For immediate
release.
Drop Charges
against Lena Hendry: Arbitrary control of screenings of films impedes freedom
of information and expression.
Kuala Lumpur,
December 14, 2015: Today, Lena
Hendry, our colleague and a staff of
KOMAS, is undergoing trial in the criminal court for allegedly breaking the law
by screening NO FIRE ZONE: THE KILLING FIELDS OF SRI LANKA, a human rights
documentary film about war crimes committed during the civil war in Sri Lanka.
She is the first human rights activist in Malaysia to be
charged under section 6(1) and (2)of the Film Censorship Act which we feel has
been arbitrarily used and politically initiated to stop the dissemination and
discussion of important information about the human rights situation in Sri
Lanka during a very difficult post-war period in the country’s political
history.
We have reason to believe that this action was brought about
by a complaint made by the ambassador of
Sri Lanka in Malaysia at that time who had sent a letter to the home ministry
as well as the organisers stating his unhappiness over the film screening as he claimed
“it contains lies about Sri Lanka”.
Regardless of the validity of his concerns, it is worrying to see how
easy it is for foreign parties to influence what should be solely a domestic
decision.
Although the trial has begun today, we feel strongly that
the AG should still drop the charges against Lena immediately and in the long
term, we call for the repeal of all articles in the Film Censorship Act that
are in conflict with universal standards of human rights.
Article 6 in the Film Censorship Act law says that unless approved by Censorship Board,
“No person shall have in his possession or in his custody or under his control;
or circulate,exhibit,distribute,
If strictly imposed, most if not all Malaysians would be
guilty as the law technically covers any kind of film and in whatever social
situation or circumstances in which you come into contact with a film.
This not only goes against our rights to freedom of
information and expression but also can be easily abused as a powerful tool to
suppress alternative information essential for any functioning democracy.
In addition to that, section 2 of the same article makes it
a criminal offense whereby a jail
term together with a fine can be imposed if the accused is found guilty. This
means that any ordinary person such as an independent filmmaker; a teacher in
class; a human rights activist like Lena or someone who screened their own
wedding video at their own private function could technically be jailed if they
did not acquire prior permission or exemption from the censorship board. Hence
this law criminalises everyone whether they realise it not. In an era of open
government and free information flow of the internet age, this archaic law and
practise doesn’t bode well for a modern Malaysia we aspire to be.
That brings us to the question of the impartiality of the authorities in charge of regulating films in
Malaysia. Article 4 of the act states
that the board of censors are appointed by the Home Minister and Article 6 of
the same act gives the Home Minister
absolute discretionary powers to overrule or to make a final decision on
exempting or approval of all things related to films. In many other countries,
this decision is left entirely to an independently selected board who is
mandated only to rate the films but not cut portions of the film they find
unacceptable.
KOMAS has been working in the field of human rights awareness and advocacy in
Malaysia for more than 20 years now. The
usage of films and other creative media and processes are crucial to the
effectiveness of our work. We organise regular screenings in local communities
as well as in colleges and universities. For the past 13 years, we have also
been organising the FreedomFilmFest, an
annual international human rights films
festival that showcases local and international films with social themes.
If Lena is found guilty, this law will jeopardise our
efforts in educating the Malaysian citizenry about human rights and empowering
them to be thinking and critical citizens. It will also have an effect on
budding independent filmmakers, educators and activists who all use films as a
medium to inform, educate and express themselves.
For more information: Pusat KOMAS (03-79685415 / info@komas.org)
Released by;
Anna Har
Pusat KOMAS
See earlier post:-
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