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Terrifying dissenters in Sri Lanka

06 Sep 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"The Lord sets captives free," the psalmist intones this Sunday. Sri Lankan journalist J. S. Tissanayagam, singled out by President Barack Obama as an example of persecuted journalists around the globe, was sentenced Monday to 20 years hard labor under Sri Lankan anti-terrorism laws critics say are used to stifle dissent. Tissanayagam was arrested in March 2008 after writing articles criticizing the conduct of the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels and accusing authorities of withholding food and other essential items from civilians in Tamil-majority areas as a tool of war. The government accused Tissanayagam of writing propaganda and sowing dissent. "The constitution itself gives freedom of press, but that doesn't allow anybody to spread false information to spur ethnic violence," prosecutor Sudarshana DeSilva told the court. Rights groups have accused the government of waging a broad crackdown on media freedom that has continued since it routed the rebels and ended the nation's quarter-century civil war in May. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 11 Sri Lankan reporters were forced to flee the country in the past year, and Amnesty International, which has labeled Tissanayagam a prisoner of conscience, said at least 14 Sri Lankan journalists and media workers had been killed since the beginning of 2006. Source: Articles by Ranga Sirilal for Reuters and Bharatha Mallawarachi for Associated Press

sri lanka committee to protect journalists sudarshana desilva j s tissanayagam freedom of the press prisoners of conscience amnesty international journalists tamil tigers antiterrorism
Media watchdogs press for freedom

09 May 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's gospel Jesus promises his disciples that the Advocate will teach them everything. Advocacy journalism is at risk around the world, warns Paris-based Reporters Without Borders in their annual report to mark World Media Freedom Day. The leaders of China, Russia, and Rwanda are among the worst "predators of press freedom," they reported. A number of world leaders are on the list. Gilles Lordet, director of research at the media watchdog, says one of the worst offenders is President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, where an election is to take place in August."He does not respect the work of the journalists, he does not want to have press freedom in his country and he is pressuring and he can be very intimidating with journalists and censoring very regularly media and press that do not share his point of view," Lordet said.New additions to the list included Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and Yemeni President Ali Abdulah Saleh. Lordet says media rights in Yemen are rapidly eroding."Since May 2009 we observed a very bad evolution, with a lot of trials, with a lot of journalists in prison, a lot of journalists harassed and it is really the worst evolution of media freedom in the world," Lordet said.Another new addition to the list was Taliban leader Mullah Omar. "It is important sometimes to really point at an individual like with Mullah Omar because he has really an influence on his group. Sometimes we can really identify one man, one person, who concentrates the reason that there is so much violence against journalists," Lordet said.Some names have been dropped from last year's list. A number of Iraqi Islamist groups were taken off. Reporters Without Borders says violence remains high but journalists are no longer a specific target.But overall, says Lordet, the picture has not changed much from last year. "If we compare the list with last year, we think on a global scale there is no improvement. There [are] still the same predators, there [are] still the same countries where the situation is very bad," Lordet said.In Mexico, named as one of the most dangerous countries for the media, 62 journalists have been killed in the past 10 years. The Philippines were also highlighted as a particularly dangerous place for journalists; 30 were killed there in a single attack by gunman last November. Source: An article by Selah Hennessy for VOANews.com

journalists freedom of the press reporters paul kagame gilles lordet world media freedom day reporters without borders
The sword tries to silence the pen

06 Jan 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Nations shall walk by your light,” the prophet Isaiah predicts in this Sunday’s hope-filled first reading. Many nations remain in the dark, however, at least when it comes to freedom of the press. A record number of journalists are in jails worldwide, condemned by governments that would prefer to consign troublesome reporters to the darkness of prison than let their reporting on human rights and other sensitive issues see the light of day.The widespread use of charges of terrorism and other anti-state offenses against reporters and editors critical of governments is used to justify many imprisonments, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found. In its annual census of imprisoned journalists, CPJ identified 232 individuals behind bars on December 1, an increase of 53 over its 2011 tally.Large-scale imprisonments in Turkey, Iran, and China helped lift the global tally to its highest point since CPJ began conducting global surveys in 1990, surpassing the previous record of 185 in 1996. The three nations, the world’s worst jailers of the press, each made extensive use of vague anti-state laws to silence dissenting political views, including those expressed by ethnic minorities.Eritrea and Syria also ranked among the world’s worst, each jailing numerous journalists without charge or due process and holding them in secret prisons without access to lawyers or family members. Around the world, 63 journalists are being held without any publicly disclosed charge.The number of journalists killed in the line of duty also rose sharply in 2012, as the war in Syria, a record number of shootings in Somalia, continued violence in Pakistan, and a worrying increase in Brazilian murders contributed to a 42 percent increase in deaths from the previous year, the CPJ found.Homily hint: Not long ago journalists were held in high esteem in the U.S., but that has changed, in part because of the tendency of cable news programs to reduce reporting to opinionating and shouting matches. The decline in journalistic standards should trouble us all because a free and vigorous press is crucial to a democratic society, and a press that does not respect itself will not long enjoy the protections afforded it in a free society. Encourage those in attendance to add their voices to those calling for a return to balance, respect, and decorum in news reporting. Source: An article by Sumit Galhotra, Tom Rhodes, and other staff for the Committee to Protect Journalists (cpj.org)

journalists freedom of the press committee to protect journalists reporters imprisonment
What’s on tap at the Justice Department?

