Freedoms in peril when journalists are silenced
An event to mark the World Press Freedom Day organized by UNESCO New Delhi and the delegation of European Union (EU) for Sri Lanka and Maldives and Sri Lanka was held in partnership with Sri Lanka Press institute this week in Colombo.
The European Union Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, Denis Chaibi; the Director of UNESCO Representative to Bhutan, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka, Eric Falt; United Nations Resident Coordinator for Sri Lanka, Ms Hanaa SingerHamdy as well as award-winning journalist and Deputy Editor of the Sunday Times, Namini Wijedasa, shared their thoughts at the event, themed “Under Digital Siege”.
A minute of silence was observed as a mark of respect for all the journalists who have lost their lives fighting for the freedom of the press and expression.
EU Ambassador, Denis Chaibi said: “The first link that I am trying to make between media freedom and peace has never been as important for Europe as it is now and it is also for Sri Lanka.
“Peace in Europe is being destroyed by the invasion of Ukraine, as it was mentioned by the earlier speakers there has been a minute of silence for those who have lost their lives, there is some amount of lives of journalists lost in Ukraine, The most recent one was a woman. It is important for Europe that everything that is happening in Ukraine gets reported. The big element of freedom today is the ability, the freedom to report.’’
He added that this resonated particularly in Sri Lanka as the events over the last months could have been many possibilities for violence from both sides. He added that the press freedom and the way the media has acted has been a safeguard against violence.
Mr Chaibi explained that it is very important to see how press freedom is helping society to resist violence and report on violence.
The UN’s Resident Coordinator for Sri Lanka, Ms Hanna Singer-Hamdy, said that they recognize that the profession of journalism comes with effort and sacrifices.
“Often times they (journalists) take great personal risks. With the advancement of technology the risks that they have to take have greatly amplified with multifaceted ways as new developments such as surveillance by state and non-state actors as big data collection as official intelligence impact journalism, freedom of expression and privacy.”
She reasoned that world press freedom day is focused on journalism under digital siege due to the amplified risks. She added that the safety of media persons who are using digital interfaces has significant implications on freedom of expression, press freedom and privacy protection.
Ms Hamdy said that protection should be applied to all journalism actors and media professionals, journalists, human rights defenders and activists as well as citizens who use digital communication for personal communication.
A special keynote address was given by Namini Wijedasa, Deputy Editor (Investigations) of the Sunday Times.
She said that though this year’s press freedom day is themed ‘Journalism under Digital Siege’ it is only one of the multiple ways in which surveillance and digitally mediated attacks endanger journalists and journalism.
“I’m not going to keep to the theme. I’m going to talk, here among friends, about keeping the faith.
The threats we face are multifaceted. Digital is one of them and admittedly the most complex. I’ve been told to change my phone, my phone number, to use various apps that might keep my interactions safer and to secure my accounts.
“We do what we can. But the danger evolves, often before our eyes, and it is exhausting to keep up. Journalists have to conduct the various facets of our profession like a Mafia boss runs his operations without a fraction of the resources a Mafia boss has.”