Monday, December 22, 2008

Background: Thissanayagam Case and Others


The Constitution of the self-governing Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (1977) recognize liberty of speech, expression and book as basic rights of all citizens of the country. This in turn give the lawful credit and protection for media freedom in the country.
Howeversimilar to any other condition in the world, Sri Lanka too imposes pro bono limits on the work out of freedom of expression, speech and publication. This is just since of the option that this liberty can be distorted for many purposes, counting damage to the nation's unity. Therefore, liberty of media in Sri Lanka is topic to the lawful limits compulsory in the wellbeing of ethnic and spiritual agreement, with regard to parliamentary freedom, contempt of court, insult or incentive to an offence, and some others too careful essential for the good of civilization.
It should be famous that in thebackdrop carrying weapons hostilities, the belligerents could use the media as an capable b at to carryout out mental fighting and propaganda next to each other. When it comes to eccentric warfare, such as terrorist fighting; mental operations and propaganda function in very subtle form that it becomes a arduous task to distinguish between true media work and dishonesty of propaganda.
Terrorists more often than not lure people who are by now work in the media through money or other reimbursement or attractions, to make them to carry out misinformation work using the stage of the mass media. These media willing or reluctant agents of terrorism always come into view to act as self-governing press and some even as the self-proclaimed crusaders of media liberty in arrange to prevent revelation of their true motives.
Due to these situation, Sri Lanka has categorize misuses of the freedoms of speech, look and counting book media liberty by terrorists as offences under avoidance of Terrorism Act (1979). Therefore, any person who causes or intends to cause aggression, or ethnic or spiritual dissonance or emotion of ill will or antagonism between different communities by his/her words, spoken or by any other way of look, is a terrorist.
Propaganda rudiments of LTTE terrorists of Sri Lanka use a threefold plan to carry out their operations. They promote communalism among the Tamil Diaspora around the world, give good reason for the LTTE's terrorism and influence Tamils to fund the terror group. On the other hand, they increase made-up stories on the human human rights state of affairs in the country and effort to bring international force next to the government hostility next to terrorism. They become accustomed a suspicious strategy to keep away from them life form fractured down by the law by drama as some kind of crusaders of media liberty in the country. q
These self-proclaim media liberty armed forces often file information full of attack, uoting various event of what they call "attacks on self-governing media workers". These information always hold false facts connected to the quoted incident or depiction only the half-truths to hold up the concealed program of their originators. This account filed by defence.lk exposes the true particulars of a few such incidents, often quoted as the gravest attacks on media liberty in Sri Lanka by bogus media human rights groups.
Jayeprakash Tissanayagam
Personal Profile in brief
Mr. Jayeprakash Tissanayagam was natural in 1964 at Inuvil in Jaffna . He was an old boy of St. Thomas College , Mount Lavinia and graduated in following science at University of Peradeniya . He had in progress his vocation as a reporter at the Sunday Times in 1987, but later shifted to the NGO sector. According to Mr. Tissanayagam's career the past exposed below, he can be documented more as a vocation NGO worker than a reporter.
Origin
Mr. Tissanayagam is the only documented reporter who has been taken into care on doubt of having relations with terrorist behavior, by the Terrorist study section (TID) of the Police. 06 March 2008, the TID raided two neighbouring offices at a Shopping multifaceted of Kotahena, down Jampettah Street on reliable in order that the LTTE had been running a press and a web-based propaganda institute there. During the attack it was found that a push owned by one Mr. Jaseekaran had been under running the name E-kuality Graphics Private Ltd , at the No 12 , Jampettah Street , Colombo 13. The next-door office at the No 12, was that of Outreach Multimedia Private Ltd.
TID initially took Mr. Jaseekaran and Miss Valarmadhi into custody. Later, on the information exposed during the investigation, Mr. Tissanayagam was taken in to care on 07 March 2008.
