Misplaced Pages

TamilNet: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 11:29, 14 October 2006 editUmapathy (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users681 edits →External links← Previous edit Latest revision as of 06:56, 26 December 2024 edit undoLiz (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Checkusers, Oversighters, Administrators759,738 edits Removing link(s) to "Tangatawhenua.com": Deleted article.Tag: Twinkle 
(711 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Online newspaper covering Sri Lanka}}
'''TamilNet''' is an online news portal that provides original news and feature articles on current affairs in ], specifically related to the minority ] community, the ongoing ] and the ] situation in Northeastern province of Sri Lanka.
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox website
| name = TamilNet
| logo = TamilNet (logo).png
| url = {{URL|http://www.tamilnet.com/}}
| type = ]
| founder = Muthuthamby Sreetharan
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|1997}}
| current_status = Active
}}


'''TamilNet''' is an ] that provides news and feature articles on current affairs in ], specifically related to the erstwhile ]. The website was formed by members of the ] community residing in the United States and publishes articles in English,<ref name="whitaker1">{{cite journal |last=Whitaker |first=Mark |date=31 August 2006 |title=Tamilnet.com: Some Reflections on Popular Anthropology, Nationalism, and the Internet |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/172466 |journal=] |access-date=13 May 2023}}</ref> German and French.
==LTTE perspective==
In its reporting, Tamilnet is widely considered sympathetic to the ] (]), a politico-military organization fighting to carve out a separate homeland for ] in Sri Lanka. It is often used by the international news media outlets such as ], ], ], ], ] and ] to report the LTTE perspective of incidents in Sri Lanka.
<ref name=reuters1>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10398943| title= Tamil Tigers warn Sri Lanka offensive could end truce | date= ] | publisher = ] | first = Simon | last = Gardner | accessdate = 2006-10-01 }}</ref>
<ref name=ap1>{{cite news | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/09/asia/AS_GEN_Sri_Lanka.php | title = Sri Lankan military says 11 soldiers killed in fierce battle with rebels in the north | date= ] | publisher = ] | accessdate = 2006-10-01 }}</ref>
<ref name=afp1>{{cite news | url = http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=109970&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24 | title = Peace hopes rise as Tigers ‘agree’ to talk | date= ] | publisher = ] | accessdate = 2006-10-07 }}</ref>
<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite news | url = http://english.people.com.cn/200609/22/eng20060922_305173.html | title = Sri Lanka Air Force bombs rebel positions in north | date= ] | publisher = ] | accessdate = 2006-10-07 }}</ref>


It is Tamil nationalist and is described as a pro LTTE website.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12000330 | work=BBC News | title=Sri Lanka profile | date=31 January 2012}}</ref>


Tamilnet and ] such as ] (FMM), ] (CPJ) and ] confirm that the website is currently banned in Sri Lanka.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/ECFDCCB2-8401-4A3C-AE79-3BB434EF0055.htm| title=Sri Lanka military in jungle clash | date= 20 June 2007 | publisher = ] | access-date = 21 June 2007 }}</ref><ref name="a19"/>
=== Controversy ===
== Operations ==
Tamilnet has been accused of false reporting by the government of Sri Lanka and adhering to a Tamil Nationalist perspective.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.lines-magazine.org/Art_Aug05/Cenan.htm | title = Charting Tamilnet’s Influence on International Media Reporting | date = August 2005 | author = ] | accessdate = 2006-10-01 }}</ref> The Sri Lankan government however has been accused of pressuring media to "toe the government line" through presidential meetings with heads and editor of these media institutions .
TamilNet was founded in 1995 by a group of ] professionals, including computer programmer K. Jayachandran from Norway, a systems analyst from the UK and several “dotcom” entrepreneurs from the United States to counter what they thought was a biased Western press coverage of the Sri Lankan conflict. In 1996 the journalist ] was invited by the group to reform their website after being unable to attract visitors. In 1997 TamilNet was relaunched along the lines laid down by its now editor Sivaram to make it a professional ‘neutral’ wire service:<blockquote>village-based Tamil reporters were to be trained in the techniques of conventional Western reporting. All factual assertions were to be triple-checked and double-sourced, all interviews (if possible) recorded, and all nationalist rhetoric was to be removed from the site. There would no longer be funny numbers, patriotic poems, pictures of martyred LTTE fighters, or invocations of ''Eelam'', the hoped-for Tamil state. Instead, the tone would be the flat, unemotional, supremely confident...monotone of international journalism and of much social science.<ref name="whitaker1" /></blockquote>TamilNet reporters are on the ground mostly in the provincial villages of the North and East of Sri Lanka, where reporters are supplied with digital equipment. Reports are generated in ] and emailed to ] translators and editors in United States, Europe, Australia or to ], Sri Lanka. This network of on the ground reporters has allowed TamilNet to circumvent Sri Lankan government's censorship laws.<ref name="whitaker1" />


