Media gets a bashing amidst political turmoil Soothsayer in Rakawana predicts meteoric rise for Ranil after mid-April Mangala Sripathi removed from SLFP organiser posts Kohona at odds with Foreign Service personnel The media and its role in the Sri Lankan society came into focus during the past week with regard to statements made by both the government and the opposition.

The spotlight fell on the government when they moved to freeze the bank accounts of CBE group of companies of which Tiran Alles the publisher of ‘Maubima’ newspaper is one of the main shareholders. The opposition has taken up the cause of Maubima seriously.

The main thrust of the opposition argument is that media freedom is an essential ingredient of a vibrant democracy. This is well understood by any average person. It is the media that serves as a conduit between the government and the public as well as between the opposition and the public. Like any other democracy therefore it is obvious that the media plays a vital role in the Sri Lankan body polity. Oppressing the media can be described as denying the people of having access to free expression of ideas on devolution of power, terrorism, human rights issues and other matters.

In Sri Lanka a pattern has emerged where the oppressors of the media become champions of the media at one time and vice versa at a another time. This is basically relative to whether one is in power or out of power. For politicians and political parties, championing the cause of the media is selective and depends on how far it would be advantageous to them.

Sri Lanka’s political history is such that the media is at the receiving end when the party in the opposition, which previously championed the cause of the media, comes into power. However, it must be mentioned that it is the journalists who continue their struggle to stand for the freedom of expression and independence of the press.

It is a known fact that it was the UNP friendly media that boosted the image of President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he was a Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister of the Chandrika Kumaratunga regime. At that point of time all guns were aimed at Chandrika Kumaratunga and salvos were fired at her one after the other. But for the media Mahinda Rajapaksa was a champion who himself was overtly against President Kumaratunga. He very closely associated with media personnel irrespective of whether they represented independent media or the state media organisations and was dubbed as the “reporter of the cabinet” by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

It was when Mahinda Rajapaksa was to be the Presidential candidate of the SLFP that the UNP friendly media turned hostile. These are hard facts that could be proven beyond doubt.

At the same time it was Mangala Samaraweera, when Media Minister, that he declared that any journalist could be bought over for two bottles of arrack. When he was taken to task in the editorial columns of newspapers, he did not stop at that but called the independent media as the UNP friendly media and coined the term ‘media mafia.’ It is an irony that Mr. Samaraweera who had fallen from grace now seeks the help of the media to communicate his ideas to the people.

Samaraweera is now gradually becoming a hero and is championing the cause of the media. Similarly the media friendly Mahinda Rajapaksa is gradually becoming the oppressor. He is no longer the friendly ‘reporter’ who allegedly leaked out cabinet secrets and happenings in the government to the media. But he is propagating the Mahinda Chinthanaya whenever possible through the media. Any government or President thinks he or she is doing a perfect job. We hope our readers can fathom now the pattern that has emerged over the years in the country, as far as the media is concerned.

On the other hand Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has also become a hero of the media and is trying to champion the cause of the free media. We hope that Mr. Wickremesinghe would continue to champion the cause of the media if he becomes the President at some point of time in the future.

It is also true that the UNP government headed by former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe scrapped the criminal defamation laws and set the momentum towards achieving a Freedom of Information Act. These are two plus points for Mr. Wickremesinghe who had a short stint as Prime Minister during Chandrika Kumaratunga’s presidency. At that time Mr. Wickremesinghe was not wielding absolute power but was only playing second fiddle to the then President Chandrika Kumaratunga, as the Prime Minister, running the risk of dismissal of his government at any stage, so he perhaps chose things that would make him more popular with the press.

Though Wickremesinghe acted in a commendable way on that occasion, the UNP as a whole inherits a bad past record as far as media freedom is concerned. During the J.R.Jayewardene regime, when Ranil Wickremesinghe was a powerful minister, a competent authority was appointed to the directorate of Upali Newspapers Limited, the publishers of ‘The Island’ and the ‘Divaina’ to control the editorial content of the two newspapers. The competent authority was none other than Sarath Amunugama who subsequently became a UNP MP and is at the moment a minister of the present regime.

During the time of President Ranasinghe Premadasa a prominent journalist Richard De Soysa was killed and scores of other journalists fled the country in fear. At that time Ranil Wickremesinghe was the Leader of the House. These are some incidents that stand out, but there are many more instances from those times on how the arms of journalists were twisted when the UNP was in power.

