Defiant woman journalist happy to clean her country's dirt
Just weeks ago, the Washington -based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) laid bare the names and addresses of those who held offshore bank accounts in a number of countries.
It was the result of investigations ICIJ carried out for several months. Disclosures of those account holders in the United States, France and other countries in Europe prompted those governments to seek details. This was to take action against those who held the accounts illegally.
In the light of pressure from several quarters, the ICIJ placed on its website the voluminous data it unearthed. That included more than 30 accounts held by Sri Lankans under different companies.
Just ahead of this disclosure, interested groups in Sri Lanka did make overtures to the ICIJ to disclose details. Perhaps the account holders, who became aware of the investigation, themselves, were interested to know whether their names would come out. It could also be others linked to official channels trying to ascertain the extent of such overseas accounts. Yet, the disclosures have only drawn a muted silence from the Central Bank.
The investigation by ICIJ's members, who are peer recommended, has led to punitive action against at least one jour- nalist. It is in Azerbaijan, the oil rich nation that stands on the crossroads between West Asia and East Europe. ICIJ member Khadija Ismayilova, a seasoned journalist, has been punished by the government of her country. Hidden cameras were installed in her apartment and government operatives then published the resulting videos in the Internet. Together with her colleagues, Khadija had been doing a series of hardhitting investigations about the offshore deals of the ruling family. She contributed to the Offshore Leaks investigation, helping other ICIJ colleagues expose an offshore company owned by the Azeri President and his wife.
Punishment for her has come in the form of being ordered to do community service. This is what Ismayilova says: "I have been sentenced to 220 hours of community work for refusing to pay anti-constitutional penalty for attending a peaceful rally. Today I was invited to the bailiff's office to be informed that they found me a job to do within this community work sentence. There are two options: cleaning backstreets or cleaning central streets….. Four hours a day cleaning the city. The work will probably start next week (within 10 days I have to start). Well, I guess the message is clear. It is up to us to clean this country from dirt. I will be happy to contribute!"