{"id":31637,"date":"2014-07-08T02:10:40","date_gmt":"2014-07-08T06:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=31637"},"modified":"2014-07-08T06:41:50","modified_gmt":"2014-07-08T10:41:50","slug":"non-governmental-organizations-in-sri-lanka-press-conferencesworkshops-journalist-training-courses-and-issue-press-releases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=31637","title":{"rendered":"Non -Governmental Organizations in Sri Lanka Warned by Defence Ministry not to Hold Press Conferences,Workshops, Journalist Training Courses and Issue Press Releases"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Dharisha Bastians<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s powerful Defence Ministry has sought to outlaw press conferences and media statements by Non-Governmental Organisations operating in the country, sparking a civil society outcry about an attempt to impinge upon freedoms of speech and assembly.<\/p>\n

\"20140708-064052-24052376.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A circular issued by the National Secretariat for NGOs, which operates under the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development said certain NGOs were \u201cacting beyond their mandate\u201d by holding press conferences and workshops.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been revealed that certain Non-Governmental Organisations conduct press conferences, workshops, trainings for journalists and dissemination of press releases, which is beyond their mandate,\u201d the Circular issued under the hand of Director\/Registrar of the NGO Secretariat, D.M.S. Dissanayake noted.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe reiterate that all Non-Governmental Organisations should prevent (sic) from such unauthorised activities with immediate effect,\u201d the circular ordered.<\/p>\n

The circular, which is dated 1 July 2014, has only been issued to NGOs registered under the National Secretariat for NGOs, the Daily FT learns.<\/p>\n

Executive Director of the think tank Centre for Policy Alternatives Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu told the Daily FT that the circular was a direct threat and challenge to civil society and to Sri Lanka as a functioning democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe chilling effect it intends on the freedom of speech and expression and on the freedom of association, confirms that this regime is either unwilling or unable to comprehend the basic requirements of democratic governance and that it is authoritarian to the core,\u201d Dr. Saravanamuttu charged.<\/p>\n

Activist attorneys J.C. Weliamuna and Lal Wijeynayake, who convene the Lawyers Collective, slammed the Defence Ministry move, saying it had no legal authority under any statute to control the freedom of speech and association of citizens who act collectively through civil society organisations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Defence authorities have acted beyond their mandate,\u201d the Collective said in a reaction to the circular.<\/p>\n

Governments that respect democratic values respect the rights of citizens to engage in such lawful activities, the Collective noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly authoritarian regimes prevent such democratic engagements,\u201d Weliamuna and Wijeynayake asserted.
\nThey said the communication of the Director of National Secretariat for NGOs is an indication of the limited understanding of the powerful Sri Lankan defence establishment on civil liberties. \u201cThe conduct of the MoD in issuing such communication further strengthens the allegation that Sri Lanka has now become an authoritarian state,\u201d the lawyers said.<\/p>\n

Condemning the circular, the Sri Lanka Working Journalists\u2019 Association said the decree would further stifle what it called the country\u2019s \u201cpersecuted\u201d civil society.<\/p>\n

SLWJA said the directive comes after several NGO workshops, most recently one by the local Chapter of Transparency International, were stormed by the Government supporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe latest directive is \u2026a clear attack on the freedom of expression\u2026 and highlights Sri Lanka\u2019s slide towards authoritarianism,\u201d the SLWJA said in a statement. The media group has called on the Government to rescind the directive to the NGOs.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:DailyFT<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dharisha Bastians Sri Lanka\u2019s powerful Defence Ministry has sought to outlaw press conferences and media statements by Non-Governmental Organisations operating in the country, sparking a civil society outcry about an attempt to impinge upon freedoms of speech and assembly. A circular issued by the National Secretariat for NGOs, which operates under the Ministry of …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘Non -Governmental Organizations in Sri Lanka Warned by Defence Ministry not to Hold Press Conferences,Workshops, Journalist Training Courses and Issue Press Releases’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31637"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31637"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31688,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31637\/revisions\/31688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}