==Perceptions==
* On ], 2006, a Tamilnet article titled "SLA shelling kills 15 civilians, injures 20" included published photographs of people it said died from "shells fired by the Sri Lanka Army and Sri Lanka Navy."<ref name = TamilnetShelling>{{cite news | url = http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=19107 | title = SLA shelling kills 15 civilians, injures 20 | publisher = Tamilnet | date = ] | accessdate = 2006-08-06 }}</ref> The report stated that "the shelling" took place at "around 7 p.m." on ]. However, the camera timestamp on the pictures indicated a time of between between 12.37 p.m. and 12.40 p.m.<ref name = TamilnetShelling/> '']'' reported that unnamed analysts questioned as to how an incident that took place "around 7.15 p.m." on ] presuming it was photographed over five hours earlier.<ref name = AsianTribune>{{cite news | url = http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/1448 | title = LTTE propaganda boomerangs again | date = ] | accessdate = 2006-10-01 }}</ref> It is alleged by the Asiantribune that one of the images was subsequently removed from the website.<ref name = AsianTribune/> The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence posted a copy of the ''Asian Tribune'' article and added that, since all the photographs were of women, it speculated that they were from the LTTE "Women Brigade", and had been dressed as civilians after they were killed in previous fighting.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20060808_05 | work = Sri Lankan Military of Defence | title = LTTE propaganda boomerangs again | date = ] | accessdate = 2006-10-02 }}</ref> The Sri Lankan Defence ministry nor Asian Tribune has not been able to substantiate these allegation and independent verification of these allegations has not been possible. In addition the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry has also not categorically denied shelling civilian targets during the stated time period. However, Asiantribune has been accused of ] by the Media Foundation, an independent media watchdog and has been accused of "disseminating incorrect information of a highly defamatory nature" by the International Berghof Foundation (involved in Peace and Conflict Studies) .
], ], ], ], ] and ] all refer to TamilNet as "the pro-] website".<ref name=reuters1>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10398943| title= Tamil Tigers warn Sri Lanka offensive could end truce | date= 31 August 2006 | agency = Reuters | first = Simon | last = Gardner | access-date = 1 October 2006 }}</ref><ref name="ceasefire">{{cite news|title=Sri Lanka rebels 'call ceasefire'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8054169.stm|work=]|date=17 May 2009|access-date=17 May 2009}}</ref><ref name=ap1>{{cite news | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/09/asia/AS_GEN_Sri_Lanka.php | title = Sri Lankan military says 11 soldiers killed in fierce battle with rebels in the north | date= 8 September 2006 | agency = Associated Press | access-date = 1 October 2006 }}</ref><ref name=afp1>{{cite news | url = http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=109970&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24 | title = Peace hopes rise as Tigers 'agree' to talk | date= 28 September 2006 | agency = ] | access-date = 7 October 2006 }}</ref><ref name=xinhua1>{{cite news | url = http://english.people.com.cn/200609/22/eng20060922_305173.html | title = Sri Lanka Air Force bombs rebel positions in north | date= 22 September 2006 | agency = ] | access-date = 7 October 2006 }}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news | url = http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/06/20096173150357259.html | title = LTTE to regroup as political body | date= 19 June 2009 | publisher = ] | access-date = 28 August 2009 }}http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/06/20096173150357259.html</ref>


