Lanka Citizen

Editorial, The Island, 31.10.2005

‘Comfort women’ of politicians

There is much hullabaloo over the abuse by the government of the state media. The Opposition is demanding that it be stopped forthwith and has sought the assistance of the Polls Chief for that purpose.

The state media has always been in the same predicament as a damsel trapped in a brothel run by thugs. Pimps and thugs may change or rotate from time to time but she is left with no alternative to forced prostitution. She has to do as she is asked to do, willy-nilly. The state media has always been the ‘comfort woman’ of the ruling party.

Fidelity for some people is said to be nothing but lack of opportunity. The same goes for honesty, integrity, justice and fair play etc., of most politicians. The are, irrespective of the parties they belong to, democratic and considerate and their love for the people and the media oozes from every pore of theirs, so long as they are in the political limbo. Put anyone behind a counter, Albert Camus has said, and he becomes all important in no time and develops contempt for others. Similarly, put any politician in power and see him or her for what he or she really is.

An interesting yarn spun by our local Castro (Vasu) while his bitter political enemy President Premadasa was reigning supreme, may be worth repetition as regards the abuse of the state media in the past. One of his (Vasu’s) friends, according to him, had a dog, which was known for a peculiar habit. Whenever the state television carried news, it would make at least hundred trips between the television set and the doorstep, where it used to lie in comfort. Puzzled, the bearded firebrand had inquired from his friend why the animal did so, only to be told that its name was Srimath. (To the uninitiated, President Premadasa was reverently called by his lackeys as ‘Srimath Ranasinghe Premadasa.’ And every time the word Srimath was mentioned, the poor animal responded, thinking that it was being summoned!)

All political leaders are notorious for their insatiable desire to hear their own voice like a donkey its braying and the state media has taken upon itself the task of harassing the public by relaying the shrill noises its masters make. This has happened in the past under the PA and the UNP, is happening under the UPFA and it will happen, whoever comes to power in the future.

Does this mean that the private media is perfect? Let’s not deceive ourselves! If it is truly independent, then how come some of those who work therein find El Dorado in the state media after an election? See how many free media tub-thumpers have ended up in politics and obtained tickets from the parties of their choice to contest elections. Those media pundits have in the process dropped their fig leaves and stand stark naked! Had they been independent and impartial during their ‘private media days’ would they have been rewarded in this manner by politicians? They have, just like their state media counterparts, reduced themselves to a set of ‘comfort women’ of their political masters.

Sri Lankan politicians are, on the other hand, no believers of free media. Free media to them are those which help them further their interests. They are true believers of Bushism–either you are with us or you are with them–and in their opinion a via media is not possible in the media.

Politicians are the same the world over. In the so-called advanced democracies, the only difference is that they have been put in the straitjacket of strong institutions and are therefore denied the freedom to act according to their whims and fancies. But they are making every effort to break themselves free. Look at Prime Minister Blair, who stands accused of trying to manipulate BBC. His government is said to be behind BBC’s decision to open an Arabic language television channel at the expense of several other language services, allegedly to counter Al Jazeera TV in view of the on going disastrous occupation of Iraq.

We are not short of politicians who advocate the divestiture of state media. But that promise doesn’t survive their forming a government. After being ensconced in power, they conveniently forget their pledges and do more of what their predecessors did.

Divestiture is no doubt salutary in that it is inimical to democracy for any government–especially the ones we are burdened with–to have, at its disposal, partisan media organisations maintained with public funds. But it is not the only condition that needs to be satisfied to ensure free media. It is a culture that cannot be evolved overnight through privatisation of the state media. The responsibility for enabling that culture to evolve lies with media owners and the journalistic community. For the media don’t necessarily have to be state owned for them to be controlled by governments or other interests, political or otherwise.

All what politicians should do to help achieve this goal is to leave the media alone! No amount of their crocodile tears is going to be of any help. They have for the media the same love that a fox has for pullets!

The Free Media Movement (FMM) condemns the physical assault on Mr. Raja Katugampola, news director of the state-controlled Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), by the SLBC chairman’s private security guards. The assault took place on 26 October 2005 in the chairman’s office. Mr. Katugampola was later admitted to the National Hospital in Colombo.

FMM insists that the government and police conduct an impartial inquiry and bring those responsible for the assault to book.

FMM understands from reports it has received that the assault took place following a heated debate in which the chairman was insisting on the need for impartial and balanced coverage of news and current affairs during the presidential election campaign. Under the Election Commissioner’s guidelines, state-owned media must be impartial and balanced in its election coverage.

However, FMM does not condone using physical force on whatever grounds. This is a clear violation of basic human rights and democratic norms.

