According to the Fermi Paradox the failure to date to achieve radio communication between Earth and extraterrestrial civilizations can be attributed to their short longevity due to inevitable self-destruction. Tragically Homo “sapiens” may not constitute an exception.
The most extensive catastrophe in the history of Earth―the end-Permian- mass extinction 251 million years-ago, triggering atmospheric and marine warming, ocean acidification, toxic H2S and CH4 emanations and anoxia, has led to a loss of some 57% of biological families, 83% of genera and 81% of marine species.
Casualties of the current Anthropocene mass extinction may reach a similar order of magnitude.
With a looming nuclear war on a rapidly heating greenhouse planet the collective insanity of an innovative yet unwise biped mammal, led by a money-dominated ideology implemented by cabals of corporations, billionaires and their mouthpieces, is tracking toward an extinction on a scale analogous to those of the end-Permian or the end-Cretaceous events, including a destruction of its own civilization, taking a multitude of species down with it.
Trying to survive on scorched and flooded terrains, or drowsing in front of celebrity-populated fluorescent TV and computer screens in suburbia international, the residents of planet Earth are perpetually bombarded by advertising, trivial and parochial disinformation and infotainment, while most of the media, practicing double standards, diverts attention from the progressively degraded biosphere.
As stated by Chomsky: “The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum….”
Betrayal is everywhere. Contrary to the late 20th century disarmament agreements are nowhere to be seen, instead the power-to-be decided to user force. False promises made before elections are routinely broken. $Trillions continue to be spent on the construction of ever deadlier weapons of mass destruction, war games, space games by the rich, gambling and entertainment, while nature is poisoned by hydrocarbons, greenhouse gases, acid water, insecticides, micro-plastics and radioactive waste. In a winner-takes-all world the term “defence” has been converted from the protection of life to the killing of manufactured “enemies”.g/2022/03/what-
If the history of the 21st century is ever written it would be reported that, while large parts of the planet were becoming uninhabitable, the extreme rate and scale of global warming, migration of climate zones (>100 km per decade), extent of polar ice melt, sea level rise, ocean warming, acidification and methane release from permafrost threatened to develop into one of the extreme mass extinction events in the geological history of Earth.
As concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases exceeded 500 ppm CO2-equivalents (Figure 1a), rising at a rate an order of magnitude faster than in earlier geological hyper-thermal events, was rising higher than 4oC above pre-industrial temperatures (Figure 1b), threatening to exceed the rise rates of the great mass extinctions.
Figure 1. (A) The rise in CO2 since 1700, from 280 ppm to near 500 ppm total equivalent CO22; (B) Earth system moves to a new state (after W. Steffen).
Climate scientists have been ignored, or silenced or replaced by an army of economists and politicians, ignorant of the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere, but quantifying the cost-benefit economies of mitigation much like corner shop grocers. Climate science ceased to be a factor in formulation of climate policies by governments. Proposed mitigation action mostly focused on proposed reduction of emissions, neglecting amplifying feedbacks and tipping points projected by leading climate scientists such as James Hansen.
But climate change was not the only threat hanging over the head of humanity and nature. In the words of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the chief scientist of the “Manhattan Project” “The physicists have known sin”
As the proliferation of nuclear weapons, with the probability of a nuclear war has increased, while atmospheric scientists indicated that even a ‘limited’ nuclear exchange involving cities threatens to saturated the atmosphere with aerosols, leading to a ‘nuclear winter’.
Figure 3. The Castle Bravo 15 Megatons thermonuclear bomb test, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, 1 March, 1954.
At the root of the MAD (mutual assured destruction) policy is omnicide, springing out from a murderous tribalism and herd mentality of the species and hinging on race, religion, ideology, territorial claims and the concept of an “enemy” perpetrated by demagogues and warmongers, leading to an Orwellian 1984 world where “Oceania has always been at war with East-Asia”, as in the current “forever wars“. Prior to World Wars I and II national forces and ideologies collided, capitalism, fascism and socialism. Now the competition is purely about dominance. At the core of superpower conflict between the Anglo-Saxon world and the Slavic or Chinese worlds are false premises of moral superiority, but in reality naked grabs for power.