Mark Whitaker, an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the ] and research collaborator of former senior TamilNet editor ], argues that TamilNet merely shares the ] ideology of the LTTE and is not an arm of the organization. For instance, he says TamilNet had once fired a sub-editor who had become an activist for the LTTE. He also says TamilNet has faced complaints and "extreme displeasure" from both the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE. Whitaker also says the LTTE has been deeply unhappy of "undue" coverage given on TamilNet to criticism of the organization by international human rights organizations. However, Whitaker believes much of the criticism directed at TamilNet by the LTTE is off public view, since the LTTE considers such moves as weakening Tamil nationalism.<ref name=whitaker1/>
* On ], 2006, Tamilnet reported that LTTE aircraft had attacked a Sri Lankan Military base at ], ].<ref name = Tamilnetaircraft>{{cite news | title = Tiger aircraft rockets Palaly base, curfew in Jaffna | url = http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=19186 | publisher = Tamilnet | date = ] | accessdate = 2006-10-02 }}</ref> The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence claimed that this was a lie.<ref name = Defence>{{cite web | url = http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20060813_01 | title = Tamilnet Exposed "Lying" once again | work = Sri Lankan Military of Defence | date = ] | accessdate = 2006-10-02 }}</ref> While Tamilnet claimed that the attack had started at around 9.30 p.m. Sri Lanka time<ref name = Tamilnetaircraft/>, the article itself was posted at 15:29 ] or 9:29 p.m. Sri Lanka Time. The Defence Ministry argues the Tamilnet article was prepared well before the supposed attack occurred although it doesn't provide evidence other than supposed timestamp discrepancy to substantiate its claim. Tamilnet references an independent source who had claimed the attack occurred around 9:30 pm local time. <ref name = Defence/> Palaly airbase falls within a Sri Lankan Army High Security Zone and therefore independent observers or media are not allowed without Defence Ministry permission and escort. Tamilnet in turn reports on August 14th " Communication facilities at the Sri Lankan military base complex at Palaly were damaged when an unidentified aircraft fired rockets at the airbase Friday night (August 11th), a military source said Monday" , which contradicts the Sri Lankan military's official stance to media sources in Colombo where they mention, "we didn't even see an LTTE kite!"


According to '''ARTICLE 19''', a global human rights organization with a specific mandate and focus on the defense and promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide, the news website although some claim it has an LTTE bias, it has over its ten-year life span, earned a reputation for providing alternative news and opinions with a particular focus on the North and East of the country, operating under the banner of "Reporting to the World on Tamil Affairs". It is relied upon as a credible news source by journalists, civil society and the diplomatic community both within Sri Lanka and globally. Over the years, the site has endured various threats and attacks, including the gunning down in April 2005 of editor, Sivaram Dharmaratnam.<ref name="a19">{{cite news|url=http://www.article19.org/pdfs/press/sri-lanka-tamilnet-blocked.pdf|title= Sri Lanka: News Agency website blocked on Attack on Press Freedom| date= 31 August 2006| publisher = ] | access-date = 1 October 2006}}</ref>
==Murder of its editor==
In 2005, Tamilnet's editor ], who media organizations including the ] said favored the LTTE in his articles, was kidnapped and then shot and killed in ], Sri Lanka.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9500E0DE1E31F933A05757C0A9639C8B63 | title = Tamil Journalist Shot Dead | publisher = ] | date = ] | accessdate = 2006-10-02 }}</ref> The LTTE has accused the government of complicity in his murder,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=14775 | title = LTTE accuses SLA Intelligence, para-militaries for Sivaram's murder | publisher = Tamilnet | date = ] | accessdate = 2006-10-02 }}</ref> while the government has denied any responsibility{{fact}}. ] a Canada based freelance journalist known for his neutral stance in the current ] had written that ], was personally involved in the murder of famed journalist ] But Karuna has denied this categorically.. Both the ] and ] have accused the Sri Lankan government of arming, sheltering and supporting ] group .


