Silencing the Media in Sri Lanka: How the Sri Lankan Constitution Fuels Self-Censorship and Hinders Reconciliation

Introduction In May 2009, the Government of Sri Lanka formally declared an end to the 26-year civil war between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which was rooted in the ethnic and political conflict between the Tamil minority and the Sinhalese majority. 1 The current administration, headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, proclaims that the country is a free and democratic society that is finally moving forward, putting its long and bloody history behind it. 2 As evidence of that progress, the President claims that "Sri Lanka has ... committed itself to ensure media freedom as part of its democratic values." 3 On its face, Sri Lanka's legal regime appears to support this statement. Article 14 of Sri Lanka's current constitution, adopted in 1978, guarantees "the freedom of speech and expression including publication" to "every citizen," 4 and, as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Sri Lanka is bound by Article 19, which requires that States respect and protect freedom of expression. 5 Yet interviews 6 with Sri Lankan journalists, editors, activists, and attorneys reveal a pervasive culture of fear-induced self-censorship among the Sri Lankan media 7 that prevents the full and open discussion of the Government and the recent war. It is clear, therefore, that despite its express guarantee of freedom of expression, Sri Lanka's Constitution is failing to protect that right in practice. More problematic, however, is that the Constitution itself is facilitating the ...