Nobody will deny the fact that the media should play an important role in peace and development but the question is whether the media is playing a responsible role today. In Sri Lanka, some media fail in their duty to report credibly and impartially. Their reports mostly whips up emotions and create dissension. They add fuel to communal fire.

A.H.M.Aswar, the Presidential advisor has stated that the media persons should transcend prejudices of race, language or religion and report the truth. This was the crux of his address at the meeting of the National Council of South Asian Free Media Movement . He pointed out that Sinhala and English media do not reflect the problems of the minorities in Sri Lanka probably because they don’t have adequate number of Tamils on their staff.

The majority of the Sinhala people are committed to Pancha Seela but unfortunately some government officials and certain media men report in a manner justifying killings. Such reporting results in communal violence bringing disrepute and disgrace to the country.

Killing must be condemned whoever the culprit. Whenever there are incidents of violence in the North-East, the Sinhala and English media of the south don’t give adequate publicity on most occasions. On the other hand they blame the LTTE for the acts of violence.

It is strange that the violence in Allaipity, Mannar and the air strikes in the North-East did not find a place in their dailies or weeklies .What is hurting is that if and when they report, the facts are twisted.

A major reason for the present ethnic crisis is these acts of commission and omission by the Sinhala and English media of the south and their failure to report in the right perspectives.

An English translation of the Editorial in Virakesari, a Tamil National daily, based in Colombo

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