==Criticism and Counter-Criticism==
==References==
Experts in the field argue TamilNet's accuracy of its reporting has "rarely been successfully challenged that such charges ring hollow". According to V. Sambandan, Sri Lanka Special Correspondent for the Indian English daily '']'', "facts and figures are double sourced, checked and are considered 100% credible".<ref name=whitaker1/>
<div class="references-small">
<references />
</div>


However a Sri Lanka analyst for the prominent Indian English daily '']'', whose chief editor ] was awarded the ] and is noted for being virulently anti-LTTE,<ref>Maya Ranganathan (2009) Experiencing eelam.com: terror online, South
==External links==
Asian History and Culture, 1:1, 71-85, DOI: 10.1080/19472490903387241</ref> <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=34994 | title=TamilNet }}</ref> states "TamilNet (www.tamilnet.com) is the unofficial mouthpiece of the Tigers in English. It is a kind of news agency chronicling the conflict as perceived by the LTTE. The site is a `must hit' for any serious Sri Lanka watcher. A senior official in the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat told Frontline, "My first port of call on the internet is TamilNet. Though it is brazenly pro-Tigers, it is a good guide to know the mind of the Tiger leadership tucked away in the safe havens of the Wanni jungles.".<ref>{{usurped|1=}}</ref>
*
*


==Threats and murders==
It has been alleged that members associated with various Sri Lankan political parties have threatened reporters of TamilNet with arrest for "treason", and once hinted, that "uncontrolled extremists might be inspired to perform some extra-judicial killing".{{cref|Extra Judicial killing}}<ref name=whitaker1/> (See additional information ])


In 2004, Ramasamy Thurairatnam, a correspondent for the Lakehouse press group and the TamilNet.com news website, claimed that his life was in danger because a local ]'s supporters have formed ] whose job is to eliminate those who don't support their point of view in the civil conflict. Due to the same threats the ]’s Tamil and ] services have stopped broadcasting reports from their correspondents in eastern Sri Lanka.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529111246/http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10956 |date=29 May 2009 }} (19 July 2004)</ref>
]
] was found behind the ]'s high security zone. Source:TamilNet.com]]
]
], a ] based reporter for the ],<ref name = "CJP"> Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, free-lancer killed (1 December 2000)</ref> who also filed news reports for TamilNet<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asiafoundation.org/pdf/SL_Media_Survey.pdf |title=Sri Lanka's vernacular press and the peace process |access-date=27 November 2011}}</ref> was shot and killed in 2000. The accused who is an ex-member of ] (EDPD) headed by cabinet minister ], a coalition member of many ruling alliances, has been absconding since his bailout.<ref> TamilNet report (4 July 2002)</ref>
]


In 2005, TamilNet's editor ], was kidnapped and then shot and killed in ] by unknown gunmen. His body was found near the ] inside the high security zone.<ref>{{usurped|1=}} End of a dissenter (21 May 2005)
</ref> Currently a former member of the ] (PLOTE), a minor political organization and a known paramilitary group<ref> ASA 37/010/2001(2001)</ref> has been accused in the murder.<ref>{{cite news | title = TamilNet editor's murder still unpunished after one year | url = http://www.ifj-asia.org/page/srilanka060428.html | publisher = ] | date = 28 April 2005 | access-date = 6 April 2007 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20060822101456/http://www.ifj-asia.org/page/srilanka060428.html | archive-date = 22 August 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=}}(21 July 2006)</ref>


The LTTE has accused the government of complicity in his murder,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=14775 | title = LTTE accuses SLA Intelligence, para-militaries for Sivaram's murder | publisher = TamilNet | date = 30 April 2005 | access-date = 2 October 2006 }}</ref> while the government has denied any responsibility. To the accusation that self styled ], a government aligned<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060928114856/http://www.slmm.lk/intros/FINAL%20GENEVA%20REPORT%20AFTER%20CORRECTIONS%20ON%201st%20of%20JUNE.pdf |date=28 September 2006 }} 2006</ref><ref> Human Rights Watch (29 March 2007)</ref>
]
regional political party leader and a former LTTE member was personally involved in the murder of Taraki Sivaram, Karuna has categorically denied it.<ref> 2006</ref><ref> 2007</ref>

