Calling it a worrying situation, Karlekar said, "We usually take into consideration events up to 2006,, but this statement has encompassed recent events in 2007 as well, including the alleged incident of a threat made to an Editor by the country’s defence secretary."

"The MCA watches performance trajectories on human rights, political liberties and press freedom, and if a formerly eligible country is going in the wrong direction, it may be taken off the list," Karlekar said.

Other countries that were deemed eligible and later taken off the list mainly due to slippages in political and civil liberties and a deterioration in Human Rights and press freedom include Yemen, Armenia and Gambia.

In all these cases the Freedom House (FH) reports on these countries impacted heavily on the decision to either suspend or revoke eligibility status by the MCC with specific mention being made to FH indicators.

However, Karlekar said that countries might be reinstated if they positively respond to concerns raised on human rights, political liberties, press freedom and other democratic indicators. The MCA would normally reinstate a country depending on how serious the government is to reverse its course and how well it responds to human rights and other concerns.

Sri Lanka was ranked 124 with a rating of 58 in the Freedom House Global Press Freedom ratings in 2006 amongst 194 countries. Finland with a rating of 9 was ranked most free and North Korea with a rating of 97 was ranked least free in the world.

On April 6, Freedom House issued a devastating statement calling for Sri Lanka’s removal from a list of eligible recipients for MCA funding due to serious human rights abuses and excessive restrictions on freedom of speech and association.

Freedom House yesterday also dismissed assurances given by President Rajapakse to address the human rights concerns in a letter sent to President Bush stating such assurances had been given earlier as well with little result.

Rajapakse in the first week of April sent Bush a letter appealing to the US President not to strike Sri Lanka off the MCA list, and promising to address Human Rights concerns through commissions of inquiry and the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP).

"The Sri Lankan government has made such statements even last year but nothing happened. Commissions are appointed but continue to lie dormant. Even with regard to the 17th Amendment to the Constitution either commissions are ineffective or appointments are made not following proper constitutional procedures," Karlekar added.

In its 2006 media freedom country report, Freedom House stated "the critical English-language newspaper The Sunday Leader and its editor Lasantha Wickrematunge were particularly singled out by authorities in this regard during the year."

It also stated "While some journalists, particularly those covering the LTTE-controlled areas, practice self-censorship, numerous privately owned newspapers and broadcasters scrutinise government policies and provide diverse views….. Business and political interests wield some control over content in the form of selective advertising and bribery."

Freedom House, is a powerful independent non-governmental organisation respected by both democrats and Republicans in the US, that supports the expansion of freedom in the world. The NGO has monitored political rights and civil liberties in Sri Lanka since 1972.

Courtesy: The Morning Leader