But in the core of human conscience is its mythological nature, a mindset springing from the mastery of fire where, for longer than one million years, members of Homo erectus, perched at campfire, watching the flickering flames, developed insights, imagination, a fear of death leading to dreams of omniscience and omnipotence, aspiring for eternal life.
In the Neolithic the fear of death has driven humans to construct pyramids in order to enshrine immortality, undertake human sacrifice and ultimately fight nature to appease the gods, becoming the most barbarous species ever existed. As expressed by Albert Einstein: “The splitting of the atom has changed everything bar man’s way of thinking and thus we drift into unparalleled catastrophes”
A/Prof Andrew Glikson, Earth and paleoclimate scientist geospec@iinet.net.au
Come 5 June, the world will once again be ‘celebrating’ ‘World Environment Day’! There will be the usual plethora of events, plenty of fanfare and with many competing for ‘photo-ops’ to show how much they are doing for the environment! There will be the ‘mad rush’ to plant saplings, for politicians to take to the broom, on streets which have already been sanitized and cleaned earlier and above all, a slew of speeches on the environment! Plenty of cosmetic activity and tokenism! This is in no way to denigrate the significance of the day. If there is one clear message of this annual observance, it is the powerful reminder that unless we show unflinching courage to address endemic issues and take on the powerful vested interests who are destroying the environment- we will not be doing enough to save our common home!
World Environment Day is the biggest international day for the environment. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and held annually since 1974, it has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach. It is ‘celebrated’ by millions of people across the world. The theme for World Environment Day 2022 is ‘Only One Earth’, and focuses on living sustainably in harmony with nature. This theme actually was the slogan for the 1972 Stockholm Conference. Fifty years down the road, this truth still holds – this planet is our only home.
With nature in an emergency mode, the #OnlyOneEarth campaign advocates for transformative environmental change on a global scale. The campaign shines a spotlight on climate action, nature action and pollution action while encouraging everyone, everywhere to live sustainably. While our individual consumption choices do make a difference, it is collective action that will create the transformative environmental change we need, to advance to a more sustainable and just Earth, where everyone can flourish. Thirty years ago in 1992, the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) in Rio de Janeiro sounded the alarm bells! But is anyone listening?
On May 24, 2015, Pope Francis gave to the world his path-breaking and incisive Encyclical Letter ‘Laudato Si ‘-On Care for Our Common Home. It was the first major Papal teaching on a subject of critical importance namely ‘the environment’. ‘Laudato Si ‘ meaning “Praise be to you” are the first words of the celebrated ‘ Canticle of the Creatures’ of St Francis of Assisi. The Encyclical which came months before the landmark 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, (COP 21) which was held in Paris, in fact set the tone for world leaders, to come to grips with real causes which were responsible for environmental degradation and which ultimately caused climatic changes with disastrous results everywhere. Those who take the encyclical seriously are aware of its significance in addressing key issues which destroy the environment today.
Pope Francis sets the tone of the Encyclical in his opening statement, which is “to address every person living on this planet”. He says “this sister (mother earth) now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms of life”
He states, in the first Chapter that “we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation” ; he deals here with several ‘aspects of the present ecological crisis’: pollution, waste and the throw-away culture; climate as a common good; displacement and migration caused by environmental degradation; access to safe drinking water as a basic and universal human right; loss of bio-diversity; decline in the quality of human life and break down of society; global inequality. He also denounces unequivocally the use of pesticides and the production of genetically engineered (GE) crops.
Pope Francis strongly notes that “the earth’s resources are also being plundered because of short-sighted approaches to the economy, commerce and production”. In making such statements, in taking a stand for the ‘care of our common home’, Pope Francis has indeed created several enemies among the rich and powerful-who are bent on profiteering; those engaged in the extractive industry by plundering very precious and scarce natural resources. Pope Francis has been in consistent in his love for the poor and his commitment to the protection of the environment. Throughout the Encyclical, insists that we have been called to be stewards of the creation which God has entrusted to us. He ensures that ‘Laudato Si’ focuses on human rights violations and injustices. He does not mince words when he says “in the present condition of global society, where injustices abound and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable, committing oneself to the common good means to make choices in solidarity based on a preferential option for the poorest of our brothers and sisters”
What is paramount in the final analysis, says Pope Francis, is a radical commitment to ensure positive change, which is the need of the hour. For this he says, every section of society must play a definite role in a collaborative and concerted manner. The Pope does not spare the priests of the Catholic Church and he calls upon them to engage with the faithful on environmental issues. Further, he challenges international and national Governments and mechanisms saying, “the same mindset which stands in the way of making radical decisions to reverse the trend of global warming also stands in the way of achieving the goal of eliminating poverty. A more responsible overall approach is needed to deal with both problems: the reduction of pollution and the development of poorer countries and regions”
‘Laudato Si’ does make one uncomfortable! Therefore, there is always the danger that many would like to cosmeticize this powerful document: to tinker with bits and parts, to be selective and comfortable in its reading; to do non-threatening acts like growing trees, propagating alternative technologies, not using plastics, to indulge in acts of tokenism like environmental ‘education’, or project work. Whilst all these acts are surely good and could lead to something more sustainable, ‘Laudato Si’ is path-breaking, radical in nature, it shakes one out of one’s complacency by touching every single dimension of our human existence. The Pope invites all to an ecological conversion, to change directions so that we can truly care for our common home; not to pay heed to Pope Francis’ prophetic words; to rubbish this timely and important message or to relegate it to mere tree-planting and other ‘feel-good’ acts would certainly be a great disservice not to the Pope, but to Planet Earth!
On 22 April 2020, Earth Day Pope Francis praised the environmental movement, saying it was necessary for young people to “take to the streets to teach us what is obvious, that is, that there will be no future for us if we destroy the environment that sustains us”. Recounting a Spanish proverb that God always forgives, man sometimes forgives but nature never forgives, Francis said, “If we have deteriorated the Earth, the response will be very ugly. We see these natural tragedies, which are the Earth’s response to our maltreatment. I think that if I ask the Lord now what he thinks about this, I don’t think he would say it is a very good thing. It is we who have ruined the work of God.” Saying the Earth was not an endless deposit of resources to exploit, he said, “We have sinned against the Earth, against our neighbour and, in the end, against the Creator.”
Even a cursory survey of the State of India’s environment will make one realise how serious the situation is. Climatic changes have played havoc on the lives and livelihood of millions of people – particularly the poor and the marginalised. Heat waves have scorched parts of North India and unseasonal rains and floods have destroyed other parts. Destruction has been wanton. Then there is nexus among vested interests: the builders lobby, the mining barons, the timber merchants, corrupt politicians, sections of the corporate sector who have no qualms of conscience. They are only interested in their profits, plundering natural resources at will, as we witness in Jharkhand, Orissa and elsewhere; destroying virgin lands rich in biodiversity as we witness in the Talegaon and Panaji areas of Goa (not to forget the Mollem episode). NOIDA has lost almost all its water bodies including its 200-odd ponds. In Bangalore, there were once 412 waterbodies; today the number has been reduced to a scandalous 12! The Aravalli Mountain range in Gurugram harbours a rich variety of biodiversity which is being systematically being destroyed. The Niti Aayog’s 2018 report says that Indians might not have access to drinking water by 2030. The Coal sector is making a windfall of profits in India (Modi’s crony Adani is reaping mind boggling amounts) – so naturally, the Government of India has no intention of reducing the use of fossil fuels till 2070!
In the context and mandate of ‘Laudato Si’ and as Church in India, it is important to reflect and do some serious soul-searching and to respond urgently to some key questions, which include:
- have we internalised the document, individually and collectively: made it our own?
- are we proactive in communicating to others the radical content of this document?
- do we take a stand on human rights violations and injustices (#158)?
- are we truly concerned about the ‘jal, jungle aur jameen’ of the adivasis? do we take a stand on the way the Government and the powerful are trying to deprive them of the forest lands? do we truly identify them, accompany them in their struggles?
- do we identify/collaborate with important movements like the National Alliance of Peoples Movement (NAPM) and/or with other environmental groups in the country?
- do we have the courage to be visible and vocal in taking on the powerful vested interests: be it the Government or even some of our ‘benefactors’ who have no qualms of destroying the environment?
Not being able to say an unequivocal ‘yes’ to any of the above is a clear indicator that we have not (individually and collectively) mainstreamed the spirit, the mandate and the directives of ‘Laudato Si’; in short, we are betraying it! (Pope Francis talks about ‘ecological sins!)
On 10 January 2022, in an address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis said, “in this regard, in recent years we have seen a growing collective awareness of the urgent need to care for our common home, which is suffering from the constant and indiscriminate exploitation of its resources. Here I think especially of the Philippines, struck in these last weeks by a devastating typhoon, and of other nations in the Pacific, made vulnerable by the negative effects of climate change, which endanger the lives of their inhabitants, most of whom are dependent on agriculture, fishing and natural resources. Precisely this realization should impel the international community as a whole to discover and implement common solutions. None may consider themselves exempt from this effort, since all of us are involved and affected in equal measure. At the recent COP26 in Glasgow, several steps were made in the right direction, even though they were rather weak in light of the gravity of the problem to be faced. The road to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement is complex and appears to be long, while the time at our disposal is shorter and shorter. Much still remains to be done, and so 2022 will be another fundamental year for verifying to what extent and in what ways the decisions taken in Glasgow can and should be further consolidated in view of COP27, planned for Egypt next November”.
In ‘Laudato Si’, Pope Francis asks an uncomfortable question “what kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” If we are serious about ensuring ‘Only One Earth’ then we need to muster the courage to answer this question and act responsibly now! Our future, the future of the earth: our common home: is in our hands!
*(Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist/writer. Contact: cedricprakash@gmail.com)
After having a few lunches with Australia’s then opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, John Shipton felt reason to be confident. Albanese had promised Assange’s father that he would do whatever he could, should he win office, to bring the matter to a close.
In December 2019, before a gathering at the Chifley Research Centre, Albanese also referred to Assange. “You don’t prosecute journalists for doing their job.” In December 2021, he also expressed the view that the “ongoing pursuit of Mr Assange” served no evident “purpose” – “enough is enough”.
That said, prior to winning office, the Labor opposition was hardly making disruptive ripples on the subject. “As an Australian, he is entitled to consular assistance,” came the anaemic remark from Senator Penny Wong and opposition spokesperson for foreign affairs in April. “We also expect the government to keep seeking assurances from both the UK and US that he’s treated fairly and humanely … Consular matters are regularly raised with counterparts, they are regularly raised and this one would be no different.”
The problem with these assurances is precisely why such a stance is woefully, even disgracefully, inadequate. These have no weight or bearing in law and can be ignored. Power lies, and absolute power lies absolutely. Such a crucial point was blithely ignored by Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales Ian Burnett, and Lord Justice Timothy Holroyde, in their December 2021 decision. In reversing the lower court decision, the justices thought little of questioning the bad faith of Washington’s guarantees that Assange would not spend time in the ADX Florence supermax, or face special administrative measures (SAMs), were he to be extradited. These might have been made at the initial trial, but the prosecutors decided, after the fact, to change their tune on appeal.
Within the new government, there are Labor members who insist that Assange be freed. Julian Hill MP is one, convinced that Albanese, as Australia’s new Labor Prime Minister, would be a “man of integrity” and be true to his “values”. Within his own party, there were members “who have had an active involvement in the Assange group based on these critical principles – press freedom and fighting against the chilling effect on the media that this persecution would have – and would hope that our government could achieve an outcome.”
A number of voices outside politics have also urged the new government to make urgent representations to Washington to change the prosecutorial, and persecuting tone, against the WikiLeaks founder. Guy Rundle insists on “some form of official representation” to the US to end extradition efforts which would see Assange charged under the Espionage Act of 1917. “It should also make representation to the UK government to refuse extradition immediately, and release Assange.”
Rundle is also correct to note that Labor’s form on Assange is pure in its rottenness. Given the chance – as in 2018 and 2019 – it has generously exploited security leaks used by journalist Annika Smethurst to attack the proposed expansion of surveillance powers.
Stuart Rees, founder of the Sydney Peace Foundation, senses a new form of politics “in the air.” Citing Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s remarks that there could be no future without generosity and forgiveness, he sees any intervention to free Assange as “a next step towards recovery of national self-respect.” The only thing for Albanese to do: get on the phone to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to cancel the extradition.
Despite the changing of the guard in Canberra, it should not be forgotten that it was a Labor government, led by the country’s first female prime minister, Julia Gilliard, who accused Assange of illegality in publishing US State Department cables in 2010. Gillard, impetuously and inaccurately, tried to impress her US counterparts in tarring and feathering WikiLeaks. “Let’s not try and put any glosses over this,” she stated in December that year. “It would not happen, information would not be on WikiLeaks if there had not been an illegal act undertaken.”
All zealous and afire with premature purpose, Gillard sent in the Australian Federal Police to investigate the matter, hoping that it would “provide the government with some advice about potential criminal conduct of the individual involved.” The priority here was identifying any Australian laws that might have been broken, since she did not feel up to the task. And there was, she claimed perversely, “the common sense test about the gross irresponsibility of this conduct.” Not a fan of exposing state illegality, notably by the US, was Julia.
Such conduct, at the time, did more than raise eyebrows. Opposition legal affairs spokesman George Brandis failed to identify any relevant law that might have been breached, either Australian or US. Liberty Victoria president Spencer Zifcak was “astonished” that a lawyer of presumed competence could have made such remarks. “There is no charge, there is no trial, there is no properly constituted court, and yet the Prime Minister deems it appropriate to say that Mr Assange has committed a criminal offence.”
Within less than a fortnight, the AFP, in concluding its investigation, informed Attorney-General Robert McClelland that “given the documents published to date are classified by the United States, the primary jurisdiction for any further investigation into the matter remains the United States.” After evaluating the material concerned, the federal police had failed to establish “the existence of any criminal offences where Australia would have jurisdiction”.
How the publisher’s fate is handled will be revealing of the new government’s attitude to traditional alliances. Albanese, when asked this week how he would approach the Assange case, had removed the hat of candour. “My position is that not all foreign affairs is best done with the loudhailer.” Now more embedded than ever in the US security framework, crowned by the AUKUS alliance, the length Australian politicians and officials will go to rock the boat of cordial understanding on the issue of Assange is unlikely to be extensive. Even if Albanese prefers to put the loudhailer aside, the prospects of seeming supine and looking ineffectual are brutally real.
Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com
In Sri Lanka it is a very serious concern that even after the government’s declaration of war victory and end of war, intimidation and harassment of media and journalists continue with increasing ferocity. People of Sri Lanka are deprived of their right to information and media and journalists are forced to practice an unprecedented level of self censorship.
34 Journalists and media workers have been killed with no recourse to justice since the present government was formed. Out of 34 killed three were Sinhala journalists, one Muslim and 30 were from the Tamil community. These killings and abductions clearly demonstrate the culture of impunity that prevails in Sri Lanka.
When Lasantha Wickrematunge of Sunday Leader was killed, Gotabaya Rajapaksa [present President of Sri Lanka] was defense secretary. As brother of the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya Rajapaksa wielded unparalleled military influence, earning a reputation as the country’s most feared bureaucrat. When Lasantha Wickrematunge exposed a corrupt arm deal Rajapaksa had signed on, he broke the silence in the press about the activities of the defense secretary.
Years later, Sri Lankan criminal investigators alleged that Gotabaya Rajapaksa operated military death squads to attack journalists,including Wickrematunge and Noyahr. Rajapaksa has consistently denied this and all other allegations of wrongdoing.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/3/20/ex-leaders-brother-led-death-squad-in-sri-lanka
From 2005 to 2015, [Mahinda Rajapaksa’s rule] a systematic assault on the press took place. The Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that 13 journalists were killed over the decade. Others were threatened, abducted and tortured. Tamil journalists were disproportionately victimized. In 2014, Sri Lanka ranked fourth on an index of countries where journalists are slain – and their killers go scot free.
Journalism’s calling is to speak truth to power. But every time a journalist is attacked, and the perpetrators go free, the space for independent reporting shrinks. In that decade of darkness from 2005 to 2015, the priority for Sri Lankan journalists was to just stay alive.
The widespread belief in the politically motivated killings of journalists in Sri Lanka is predicated on a deadly irony: the hidden hand has always been visible, but the fingerprints have gone missing.
The most widely publicized killings relate to the Editor-in-Chief of the Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge, in January 2009.
Wickrematunge was killed on 8 January 2009 around 10.25 a.m. near the Attidiya Model Primary School and it was later revealed that the assailants had followed Wickrematunge and attacked him while he was on his way to work from home.
A few months after the murder, the CID made a revelation in the case pertaining to the suspected murderer and arrested a person named Jesudasan in Nuwara Eliya, whose death while in police custody still remains a mystery. The CID was then removed from the investigation.
After President Maithiripala Srisena Government came into power in 2015, the case was re-opened, but had not made considerable progress with the CID unable to find evidence that could directly connect anyone to the murder.
UNESCO has the annual UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize awarded on 3 May that honors a person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the promotion of press freedom. Lasantha was awarded this prize in 2009. He became only the second journalist to be honored posthumously since this prize was created, and a testimony to the risk many journalists run in the pursuit of their calling.
In 2009 Mr Ban Ki Moon the then UN Secretary General highlighted Lasantha’s assassination during his remarks on Press Freedom Day.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SRI LANKAN CARTOONIST PRAGEETH EKNALIGODA: THE INVESTIGATION WIDENS
Eknaligoda had been investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians by the Sri Lankan army in the fight against the LTTE. He left his office on the evening of January 24, 2010, saying that he had to meet an old friend. He has not been seen since that. He had earlier been abducted by a White Van in August 2009 and released the next day.
RECORDED LIST OF KILLINGS OF JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA WORKERS
APRIL 2004 – MARCH 2O09
2004
- Aiyathurai A. Nadesan – Journalist / 31 May
- Kandaswamy Aiyer Balanadaraj – Writer / 16 August
- Lanka Jayasundera – Photo journalist/ 11 December
2005
- Dharmaratnam Sivaram – Editor / 28 April
- Kannamuttu Arsakumar – Media worker/ 29 June
- Relangee Selvarajah – Journalist / 12 August
- D. Selvaratnam – Media worker/ 29 August
- Yogakumar Krishnapillai – Media Worker / 30 September
- L. M. Faleel (Netpittimunai Faleel) – Writer / 02 December
- K. Navaratnam – Media worker/ 22 December
2006
- Subramaniam Suhirtharajan – Journalist / 24 January
- S. T. Gananathan – Owner / 01 February
- Bastian George Sagayathas – Media worker / 03 May
- Rajaratnam Ranjith Kumar – Media worker / 03 May
- Sampath Lakmal de Silva – Journalist / 02 July
- Mariadasan Manojanraj – Media worker/ 01 August
- Pathmanathan Vismananthan – Singer and musician / 02 August
- Sathasivam Baskaran – Media worker / 15 August
- Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah – Media owner / 20 August
2007
- S. Raveendran – Media worker / 12 February
- Subramaniam Ramachandran – Media personnel / 15 February
- Chandrabose Suthakar – Journalist / 16 April
- Selvarasah Rajeevarman – Journalist / 29 April
- Sahadevan Neelakshan – Journalist / 01 August
- Anthonypillai Sherin Siththiranjan – Media worker/ 05 November
- Vadivel Nimalarajah – Media worker/ 17 November
- Isaivizhi Chempian (Subhajini) – Media worker/ 27 November
- Suresh Limbiyo – Media worker/ 27 November
- T. Tharmalingam – Media worker/ 27 November
2008
- Paranirupesingham Devakumar – Journalist / 28 May
- Rashmi Mohamad – Journalist / 06 October
2009
- Lasanntha Wickrematunge – Editor / 08 January
- Punniyamurthy Sathyamurthy – Journalist / 12 February
- Sasi Mathan – Media worker/ 06 March
Kumarathasan Rasingam – Secretary, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org.