==Ban in Sri Lanka==
According to ] (FMM), a media rights watchdog from Sri Lanka, on 19 June 2007, on the orders of the Sri Lankan Government, all major ] (ISP) in Sri Lanka, blocked users from being able to access the TamilNet website.<ref name="freemediasrilanka.org">{{cite news | url = http://www.freemediasrilanka.org/index.php?action=con_news_full&id=625&section=news | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927010542/http://www.freemediasrilanka.org/index.php?action=con_news_full&id=625&section=news | url-status = usurped | archive-date = 27 September 2007 | title = Clamping down on the Internet: The ban on Tamilnet in Sri Lanka | publisher = FMM | date = 20 June 2007 | access-date = 20 June 2007 }}</ref>
The FMM said that it is "deeply disturbed" with the news and had the following to say about the ban:
{{quote|"The ban on Tamilnet is the first instance of what the FMM believes may soon be a slippery slope of web & Internet censorship in Sri Lanka. It is also a regrettable yet revealing extension of this Government’s threats against and coercion of print and electronic media in Sri Lanka since assuming office in late 2005.... The FMM stresses that the danger of censoring the web & Internet is that it gives a Government and State agencies with no demonstrable track record of protecting & strengthening human rights and media freedom flimsy grounds to violate privacy, curtail the free flow of information and restrict freedom of expression"<ref name="freemediasrilanka.org"/>}}
When questioned by reporters, Government Minister ] said he was not aware of the shutdown but, "We are looking for ] to disable the Tamilnet but could not find anyone yet."<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2007/06/070620_tamilnet.shtml | title = Tamilnet blocked in Sri Lanka| publisher = BBC | date = 21 June 2007 | access-date = 21 June 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/410007| title = Popular website shut down| publisher = Japan Today | date = 21 June 2007 | access-date = 21 June 2007 }}</ref> to which FMM responded by saying that it was ] by a government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=22529|title = Colombo admits to cyber terrorism- FMM| publisher = Tamilnet | date = 22 June 2007 | access-date = 22 June 2007 }}</ref>

The Human Rights group Article 19 in a press release on 20 June 2007, said the following regarding the ban on TamilNet: "Until now, control measures have largely been directed at local media. Applying these measures to the Internet represents a serious escalation which threatens to cut off an important source of independent and alternative news. This not only threatens press freedom but also undermines efforts to address the conflict."<ref name="a19"/>

==See also==
*]
*]
*]
*]
*Tangatawhenua

==Notes==
*{{cnote|Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism|] is expressed in the political desire by some to form an independent nation state called ] for the minority ] people. Both moderate ] and ] and militant groups such as LTTE, ], PLOTE, EPDP etc. have expressed such political goals either in the past or now.<ref>''Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries'', By Professor A. Jeyaratnam Wilson
Publisher: ] Press (March 2000) ({{ISBN|1-85065-338-0}})</ref> }}
*{{cnote|Extra Judicial killing|Sri Lankans have suffered a spate of extra judicial killings since the beginning of the civil war. The UN and other international bodies have expressed grave concern over the spate of extra judicial killings in Sri Lanka.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927045418/http://www.apwld.org/ejk.htm |date=27 September 2007 }} Asia Pacific forum on Women, Law and Development 2006</ref>}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin}}

* ''Nurturing a Nation on the Net: The Case of ]'', by Maya Ranganathan, NATIONALISM AND ETHNIC POLITICS; 2002, VOL 8; PART 2, pages 51–66. {{ISSN|1353-7113}}
* ''Nurturing Eelam on the net: the transmission of nationalist ideologies through Sri Lankan Tamil websites'', by Maya Ranganathan, Clayton, Vic.: Monash Asia Institute, 2006
* "Potential of the Net to Construct and Convey Ethnic and National Identities: Comparison of the Use in the Sri Lankan Tamil and Kashmir Situations", by Maya Ranganathan, ''Asian Ethnicity'': Taylor & Francis Group, 2004
*''Learning Politics from Sivaram, The Life and Death of a Revolutionary Tamil Journalist in Sri Lanka'', by Mark P. Whitaker Publisher: Pluto Press (UK) 2007 ({{ISBN|0-7453-2353-7}})
*"Internet and media freedom: Media censorship in Sri Lanka and the emergence of Web-based rebel media" by Kasun Ubayasiri. ''AsiaPacific MediaEducator'', Issue 12/13, December 2002
*"A virtual Eelam: Democracy, Internet and Sri Lanka’s Tamil struggle" by ] in ''Asian Cyberactivism: freedom of expression & media censorship'' by Steven Gann, James Gomez and Uwe Johannen ({{ISBN|0-9749177-5-3}})

