One example is the heavy protest after the UN announced an independent investigation earlier this year into possible war crimes during the final stages of the Tamil Tigers war. “With Mr Rajapakse’s current popularity, it’s not that difficult at all to mobilise the people”.

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UK 'concerned' over curtails on media

BBC Sinhala
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The British government has expressed concern over the continuing human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

Alistair Burt, Minister for the Middle East and South Asia in the Coalition government, told the Westminster parliament that the government was aware of the ground situation in Sri Lanka.

"Human rights issues, particularly freedom of expression, concerns of the media have been raised," he said answering an oral question by an opposition MP.

The minister, however, added that the situation have improved "to a degree" after the conflict with the Tamil Tigers ended.

"But the issue if that just how far does this go and that is why we are pressing on the government of Sri Lanka, if it meant what it said at the end of the conflict in terms of reconciliation then we all have to see practise on the ground rather than just words," he added.

The minister also said that the UK government is continuing a dialogue with the Sri Lanka government, as well as the NGOs including the UNHCR, over the plight of remaining internally displaced (IDPs) people in the camps.

Nearly 25,000 Tamil IDPs, out of over 300,000, are estimated to be still in the camps.

"The UK government has spent 13.5 million pounds to support IDPs," Minister Burt added.

However, the UK government said that it is concerned about the "clampdown" on the NGO activity with the IDPs.

© BBC Sinhala

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