While Mr. Raja Katugampola has the right to hold and express his own political views, FMM insists that, in accordance with ethical practice, all journalists refrain from expressing these views in their news reporting. It is regrettable that under Mr. Katugampola’s direction, SLBC’s news and current affairs reporting has become completely biased towards the candidate of the governing party, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksha.

FMM, while emphasising the need for impartial and balanced coverage of presidential election coverage by all media outlets, would like to reaffirm the need for transforming state media into true public service media.

Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) chairman Hudson Samarasinghe has ordered his engineers to switch off transmissions in strategically important areas to block the publicity campaign of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, SLBC engineers have said.

The chairman has been accused by various sections of the SLBC of crippling Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s propaganda campaign through the government media. The engineers say the SLBC channels are not clear in rural areas after the chairman’s decision to switch off the transmissions and relay stations.

“In some relay stations, the antennas are not in correct directions,” an engineer told ColomboPage on condition of anonymity. He added that if the transmission and antennas in the rural areas are not in correct mode, the outstation’s entire broadcasting exercise would be a waste.

“The chairman’s objective is to block the few pro-government political programmes. At the moment, our rural listeners can not listen to SLBC any more,” an engineer added.

Trade unions are angry with chairman Samarasinghe for paralyzing Sri Lanka’s largest electronic media network and warned him with trade union action if he does not correct radio transmissions immediately.

Earlier, the SLBC news director also lodged a complaint against chairman Samarasinghe for assaulting him physically.

Lanka Page

by our political correspondent

The Joint Free Media Coalition has condemned the assault on Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation News Director Raja Katugampola by some security officials attached to the SLBC.

The statement issued by the Coalition said that the administration of the SLBC has a responsibility of investigating into the assault of the News Director during his duty hours.

The statement signed by the Secretary of the Coalition, Ajith Jayasundara, said that the assault instigated and stage managed by some forces yet to be identified, was very unpleasant and a violation of the rights of the media workers.

The Joint Free Media Coalition calls for the attention of the President, who holds the portfolio of the Media Minister and the Prime Minister for this incident and demands a free and fair investigaion.

from http://www.island.lk/2005/10/27/news18.html

www.kottu.org which identifies itself as a syndicate of Sri Lankan blogs and which carried releases from the UNP’s official website on its blogroll has removed lankacitizen from its blogroll. We haven’t been informed of any reason. Ours is not a political-party web site even though we have an independent political view. Kottu.org carried many news items and articles from news papers and other publications published on the UNP web site and other blogs linked to kottu. Even as we write this note kottu has five items from the UNP on its site. But all our items are removed from the kottu site.

In addition to reproducing material from other sources which will help generate public discussion on political issues, we also carry articles written by the members of our collective.

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga interviewed by Sunday Observer Editor Jayatilleke de Silva dwells on the performance of her regime during 1994 - 2005 barring the period of the UNF Government from December 2001 to April 2004. Ending the fear psychosis that had gripped the entire people, she considers, the single biggest achievement of her reign.

Q: Madam President, what in your opinion is the most significant achievement of your tenure of office?

A: I assumed the office of President at a time when the Seventeen-year old UNP regime had brought the country to the verge of anarchy. Law and order had broken down. “Black Cats”, “Green Tigers” and all types of armed groups were sowing terror. Human rights continued to be violated on a big scale. The entire people were in the grip of a fear psychosis. Dissent was not tolerated. Democracy was virtually non-existent.

With my election victory I ensured that there would not be any post-election violence. Law and order was restored. Democratic norms governance were re-established. There were no more midnight knocks on the door. Mothers and wives could have a sigh of relief that their sons and husbands would return home safe after work or study. Human rights were respected once again.

Besides I appointed three Presidential Commissions of Inquiry to investigate the involuntary disappearance of persons during the previous regime. These Commissions submitted their reports and follow up action was taken to pay compensation to the victims and take legal action against the culprits.

In short, we were able to install a system of caring, humane and democratic governance.

Q: Could you elaborate on the legal and institutional mechanisms that were introduced to realise the concept of caring humane democratic governance?

A: Conscious of the practice of torture that had taken place during the previous regime an Act cited as the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was brought to Parliament in November 1994 and approved. Under this Act torture was made a punishable offence. Further awareness programs on human rights and international humanitarian law were conducted for law enforcement officers, including the security forces.

Q: In what sense could you say democracy was advanced during your regime?

A: As I mentioned earlier I have eliminated state terrorism that reigned during the previous regimes. Freedom of expression, freedom of association and other individual freedoms were restored. Above everything else I restored the right to life, a right that was not guaranteed by J. R. Jayewardene’s 1978 Constitution.

You would have noted that the media was free even to run libellous material against the Head of State. The number of electronic and print media establishments proliferated during my regime.