{{Refend}}

== External links ==
*
*
*
*
*

]
]
]

Latest revision as of 06:56, 26 December 2024

Online newspaper covering Sri Lanka

TamilNet
Type of siteOnline newspaper
Founder(s)Muthuthamby Sreetharan
URLwww.tamilnet.com
Launched1997; 27 years ago (1997)
Current statusActive

TamilNet is an online newspaper that provides news and feature articles on current affairs in Sri Lanka, specifically related to the erstwhile Sri Lankan Civil War. The website was formed by members of the Sri Lankan Tamil community residing in the United States and publishes articles in English, German and French.

It is Tamil nationalist and is described as a pro LTTE website.

Tamilnet and non-governmental organizations such as Free Media Movement (FMM), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and ARTICLE 19 confirm that the website is currently banned in Sri Lanka.

Operations

TamilNet was founded in 1995 by a group of Tamil diaspora professionals, including computer programmer K. Jayachandran from Norway, a systems analyst from the UK and several “dotcom” entrepreneurs from the United States to counter what they thought was a biased Western press coverage of the Sri Lankan conflict. In 1996 the journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram was invited by the group to reform their website after being unable to attract visitors. In 1997 TamilNet was relaunched along the lines laid down by its now editor Sivaram to make it a professional ‘neutral’ wire service:

village-based Tamil reporters were to be trained in the techniques of conventional Western reporting. All factual assertions were to be triple-checked and double-sourced, all interviews (if possible) recorded, and all nationalist rhetoric was to be removed from the site. There would no longer be funny numbers, patriotic poems, pictures of martyred LTTE fighters, or invocations of Eelam, the hoped-for Tamil state. Instead, the tone would be the flat, unemotional, supremely confident...monotone of international journalism and of much social science.

TamilNet reporters are on the ground mostly in the provincial villages of the North and East of Sri Lanka, where reporters are supplied with digital equipment. Reports are generated in Tamil and emailed to bilingual translators and editors in United States, Europe, Australia or to Colombo, Sri Lanka. This network of on the ground reporters has allowed TamilNet to circumvent Sri Lankan government's censorship laws.

Perceptions

Reuters, Associated Press, BBC News, Agence France Presse, Xinhua and Al Jazeera English all refer to TamilNet as "the pro-LTTE website".

Mark Whitaker, an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of South Carolina and research collaborator of former senior TamilNet editor Taraki Sivaram, argues that TamilNet merely shares the Sri Lankan Tamil nationalist ideology of the LTTE and is not an arm of the organization. For instance, he says TamilNet had once fired a sub-editor who had become an activist for the LTTE. He also says TamilNet has faced complaints and "extreme displeasure" from both the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE. Whitaker also says the LTTE has been deeply unhappy of "undue" coverage given on TamilNet to criticism of the organization by international human rights organizations. However, Whitaker believes much of the criticism directed at TamilNet by the LTTE is off public view, since the LTTE considers such moves as weakening Tamil nationalism.

According to ARTICLE 19, a global human rights organization with a specific mandate and focus on the defense and promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide, the news website although some claim it has an LTTE bias, it has over its ten-year life span, earned a reputation for providing alternative news and opinions with a particular focus on the North and East of the country, operating under the banner of "Reporting to the World on Tamil Affairs". It is relied upon as a credible news source by journalists, civil society and the diplomatic community both within Sri Lanka and globally. Over the years, the site has endured various threats and attacks, including the gunning down in April 2005 of editor, Sivaram Dharmaratnam.

Criticism and Counter-Criticism

Experts in the field argue TamilNet's accuracy of its reporting has "rarely been successfully challenged that such charges ring hollow". According to V. Sambandan, Sri Lanka Special Correspondent for the Indian English daily The Hindu, "facts and figures are double sourced, checked and are considered 100% credible".