19 May 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit . . . will . . . remind you of all that I told you,” the risen Lord promises his huddled disciples in the Pentecost Day reading option from chapter 14 of the Gospel of John. The U.S. Justice Department has other methods for learning things told by one person to another, and their secret collection of two months of telephone records for reporters and editors of the Associated Press (AP) has outraged the news organization, which called it a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into its reporting.The AP said that the Justice Department informed it on Friday that law enforcement officials had obtained the records for more than 20 telephone lines of its offices and journalists, including their home phones and cell phones. It said the records were seized without notice sometime this year.The organization was not told the reason for the seizure, but the timing and the specific journalistic targets strongly suggested they are related to a continuing government investigation into the leaking of information a year ago about the Central Intelligence Agency’s disruption of a Yemen-based terrorist plot to bomb an airliner.Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday defended the department's tactics, saying that the AP's reporting about a foiled airline bomb plot in 2012 "put the American people at risk." He called the information the AP received from undisclosed sources the “top two or three most serious leaks I’ve ever seen.”While the White House remains quiet about whether the Justice Department was right to seize the phone records, on Capitol Hill the top Democrat in the Senate was unequivocal about his opposition. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blasted the Justice Department for its behavior."I have trouble defending what the Justice Department did in looking at the AP," Reid said. "I really believe in the First Amendment. I think it's one of the great things we have as a country. I don't know who did it or why it was done, but it was inexcusable. There is no way to justify this. In my career, I've stood consistently for freedom of the press." Reid added that he would make a determination about whether "legislative action" is needed in response.Homily help: While trust in the media is at an all-time low, a free and vigorous press is still the best guarantee that abuses of power are brought to light and rights of minorities—including religious rights—are respected. Encourage members of the faith community to be thoughtful, engaged supporters of quality journalism. Sources: Articles by Chris Moody for Yahoo News andCharlie Savage and Leslie Kaufman for the New York Times

associated press terrorism harry reid justice department freedom of the press eric holder leaks leak
Split decision in trial of Bradley Manning

04 Aug 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus makes it clear in this Sunday's gospel that his mission does not involve resolving everyone's disputes: “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” is his pointed response to a request from a person in the crowd to settle a conflict. In disputes involving military personnel, however, military judges do make the call, and on Tuesday the judge overseeing the trial of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning found him not guilty of “aiding the enemy,” the most serious charge he faced for his release of hundreds of thousands of military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks.At the same time Manning was convicted on multiple counts of violating the Espionage Act, stealing government property, and other charges which could result in a maximum sentence of 136 years. In delivering the mixed verdict, the judge, Col. Denise Lind, pulled back from the government’s effort to create a legal benchmark that press freedom specialists had warned could have broad consequences for the future of investigative journalism about national security in the internet era.WikiLeaks, in a Twitter post, called Espionage Act convictions “a very serious new precedent for supplying information to the press.” Still, Yochai Benkler, a Harvard law professor who testified in Manning’s defense, praised the judge for making an “extremely important decision” to reject the aiding-the-enemy charge and thereby deny “the prosecution’s effort to launch the most dangerous assault on investigative journalism and the free press in the area of national security that we have seen in decades.”Homily hint: The internet is the great equalizer when it comes to privacy. Secrets that in the past were kept from public view are now brought to light, as we see in cases ranging from politicians' pecadillos to state secrets and military policies of the highest order. While governments scramble to tighten security, is anyone considering an alternative course that would render all the secrecy unnecessary? Perhaps individuals and nations simply need to "stop lying to one another," as the reading from the Letter to the Colossians puts it. Source: An article by Charles Savage for the New York Times

internet freedom of the press wikileaks espionage yochai benkler precedents denise lind bradley manning secrecy
Arresting developments in Egypt

29 Jun 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

As a way to tamp down support for the new Christian movement, King Herod arrests Saint Peter, this Sunday’s reading from Acts of the Apostles tells us. Since taking power from the Muslim Brotherhood in a military coup last year, the Egyptian government has decided the best way to crack down on dissent is to jail its opponents. Three Al Jazeera network journalists became the latest targets this week after being handed harsh prison sentences.The government has consolidated power since former military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was declared the winner of a presidential election last month with 96 percent of the vote. And the long sentences sent a clear message to anyone who still dares to openly oppose the government, said Mohamed Lotfy, executive director of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms."It's a warning to all journalists that they could one day face a similar trial and conviction simply for carrying out their official duties," Lotfy said. "This feeds into a wider picture of a politicized judiciary and the use of trials to crack down on all opposition voices."The three journalists—Al Jazeera Cairo Bureau Chief Mohamed Fahmy, Australian correspondent Peter Greste, and producer Baher Mohamed—were sentenced to seven to ten years in prison on charges of aiding terrorists, doctoring news footage, and endangering Egypt’s national security. Lawyers and rights groups say the evidence in the case was flimsy and that this was a politicized trial intended to punish Egypt’s archrival Qatar, which owns the Al Jazeera network.Qatar is a staunch supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and has offered sanctuary to parts of its senior leadership as they escape Egypt, where the group has been blacklisted as a terrorist organization.Homily hint: A Lutheran pastor penned these lines during the Holocaust: “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out--because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.” Speak up for freedom of the press so the press has the freedom to speak up for you. Source: An article by Louisa Loveluck for the Christian Science Monitor

egypt journalists freedom of the press al jazeera