TAMILNET

'TamilNet' is a news website that provides news and feature articles on current affairs in Sri Lanka, specifically related to the ongoing 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 Tamilnet.com: Some Reflections on Popular Anthropology, Nationalism, and the Internet, , Whittaker, Mark, Anthropological Quarterly], and German.
Its reporting is widely considered to be biased towards the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organization, Tamil Tigers warn Sri Lanka offensive could end truce Simon Gardner and although it is not officially affiliated with the rebel group, it is regarded it as a propaganda instrument of the LTTE.^[1]
According to ARTICLE 19, a human rights organization, it is a popular news site that is relied upon as a credible source of news, by journalists, civil society and the diplomatic community both within Sri Lanka and globally and also to seek out the LTTE leadership’s perspective on the civil conflict. 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.^[2]

Contents

Operations

Perceptions

Criticism and Counter-Criticism

Threats and murders

Ban in Sri Lanka

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

Operations

TamilNet articles are written in the elegant, simple and informitive style of reporting. This is in the neutral-authoritative tone of most Western wire news services.
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, Agence France Presse and Xinhua all refer to TamilNet as "the pro-LTTE website". Tamil Tigers warn Sri Lanka offensive could end truce Simon Gardner Sri Lankan military says 11 soldiers killed in fierce battle with rebels in the north Peace hopes rise as Tigers ‘agree’ to talk Sri Lanka Air Force bombs rebel positions in north
Mark Whittaker an Associate Professor of Anthropology argues 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 fired a sub-editor once he became an activist for the LTTE. He also says TamilNet has faced complaints and 'extreme displeasure' from both the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE. Whittaker 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 Whittaker 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 solid 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.
^[3]

Criticism and Counter-Criticism

TamilNet has been accused of false reporting by the government of Sri Lanka. It has also been been accused of manipulating news to adhere to a Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalist perspective by some.
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 prominent 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'', 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." [1].
Some of the instances in which Tamilnet is accused of false reporting include

★ On August 6, 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". SLA shelling kills 15 civilians, injures 20 The report stated that "the shelling" took place at "around 7 p.m." on August 6. However, the camera timestamp on the pictures indicated a time of between between 12.37 p.m. and 12.40 p.m. TamilNet has subsequently acknowledged the timestamp on the pictures were incorrect. SLA shelling kills 15 civilians, injures 20 ''Asian Tribune'' reported that unnamed analysts questioned as to how an incident that took place "around 7.15 p.m." on August 6 presuming it was photographed over five hours earlier. LTTE propaganda boomerangs again It is alleged by the Asiantribune that one of the images was subsequently removed from the website. 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.^[4]

★ On August 11, 2006, TamilNet reported that LTTE aircraft had attacked a Sri Lankan Military base at Palaly, Jaffna. Tiger aircraft rockets Palaly base, curfew in Jaffna The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence claimed that this was a lie. Tamilnet Exposed "Lying" once again While TamilNet claimed that the attack had started at around 9.30 p.m. Sri Lanka time, the article itself was posted at 15:29 Greenwich Mean Time or 9:29 p.m. Sri Lanka Time. Tamilnet later acknowledged that the attack itself was a speculation and LTTE did not accept or reject that report.^[5]Currently some view the conflicting reports about the purported initial bombardment of the Palaly airport through the prism of propaganda and counter propaganda by both the combatants. ^[6]

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.^[7]

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, CPJ Report Mylvaganam Nimalarajan, free-lancer killed (December 12000) who also filed news reports for TamilNet^[8] 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.^[9]
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.^[10] Currently a former member of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), a minor political organization and a known paramilitary group^[11]has been accused in the murder.^[12][13]
The LTTE has accused the government of complicity in his murder,^[14] while the government has denied any responsibility. To the accusation that self styled Colonel Karuna, a government aligned^[15][16]
regional political party leader and a former LTTE member was personally involved in the murder of Taraki Sivaram, Karuna has categorically denied it.^[17][18]

Ban in Sri Lanka

According to Free Media Movement (FMM), a media rights watchdog from Sri Lanka, on June 19, 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.^[19]
The FMM said that it is "deeply disturbed" with the news and also that;
When questioned by reporters, Government Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said he was not aware of the shutdown but,
^[20][21] to which FMM reponded by saying that it was Cyber terrorism by a government.^[22]
The Human Rights group Article 19 in a press release on June 20, 2007, said on the ban on Tamilnet as

See also

★ Afghan Times

★ Kurdish Media

★ Sudan Tribune

★ Tangatawhenua

Notes

★

★

★

References

1. Sri Lanka gov't blocks access to Tiger website: media watchdog
2. Sri Lanka military in jungle clash
3. Sri Lanka:News Agency website blocked on Attack on Press Freedom
4. LTTE propaganda boomerangs again
5. LTTE releases air mission pictures March 262007
6. Tamileelam Air Force: Its Military, Political and Psychological Realities in the South
7. Nine recommendations for improving the state of press freedom (July 19 2004)
8. Sri Lanka’s vernacular press and the peace process
9. Ex EPDP confesses to the killing TamilNet report (July 04, 2002)
10. Frontline report End of a dissenter (May 21, 2005)

11. Amnesty International report ASA 37/010/2001(2001)
12. TamilNet editor's murder still unpunished after one year
13. Sivaram killing: AG indicts PLOTE leader’s driver(July 21 2006)
14. LTTE accuses SLA Intelligence, para-militaries for Sivaram's murder
15. SLMM June Report2006
16. Child Soldiers: Government Failing to Investigate or Stop Karuna Group Human Rights Watch (March 29, 2007)
17. Did Karuna Personally kill "Taraki" Sivaram?2006
18. Karuna's response to accusations about Taraki murder 2007
19. Clamping down on the Internet: The ban on Tamilnet in Sri Lanka
20. Tamilnet blocked in Sri Lanka
21. Popular website shut down
22. Colombo admits to cyber terrorism- FMM

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 0-745-32353-7)

★ "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 0-974-91775-3)

External links

★ Tropes, Territories and Competing Realities:A Death and the Tamil Diaspora

★ Nine recommendations for improving media freedom in Sri Lanka – RSF

★ Tamilnet in German