However a Sri Lanka analyst for the prominent Indian English daily The Hindu, whose chief editor N. Ram was awarded the Sri Lanka Rathna and is noted for being virulently anti-LTTE, states "TamilNet (www.tamilnet.com) is the unofficial mouthpiece of the Tigers in English. It is a kind of news agency chronicling the conflict as perceived by the LTTE. The site is a `must hit' for any serious Sri Lanka watcher. A senior official in the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat told Frontline, "My first port of call on the internet is TamilNet. Though it is brazenly pro-Tigers, it is a good guide to know the mind of the Tiger leadership tucked away in the safe havens of the Wanni jungles.".

Threats and murders

It has been alleged that members associated with various Sri Lankan political parties have threatened reporters of TamilNet with arrest for "treason", and once hinted, that "uncontrolled extremists might be inspired to perform some extra-judicial killing". (See additional information here)

In 2004, Ramasamy Thurairatnam, a correspondent for the Lakehouse press group and the TamilNet.com news website, claimed that his life was in danger because a local warlord's supporters have formed death squads whose job is to eliminate those who don't support their point of view in the civil conflict. Due to the same threats the BBC’s Tamil and Sinhalese services have stopped broadcasting reports from their correspondents in eastern Sri Lanka.

Body of Taraki Sivaram was found behind the Parliament of Sri Lanka's high security zone. Source:TamilNet.com

Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, a Jaffna based reporter for the BBC, who also filed news reports for TamilNet was shot and killed in 2000. The accused who is an ex-member of Eelam People's Democratic Party (EDPD) headed by cabinet minister Douglas Devananda, a coalition member of many ruling alliances, has been absconding since his bailout.

In 2005, TamilNet's editor Taraki Sivaram, was kidnapped and then shot and killed in Colombo by unknown gunmen. His body was found near the Sri Lankan parliament inside the high security zone. Currently a former member of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), a minor political organization and a known paramilitary group has been accused in the murder.

The LTTE has accused the government of complicity in his murder, while the government has denied any responsibility. To the accusation that self styled Colonel Karuna, a government aligned regional political party leader and a former LTTE member was personally involved in the murder of Taraki Sivaram, Karuna has categorically denied it.

Ban in Sri Lanka

According to Free Media Movement (FMM), a media rights watchdog from Sri Lanka, on 19 June 2007, on the orders of the Sri Lankan Government, all major Internet Service Providers (ISP) in Sri Lanka, blocked users from being able to access the TamilNet website. The FMM said that it is "deeply disturbed" with the news and had the following to say about the ban:

"The ban on Tamilnet is the first instance of what the FMM believes may soon be a slippery slope of web & Internet censorship in Sri Lanka. It is also a regrettable yet revealing extension of this Government’s threats against and coercion of print and electronic media in Sri Lanka since assuming office in late 2005.... The FMM stresses that the danger of censoring the web & Internet is that it gives a Government and State agencies with no demonstrable track record of protecting & strengthening human rights and media freedom flimsy grounds to violate privacy, curtail the free flow of information and restrict freedom of expression"

When questioned by reporters, Government Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said he was not aware of the shutdown but, "We are looking for hackers to disable the Tamilnet but could not find anyone yet." to which FMM responded by saying that it was Cyber terrorism by a government.

The Human Rights group Article 19 in a press release on 20 June 2007, said the following regarding the ban on TamilNet: "Until now, control measures have largely been directed at local media. Applying these measures to the Internet represents a serious escalation which threatens to cut off an important source of independent and alternative news. This not only threatens press freedom but also undermines efforts to address the conflict."

