Towards a responsible media (2)

The media, particularly the press, has been hectored in recent times on how they should get about their professional duties by those who appear to have only a nodding acquaintance of journalism.

International Journalists Day which was observed recently had some personalities with attributes mentioned above as well as those on the fringes of journalism, delivering their perorations on 'responsible journalism'.

On Saturday we commented on a speech of veteran Communist, Mr. D. E. W Gunasekera, now Chairman of the state controlled Rupavahini speaking on the need for journalists 'to act with an optimum sense of responsibility'. In order to inform our readers who may have missed our comments, we will refer to a few points we made. Mr. Gunasekera, the Communist, we said, would have undoubtedly been an admirer of the two leading journals of the former Soviet Union, Pravda and the Izvestia. Being state owned these journals did not see anything wrong been done by the Commissars of the Soviet Union for its entire period of existence, we said. Even when the Soviet Union was crumbling because of an inefficient, corrupt system of government, these 'responsible' journals saw nothing but virtues in the communist system and their bosses. Was this responsible journalism? we asked. We may in addition today ask whether it was responsible journalism that kept such Soviet journals from exposing horrible crimes such as tens of thousands of Soviet dissidents rotting away and dying in Soviet Gulags?

The state media such as the Rupavahini Corporation is acting with that same sense of responsibility as these former Communist propagandist organs because they see nothing or say nothing about anything wrong the PA government is doing. Is this the responsible journalism, we are asked to follow?

Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, the Media Minister too delivered a sermon on that day on how we journalists should perform.

The media minister has made some very erroneous assumptions in his speech on International Journalists Day and come to the wrong conclusions about the journalistic profession. For example, he says that all communities of this country were united in achieving Independence but on the stroke of Independence the country 'was divided into communal, religious, caste and other sectarian beliefs'. Mr Samaraweera does not seem to be aware of matters such as the 50-50 demand of Mr. G. G. Ponnambalam or the formation of the Sinhala Maha Sabha and the many communal representations that were made to the British. It was only the political sagacity of leaders like Mr. D. S. Senanayake that enabled communities to come together to demand Independence but the communal fires were simmering down below. Thus, if communalism spread, the grave culprit was the politician not the journalist who recorded and commented on events. Why does he not blame the clergy who have been playing politics and politicians who exploited religions to their political advantage?

Mr. Samaraweera blames the media for the transformation of the leader of a 'minor terrorist group, Prabakaran' into an internationally accepted freedom fighter'. Could he name any one recognised international leader today or even earlier, who granted Prabakaran this status except some Sri Lankan Tamils and those groups on the lunatic fringe in the west? Certainly except for some pro terrorist journals in Sri Lanka, no newspaper here gave Prabakaran that status of a freedom fighter.

The duty of the media includes discussing of 'the roots of the trouble' and talk of how to tackle it intelligently, Mr. Samaraweera has said. Apparently, he has not been reading papers like 'The Island'.

He speaks glowingly about the 24 AL students from Jaffna who toured the South and mixed up with Sinhala youth. Such occasional 'Tawalamas', he should know, can achieve nothing. On the other hand the PA has not been able to have a TV channel in Tamil going for its four year old existence! Perhaps he is well aware that even if he does so, the people of the North and East will not believe in what comes on it just like they do not believe in state owned radio or newspapers because of censorship and self censorship in the name of responsible journalism. The truth of what is happening to Tamils in the North, East or even Colombo is not present in the state media.

The crocodile tears of the PA for communal amity is used as a whip to lash political opponents and the media who dare disagree with the PA.

He laments that 'journalists are compelled to write for media institutions to suit their employers, fearing their jobs'. We journalists are thankful to the minister for providing us with a joke on journalists' day. Please, Mr. Minister, tell us whether they are free to do so in Lake House and other state institutions under you?