This was in stark contrast to the situation that prevailed earlier. Trade Unions could agitate and win their demands in contrast to what happened in 1980 when they were dismissed en masse for striking. Provincial and Local Government bodies could function without hindrances unlike in the Period of Terror when a note sent by a brat could bring the whole country to a virtual standstill.

As you would remember I brought in a new draft Constitution that devolved power to the periphery in a substantial degree guaranteeing the rights of all communities. Unfortunately the UNP sabotaged it in Parliament.

Extracts from The Sunday Observer, 23 October 2005

Two bloggers jailed for making racist remarks online

For the first time, two Singaporeans have been sentenced to jail for posting racist remarks online. 28-year-old Benjamin Koh Seng Huat, a kennel keeper at an animal shelter, has been sentenced to one month’s jail. Separately, the court sentenced 25-year-old former assistant marketing manager, Nicholas Lim Yew, to serve one day in jail and a maximum fine of $5,000.

Koh walked into the court, accompanied by his lawyer and a friend Hisham Abu Bakar. He pleaded guilty to making racist remarks on his web blog which sparked off more than 200 comments. Lim, whose postings were regarded less serious than Koh’s by the court, was also charged under the Sedition Act.

In passing sentences, Senior District Judge Richard Magnus said the two had crossed the red line by wantonly breaching the basic ground rules. He said passing a deterrent sentence was necessary so that such offending acts are tackled early and contained.

The judge also said that young Singaporeans may have short memories that race and religion are sensitive issues. He said callous and reckless remarks on racial or religious subjects had the potential to cause social disorder, regardless of which medium or forum they are expressed.

The judge added the right of one to propagate an opinion on the Internet is not and cannot be an unfettered right. It is only appropriate social behaviour of every Singapore citizen and resident to respect the other races in view of Singapore’s multi-racial society.

Lim’s lawyer said there was a lesson to be learnt from the judgement. Helen Chia, Lim’s Lawyer, said: “He is sending out a signal to the public that this is a serious matter and everybody should take a second look at themselves.”

Separately, a third blogger, 17-year-old Gan Huai Shi faces seven charges of posting racist remarks on his blog. His case will be heard again on October 26.

07 October 2005, By Rita Zahara, Channel NewsAsia
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/
view/172257/1/.html

An excerpt from the Electoral Manifesto of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka

5) Media Reform

A free media is necessary for a democratic society. Censorship of the media in Sri Lanka in the 1970s and the 1980s went hand in hand with authoritarian practices. The opening up in the nineties of opportunities for independent newspapers and radio and television stations marked the return to democratic norms, and it is heartening that there has been no institutional attempt to reimpose controls. However there are signs of resentment at criticism, while abuse of the state media continues, even though all experience indicates that this is counter productive.

It would therefore be useful to strengthen media independence and to remove the temptation any government experiences to flatter itself, often to the detriment of a realistic assessment of its performance.

The Liberal Party therefore advocates the following reforms –
1. The right of information to be included in the Constitution, with very clear justiciable provisions as to whether and to what extent censorship may be imposed.

2. The right of privacy to be included in the Constitution.

3. The enactment of a Freedom of Information Act whereby disclosure shall become the norm and the circumstances in which, in the interests of national security, official secrecy shall be maintained will be clearly set out.

4. Strengthening of the law to provide for the confidentiality of the sources of journalists.

5. The enactment of Legislation to ensure to any person the right of reply, with equal weightage for such reply.

6.
a. The abolition of the Press Council and its replacement by an independent Media Council.
b. The Media Council will have authority to ensure the following objectives:
i. The freedom and independence of the media in Sri Lanka, print and electronic
ii. The right of citizens to be informed freely, truthfully and objectively on all matters of public interest, national and international
iii. A fair presentation in the media of news on questions of national importance
iv. Restraint on the divisive expression of prejudices based on ethnicity, religion, language, caste or sex
v. The establishment where necessary of common services for the supply and dissemination of news
vi. Research into the use and needs of the media, to keep under review developments likely to restrict the supply of information of public interest and developments in the media which may tend towards concentration and monopoly, and to suggest appropriate remedial measures
vii. Broadbased advice to the Government on any matter pertaining to the regulation of the media
viii. Fair and equitable availability of newsprint and other requiremen

7. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. (Special Provisions) Act shall be repealed and Lake House will be converted into a share company with special rights initially to employees.
8. Rupavahini and SLBC to be vested in an Independent Broadcasting Authority while the Government Owned Business Undertaking of the Independent Television Network (ITN) will be privatized.

9. The extension of greater freedom to establish private channels on radio and television and to broadcast programmes of choice including news and current affairs.

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