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ Whitaker, Mark (31 August 2006). "Tamilnet.com: Some Reflections on Popular Anthropology, Nationalism, and the Internet". Anthropological Quarterly. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  2. "Sri Lanka profile". BBC News. 31 January 2012.
  3. "Sri Lanka military in jungle clash". Al Jazeera. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
  4. ^ "Sri Lanka: News Agency website blocked on Attack on Press Freedom" (PDF). ARTICLE 19. 31 August 2006. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
  5. Gardner, Simon (31 August 2006). "Tamil Tigers warn Sri Lanka offensive could end truce". Reuters. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
  6. "Sri Lanka rebels 'call ceasefire'". BBC News. 17 May 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  7. "Sri Lankan military says 11 soldiers killed in fierce battle with rebels in the north". Associated Press. 8 September 2006. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
  8. "Peace hopes rise as Tigers 'agree' to talk". Agence France-Presse. 28 September 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2006.
  9. "Sri Lanka Air Force bombs rebel positions in north". Xinhua News Agency. 22 September 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2006.
  10. "LTTE to regroup as political body". Al Jazeera. 19 June 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2009.http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/06/20096173150357259.html
  11. Maya Ranganathan (2009) Experiencing eelam.com: terror online, South Asian History and Culture, 1:1, 71-85, DOI: 10.1080/19472490903387241
  12. "TamilNet".
  13. Article Title
  14. Nine recommendations for improving the state of press freedom Archived 29 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine (19 July 2004)
  15. CPJ Report Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, free-lancer killed (1 December 2000)
  16. "Sri Lanka's vernacular press and the peace process" (PDF). Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  17. Ex EPDP confesses to the killing TamilNet report (4 July 2002)
  18. Frontline report End of a dissenter (21 May 2005)
  19. Amnesty International report ASA 37/010/2001(2001)
  20. "TamilNet editor's murder still unpunished after one year". International Federation of Journalists. 28 April 2005. Archived from the original on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2007.
  21. Sivaram killing: AG indicts PLOTE leader’s driver(21 July 2006)
  22. "LTTE accuses SLA Intelligence, para-militaries for Sivaram's murder". TamilNet. 30 April 2005. Retrieved 2 October 2006.
  23. SLMM June Report Archived 28 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine 2006
  24. Child Soldiers: Government Failing to Investigate or Stop Karuna Group Human Rights Watch (29 March 2007)
  25. Did Karuna Personally kill "Taraki" Sivaram? 2006
  26. Karuna's response to accusations about Taraki murder 2007
  27. ^ "Clamping down on the Internet: The ban on Tamilnet in Sri Lanka". FMM. 20 June 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  28. "Tamilnet blocked in Sri Lanka". BBC. 21 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
  29. "Popular website shut down". Japan Today. 21 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2007.
  30. "Colombo admits to cyber terrorism- FMM". Tamilnet. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
  31. Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, By Professor A. Jeyaratnam Wilson Publisher: University of British Columbia Press (March 2000) (ISBN 1-85065-338-0)
  32. APWLD/FA Statement on extrajudicial killing in Sri Lanka, Philippines and Chechnya at the UN Human Rights Council Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine Asia Pacific forum on Women, Law and Development 2006

Further reading

  • Nurturing a Nation on the Net: The Case of Tamil Eelam, by Maya Ranganathan, NATIONALISM AND ETHNIC POLITICS; 2002, VOL 8; PART 2, pages 51–66. ISSN 1353-7113
  • Nurturing Eelam on the net: the transmission of nationalist ideologies through Sri Lankan Tamil websites, by Maya Ranganathan, Clayton, Vic.: Monash Asia Institute, 2006 See infor here
  • "Potential of the Net to Construct and Convey Ethnic and National Identities: Comparison of the Use in the Sri Lankan Tamil and Kashmir Situations", by Maya Ranganathan, Asian Ethnicity: Taylor & Francis Group, 2004
  • Learning Politics from Sivaram, The Life and Death of a Revolutionary Tamil Journalist in Sri Lanka, by Mark P. Whitaker Publisher: Pluto Press (UK) 2007 (ISBN 0-7453-2353-7)
  • "Internet and media freedom: Media censorship in Sri Lanka and the emergence of Web-based rebel media" by Kasun Ubayasiri. AsiaPacific MediaEducator, Issue 12/13, December 2002 See info here
  • "A virtual Eelam: Democracy, Internet and Sri Lanka’s Tamil struggle" by Kasun Ubayasiri in Asian Cyberactivism: freedom of expression & media censorship by Steven Gann, James Gomez and Uwe Johannen See info here (ISBN 0-9749177-5-3)

External links

Categories: