Foreign and local journalists are forbidden to enter the north-east war zone without permission from the Defence Ministry. The ban remains in force for many years, mainly in order to prevent publicity about the plight of refugees. Ms Colvin is one of only a few journalists who have witnessed the appalling conditions of refugees in the Vanni area. The Sri Lankan government has accused her of having a secret agenda with the LTTE. Six people, including M Seneviratne of Vavuniya, are in custody, blamed of assisting her to enter the Vanni.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Correspondents Association says that the government must have a more transparent and regularized policy of allowing journalists into rebel territory. In a letter to President Chandrika, Paris-based agency, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) has reminded the government that journalists must be treated as non-combatants under the Geneva Conventions.
RSF said in April that A Farmi, the Mannar correspondent of Tamil journal Thinakkural, has received death threats after reporting the rape of two Tamil women by security forces in March. RSF has also written to the President over the serious deficiencies in police investigation into the killing of Mylvaganam Nimalarajan and the apparent unwillingness of the government to shed light on the Jaffna journalist’s murder in October 2000.
Another Jaffna journalist Subramaniam Thiruchelvam, arrested in Colombo in January, accused of LTTE links, was released in late March. Lawyers say he was kept handcuffed and assaulted during detention.