FMM demands probe against Navy Commander over H'tota attack

Free Media Movement (FMM) yesterday demanded the government to conduct an inquiry against Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne over an assault on a journalist during a protest in Hambantota port on Saturday.

While noting that despite the journalists identified themselves as media persons who were covering the protest by port workers, the media organization said that the Navy Commander used derogatory remarks on journalists and attacked a media personnel with armed navy officials around him.

“This incident has to be taken very seriously while moves are underway to implement Right To Information (RTI) Act which was passed months before in Parliament. It is regrettable to see such kind of nonprofessional conduct from a Navy commander where an ordinary person with basic knowledge would not engaged with . This is black mark to the whole country,” a statement from FMM said.

Meanwhile the Government Information Department said that the journalist who was assaulted by Navy commander failed to follow the media ethics while covering the incident.

Issuing a statement signed by Director General of the Department Dr Ranga Kalansooriya, the statement said according to preliminary inquiries, the concerned journalist has violated basic ethical practices when covering sensitive conflict situations. “It is highly expected that the journalists are adhered to the highest standards of ethical practices when covering these types of conflict situations.

"The Navy says that the physical presence of its commander at the scene was mandatory as per the requirement of the International ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code,” the statement from the Information Department said.

However several independent media organizations have pointed out that the journalist did not violate any media ethics that is required for reporting on conflict and noted if the Information Department thinks other way it should have mentioned what are such ethics the journalist failed to adhere with.

Joining with FMM on condemning the incident , the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said that the assault of a journalist by the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy is a condemnable act.

"The IFJ is seriously concerned by the assault of a journalist by the head of a security force and demands immediate action against him from the Sri Lankan government. Such an incident, if allowed to pass, not only undermines press freedom and the rights of the media but also has a chilling effect on free press." it said