Press TV: Death Threats on Sri Lanka Government Radio

The problems began on 25 October, when Fernando was interviewed by The Island newspaper in Colombo. She discussed the condition of sex workers in Sri Lanka.

(SACRAMENTO) - A well-known and highly regarded Sri Lankan human rights activist received death threats live on state radio last week. Ms. Nimalka Fernando knows journalists and activists who speak out against the government are murdered and disappear with mind-numbing consistency in Sri Lanka, but the discussion of her murder live on state radio was shocking even for this seasoned veteran activist.

It comes at a time when heavily criticized Sri Lanka is hosting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The heads of government of the 53 nations of the Commonwealth come together every two years for this summit, only things looked different this year, with notable countries like Canada and India missing from the table, as they boycotted CHOGM over Sri Lanka's unresolved issues involving war crimes, human rights violations, and possibly Genocide.

Nimalka Fernando is an attorney-at-law and President of the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination (IMADR) and the Women’s Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka. An internationally recognized human rights leader, Ms. Fernando has for 25 years courageously identified Sri Lanka’s consistent failures to meet its human rights obligations, cites United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC).

The problems began on 25 October, when Fernando was interviewed by The Island newspaper in Colombo. She discussed the condition of sex workers in Sri Lanka. Ms. Fernando spoke of the need for protection of sex workers from harassment, calling for reform of abortion laws in favor of a more protective reproductive health approach.

USTPAC says The Island and other media sources, including Hiru TV, "deliberately misquoted Ms. Fernando’s statements as a call for legalizing prostitution and unleashed a smear campaign against her."

Then the government-controlled Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) - the equivalent of Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBS) in the United States, joined the fray. They broadcast a talk program with the derisive title, Stoning the Sinner Woman.

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TK/NN

Tim King specializes in writing about political and military developments worldwide. His years as a Human Rights reporter have taken on many dimensions. His background includes covering the war in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, and reporting from the Iraq war in 2008. Tim is a former U.S. Marine. Tim is the news editor for Salem-News.com and holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing from traditional mainstream news agencies like The Associated Press and Electronic Media Association; he also holds awards from the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs; and The Red Cross More articles by Tim King