Alleged fabrication
The take into custody of Mr. Jayeprakash Tissanayagam and his accomplices was shown to the world as the government's arbitrary arrest of a group of independent journalists. The suspect's long-time hobnobbing with a variety of overseas funded NGOs and his vocation as a journalist gave a increasing result to the story. Many international civil human rights groups, overseas embassies, INGOs without making a smallest amount effort to verify the facts have started distribution heaps of letters to the law enforcement establishment to let go the suspect.
Background
According to the declaration made by Mr. Tissanayagam, he had come into conditions shut with known LTTE propagandist Dharmaratne Sivaram alias Taraki while he had been working for the Sunday Leader in 1999. Together with Taraki, Mr. Tissanayagam had toured the Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Vavuniya areas where the LTTE was then very active. Taraki was the editor of "Tamilnet", the LTTE's official spokesperson on the Internet, and known to be the brains behind the all-Goebbelsian propaganda of the group that increase out its tribal ideology. As result of this link with Taraki, Mr. Tissanayagam had quit the Sunday Leader and in progress a pro LTTE periodical named North Eastern messenger with Taraki in 2002.
Mr. Tissanayagam further affirmed that he had connected North Eastern Herald since it drew lot of overseas funds and so he found it to be very profitable to work there. An office affiliated to the Switzerland delegation named SIDA had been its main financer. The director of the company formed to carryout the publication were, Dharmaratne Sivaram , Shivakumar, and Yuvialan Thangarajh (A lecturer at Eastern University ). The magazine had been in print up to November 2005, until SIDA stopped up financial support to the company. The main object of making money from side to side overseas aid for which the company was in progress was no longer attainable. According to Mr. Tissanayagam, a being named Karuniyan Arulanandan had decided to give money to keep the company living but failed in his fraction.
What was attractive about the above mentioned business venture was that it was conventional out mainly to draw overseas funds and seemed to have no any meaning of flattering a self-financing business. Its main commerce, the book of the journal too had no market penetration but was mainly published as an view maker in favour of the LTTE at international forums. Like many such organizations run by overseas funds, the business made easy cash for the people concerned and ceased to live as the financer warped its back. This is the bitter fact of many false rights activist in this fraction of the world.
In 2004, the main suspect of the case, Vetrivale Jaseekaran had come to meet Mr. Tissanayagam and proposed him to start another venture that can draw a good amount of foreign funds. According to Mr. Tissanayagam, he had come to know Mr. Jaseekaran via another journalist in 2000, during one of his tours to Batticaloa. Consequently, a company named Renaissance Publication and Guarantee Limited had come in to operation under the directorship of Jayeparkash Tissanayagam, Vetrivale Jaseekaran, Kathiravale Vignashwaran, Balasubramaniam Wasanthan alias Shivakumar, Rohitha Bhashana Abeywaradane, Sathasivan Baskaran, and Vadivelu Valarmadhi. The company had started its office at No 82, Bandaranayake Mawatha, and Colombo 12 and started publishing a pro-LTTE magazine- North Eastern Monthly since February 2004.
The North Eastern Monthly had been published under the direct guidance of LTTE and its content therefore had been aimed at subtly promoting tribal and sectarian ideologies championed by the LTTE. It has been set up that LTTE had in a straight line funded the association from side to side its agents in Colombo.
In early 2006, Mr. Tissanayagam together with Mr. Jaseekaran had started another company named Outreach Multimedia Private Ltd. According to the proof exposed so far, this new corporation had been in progress at the request of the LTTE with the aim of transport out internet-based misinformation for the terrorist group. The company directors were Mr. Tissanayagam, Mr. Jaseekaran and another person named Terald Abeygunawardane. The last person, Mr. Terald Abeygunawardane is at present in hiding to avoid police take into custody.
After preliminary the new company, Mr. Tissanayagam and the team had made a suggestion to one more INGO named FLICT with the aim of judgment much preferred foreign financial support. As per the proof, the company had made a on paper suggestion to the INGO requesting 2.3 million rupees in 2006 in order to start a fully ready web- based media association. However, for some unidentified reason the INGO had not careful the proposal grave sufficient, and had not been very rapid to let go the funds. As a result the discouraged entrepreneurs had lost their attention on the new scheme but sustained their performance in the rebirth Publication and assurance Ltd.
In mid 2005, Mr. Tissanayagam had come into close get in touch with with a hardcore LTTE cadre called Baba. On the teaching of Baba, Mr. Tissanayagam had met LTTE heads in Kilinochchi at least twice in 2005 and 2006. The North East Monthly had been published every month during 2005-2006 periods adhering to the leadership provided by the LTTE.
As the evidence had started to pile up, Mr. Tissanayagam admitted that Baba had given him money for publishing the periodical. However, Mr. Tissanayagam had testified that he had refused the money offers made by Baba proverb that someday the police may track him downward. The TID had found that Baba had deposited 50,000 rupees at least on 3 occasion at an account that belong the Renaissance Publication, at the Hatton National, Bank, Kotahena. Finally in near the beginning 2007, Mr. Tissanayagam seemed to have got cold feet of drawing straight funds from a terror outfit and stopped publishing the misinformation magazine in June 2007, as the corporation might not discover any other source of financial support.
after that, Mr. Tissanayagam had connected one more INGO named ITI (One Text Initiative), recognized for "peace building" in this country in 2007. throughout this time he had also worked as a self-employed reporter for The Sunday Times.
However, responding to the early ask for made by the Outreach Multi Media, the INGO, FLICT had suddenly determined to provide 950,000 rupees to Mr. Tissanayagam and the team in near the beginning 2008. With this unexpected luck, the team of director had efficient themselves and re- launched the website www.outreach.sl.
It can be sensibly supposed with the obtainable proof that Mr. Tissanayagam had obtained money from LTTE intentionally that it is a terrorist association. Also, it is worthwhile to note that Mr. Tissanayagam had conventional the expenditure of which the TID has considerable proof, throughout a time when the LTTE was carrying out many civilian massacres, bus bombings, train bombings etc. If Mr. Tissanayagam was a accountable inhabitant, he could have come to the police and exposed the in order he knew concerning the terror agents in Colombo .
However, the option cannot be lined out that Mr. Tissanayagam was in fact another person like those free media armed forces who had been lured by the terrorist group exploiting his gluttony for money. This option comes to the surface when looking at the profile of Mr. Jaseekaran , the main suspect of the case.
Mr. Tissanayagam has been indicted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the container is being heard at the courts.
Vetrivail Jaseekaran alias Jasee
Personal Profile in brief
Mr. Vetrivale Jaseekaran was born in 1973 in Kallar, Batticaloa. He was a son of a government village officer and had teaching up to GCE normal level at Kallaru Government School. Also, he had followed a route on basic computer process at a confidential organization in Kalmunai in 1993. He had in progress his vocation as a typesetter at a pro LTTE newspaper called "Saranihal" in 1993 and later worked as a local reporter to few LTTE newspapers and websites counting Tamil Net.
Alleged Fabrication
The take into custody and custody of Mr. Jaseekaran was shown to the world as a gross infringement of media liberty. The perpetrators at the back these false allegations introduced the think as an self-governing Tamil journalist but refrained from enlightening his participation with the terrorist propaganda work.
Background
During inquires Mr. Jaseekaran ( Mr. J)had exposed the true natural world of the kind of "media work" that he had been concerned in.
In 1993, he had come to Colombo to work as a typesetter at the LTTE funded newspaper "Saranihal". This newspaper was run by one of the key agents in the LTTE misinformation machinery, Subramaniyan Wasanthan alias Shivakumar. In 1994, Mr. J had returned to Batticaloa to work as a local journalist for LTTE publications. He had been employed in this job till 2000 by the LTTE.
Also, the think has confess that he had been an LTTE cleverness agent in Batticaloa since the middle 90s. He had provide cleverness on safety forces actions, deployments, political developments, etc in the east to LTTE cleverness wing head Atpudan Master. He had been used to express this information from side to side telephone and through LTTE informants and also by meeting Atpudan Master himself, at Kokkadicholai LTTE camp. He has admitted that the LTTE had bombed an Army bus murder two soldiers and 4 civilians in 1996 in Sathurukoondan on in order given by him.
Contrary to Mr. Tissanayagam's maintain that he had got to know LTTE agent Taraki after 1999, Mr. J affirmed that he had met Taraki along with Tissanayagam in Batticaloa in 1996. They had instructed the think on filing information to media mitigating crimes dedicated by LTTE terrorists counting village massacres, bus bombings etc. Other than "Saranihal", the think has worked as a journalist for the Tamilnet website and the Vidvanam and the Thinakadir newspapers. Also, he had conducted mental operations for the LTTE from 1998 to 2000 through a street play group called Theatre act Group.
In 2000, the think had started a print press under the name Thamilachchi Print and Publisher in Batticaloa. According to Mr. J, Atpudan Master had funded the business. Mr. J had operated the press for the LTTE until 2003 but fled to Colombo as the threatening interior rift flanked by Prabhakaran and then LTTE commander for the East Karuna Amman had unfavorably exaggerated his work.
In Colombo, the suspect had in progress another printing press for the LTTE under the name E-kuality graphics in 2002. The think told the police that LTTE agent Taraki had given money to buy the office room at no 315, Jampettah Street , Colombo 13 to start the business. Later, the think had obtained funds in a straight line from the LTTE to run the business. Since March 2002, the think along with Shivakuamar had run the commerce for the LTTE beneath their names. The press had published an LTTE book named "Swadesha Ilandu" targeting the Tamil Diaspora in France to give them with deceptive in order about the country's state of affairs.
The suspect in his admission also exposed that he had been drama as an informant to the LTTE. He had provide in order on Colombo security preparations and VIP movements to his trainer Karan at Kilinochchi, several times a week via telephone. Police found more than a few notebooks containing complete particulars of older military officers and their family members in the control of the think. Also, it was found during the investigations that the think had harboured LTTE cadres sent for a variety of terrorist behavior in Colombo at the E-Kwalily Graphic office at No. 82, Bandaranayake Mawatha , Colombo 12.
In his admission, the suspect exposed that he had been asked to start an English magazine by the LTTE to propagate the outfit's view to the world. Consequentlyok confidential , the think had opened one more corporation beneath the name Renaissance bo Limited and in development publishing Northeastern Monthly in February 2004.
According to the think the financial association of the Renaissance book confidential Limited was solely handled by Mr. Tissanayagam. The bank account of the corporation was kept at Hatton National Bank at Aluthkade (No: 0010361214). Also, he had exposed that Mr. Tisssanayagam had visited Kilinochchi more than a few times and obtained essential instructions from the terrorist best there.
In December 2005, Mr. J had conventional instructions and funds as well from the LTTE to start the website for the group to carryout its propaganda movement. In May 2006, Mr. J, Mr. Tissanayagam and Mr. Teral Abeygunawardane had opened one more business named Outreach Multimedia Private Limited and in progress the website www.outreachsl.com.
Mr. Jasi has been indicted beneath the avoidance of Terrorism Act and the container is life form heard in the judges.
Vadivalu Valarmadi
Personal profile in brief
Miss. Vadivalu Valarmadi was born in 1976 at Manipai, Jaffna. She had her teaching at Palali Government School and Atchchuveli Government School. She obtained her bachelors amount in well arts at University of Jaffna and later obtained her Master's Degree in India. He father was also a public servant. At the time of the take into care she was an worker of MTV/Sirasa Media Company.
Alleged Fabrication
The take into custody of the think was exposed to the world as an random arrest of an independent media worker.
Background
Miss. Vadivelu Valarmadi was taken to care the length of with Mr. Jasi, for her participation in terrorist performance. She was one of the directors of the rebirth Publication confidential Limited; a corporation invested by a terrorist group. At the time of the take into custody she had recognized herself as the wife of Mr. Vetrivale Jaseekaran, however, it was later found that she was not wedded to the last.
Police investigations found more than a few movies of the think taken with carrying weapons LTTE cadres including previous LTTE leader for the East, Karuna Amman in a laptop computer found with the think.
Miss Vadivelu Valarmadi has been indict under the avoidance of Terrorism Act and the container is being heard in the judges.

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