There is no need to mention the Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga regimes. They too were oppressive and the media was muzzled during their tenure in office. Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike acquired the Lake House and several journalists were killed during President Chandrika Kumaratunga regime. Among them are D.Sivaram who was known as Taraki and the Satana editor Rohana Kumara.

Through our insight into the past what the journalists should learn today is that no politician loves the media and that the media and politicians make strange bedfellows. They love the media periodically as it benefits them. Finally it is the journalists who stand for journalists and not the politicians.

The latest drama in the Sri Lankan media is the freezing of the bank accounts belonging to the Maubima newspaper and the UNP coming to their rescue. It is no secret that the Maubima is published by Tiran Alles who at one time was a staunch supporter of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and is a close friend of Mangala Samaraweera. Nobody should have any doubts about the objectives of this newspaper. We believe and defend their right to express themselves freely. But its affiliations are such and obvious that they have political leanings and in today’s context most of the newspapers are bound to be that. No matter what affiliations they have we defend their right to express themselves as long as they abide by the ethics of journalism and the laws of the land.

What is of concern regarding this is an effort by the UNP in trying to involve the President of the Editor’s Guild Upali Tennekoon in the matter and bring discredit upon him by saying that Tennekoon is trying to justify what is happening today. But it is Tennekoon’s view that he represents the free media of the country and not a mafia that goes behind various political parties. He also emphasizes the fact that nobody is above the law and that wrongdoers cannot take cover under freedom of the press.

The UNP is trying to take advantage of the situation as it did in the past and as done by all other political parties. We do not blame the UNP of trying to take advantage of the situation. But what we say is that the journalists should realize that no political party or politician is the savior of the freedom of expression Although chapter three of article 14 of the constitution specifically spells out the fundamental freedoms, there have been numerous occasions when these freedoms were suppressed by the governments of the day.

Although the fundamental rights are ensured in the constitution it is subject to emergency situations under which it could be curtailed. The UNP having supported the extension of the state of emergency in parliament is now talking about human rights and fundamental rights violations. Before pointing the finger at the Editors guild and others the UNP should have taken up these matters in parliament and if they felt that the fundamental freedoms are curtailed, the UNP could have easily voted against the extension of emergency. The UNP should not run with the hare while hunting with the hound. What they want to show the country is that they support the effort of the government and simultaneously try to put the blame on the journalists for not taking up human rights issues. In short it is the opposition as a responsible political outfit that should take up these issues even before the media.

It is important to note at this moment what President J.R. Jayewardene told the judicial officers quoting Cicero some time back when the LTTE problem was plaguing the country: “Inter arma enim silent leges” the Latin phrase meaning “In the face of arms, the law falls mute.” Would not the UNP in power follow the same example set by President Jayewardene under similar circumstances?

Connected with the Mawbima issue father of Tiran Alles, former principle of D.S. Senanyake College and head of the Gateway group of international schools Ralph Alles met with the President to discuss matters relating to the problem between Tiran Alles and the President. After the senior Alles made an appointment with the President on Wednesday, the President asked Defence Ministry secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa also to be present at the meeting. When senior Alles met the President, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was also present and the President had entrusted the Defence Secretary to explain about the activities of Tiran Alles which he had done at length. Gothabhaya Rajapksa had said that whoever works in a manner that is a threat to national security has to be dealt with in keeping with the laws.

While the government was not in a mood to show any mercy to Tiran Alles who at one time was a most trusted supporter of President Rajapksa, the SLFP Central Committee met on Thursday night and decided to take disciplinary action against the two rebels Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi. Accordingly the President was entrusted by the Central Committee to remove the duo from their SLFP organiser posts. The Central Committee meeting was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed for Thursday. Even before the meeting it was expected that the party would take action against the two rebels.

It was SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena who brought the proposal before the committee that the two rebels had violated party discipline which was unanimously approved by the committee members. Before Sirisena spoke Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, Deputy Minister Nirmala Kotelawala and Governors Alavi Moulana and Reggie Ranatunga also said that the statements made by the two rebels had breached party discipline and action should be taken against them. Following the Central Committee decision President Mahinda Rajapaksa took steps to remove Mangala Samaraweera from the post of Matara Organiser and Sripathi Sooriarachchi from the post of Kelaniya organiser. Following their removal the President appointed Transport Minister Dallas Allahapperuma as the SLFP Matara District organiser and Matara Mayor Upul Nishantha and Southern Provincial Councilor S.Handunge as electorate organizers.

In a separate development the Foreign Ministry is in turmoil with Foreign Ministry Secretary Palitha Kohona and the Foreign Service Officers Association comprising career professionals in the diplomatic service being at odds with each other. The Association of Foreign Service Officers is apparently irked with Foreign Ministry Secretary Palitha Kohona for not giving them a hearing over certain matters they wanted to bring to his notice.

When the association had requested to meet with Dr. Kohona for a discussion he had said that he can give only five minutes of his time. He had also commented that they are nothing when compared with the Australian Foreign Service where Kohona had been serving before his appointment to the United Nations treaty section. Now the Sri Lankan foreign service officers are feeling that they had been orphaned after the demise of Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar who was known to lend an ear whenever the nee arose.

Meanwhile two names that had been approved by the High Posts Committee for diplomatic postings abroad had been vetoed by Dr. Kohona. They are Geetha De Silva formerly acting secretary to Foreign Ministry to be made the ambassador to Geneva and Clarence Chinniah who is additional secretary (administration) to be posted to Rome.

It is learnt that a young Sri Lankan diplomat in a Western country had petitioned the Ministry against the appointment of Clarence Chinniah to Rome. He had apparently said not to post Tamil officers to missions in the West. Now the Western diplomats are posing a question as to why Chinniah was overlooked; is it because he is a Tamil and a Christian?

However, it is learnt that Dayan Jayatilleka who is a well known political analyst is to be posted as the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Geneva and Pradeep Gunawardena who was appointed as the Sri Lankan consul in Los Angeles by former Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando, as the new Sri Lankan ambassador in Washington. These diplomatic appointments had created ripples amongst career diplomats, who think they had been denied at their rights.

Amidst rumblings in the foreign ministry the cabinet of Ministers met at temple Trees on Wednesday. President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the very outset of the meeting mentioned the COPE report that created a stir in political circles recently would be referred to the Attorney General for further action and for a thorough investigation. Public Administration Minister Karu Jayasuriya whose name had been mentioned in the report with regard to several privatization deals said that every aspect of the COPE report should be fully inquired into and those responsible should be brought before the law.

Thereafter Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the UNP had proposed to parliament to appoint a parliamentary select committee to further inquire into the findings of the COPE report. Minister De Silva said that it was not practical to appoint parliament select committees for every other matter and it would only undermine committees like the COPE.

Thereafter the President with a smile asked National Heritage Minister Anura Bandaranaike who was a former Speaker what his opinion on the matter was. Minister Bandaranaike too nodded his head and said that he too agreed with Minister de Silva. Minister Bandaranaike thereafter looked in the direction where UNP crossover Minister M.H. Mohammed was seated and said that there was another former Speaker in the room. Finally it was unanimously decided that the government would not support the appointment of a Select Committee to further inquire into the COPE report. The UNP perturbed over the government’s decision to resist the move along with the JVP. Beside this former minister, Ministers Mangala Samaraweera and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi went before the Bribery Commission and lodged a complaint with them on the purchase of MIG-27 fighter jets to the Air Force in July, 2006.

In the complaint Samaraweera and Sooriyarachchi allege that a fraud of over rupees one billion had taken place in the deal to acquire four MIG-27 jets and a MIG-23 UB trainer. The complaint alleges that the purchase of MIG-27 jets in 2006 had been expensive when compared with similar purchases in the year 2000. Also that in 2000 the government had purchased aircraft built between 1981 and 1984 while in 2006 they had purchased aircraft manufactured between 1980 and 1983. They further allege that although the deal was portrayed as a government to government agreement, money on the purchases had been transferred through an offshore company based in the UK.

Among other things political analysts were intrigued by the sudden visit by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to the now popular Ubayathilakarama temple in Rakwana on Thursday. This temple is now often frequented by important personalities and politicians including the President, the Opposition leader and several other ministers.

Reportedly Mr. Wickremesinghe visited the Ubayathilakarama temple on Thursday early morning to attend a special pooja conducted by a powerful soothsayer called Marshal. Marshal’s special pooja invoked blessings on the Leader of the Opposition to fulfill his aspirations in politics. Marshal had apparently told Mr. Wickremesinghe that his past deeds and the karmic effect will push him to the pinnacle of Sri Lankan politics in time to come.

Marshal suggested that an ‘Ashirwada pooja’ be held at the foot of the Kirivehera stupa near the Mahasen statue. This pooja is known as the Mahasen pooja and is conducted to ward off any ill effects that could hamper the progress of Mr. Wickremesinghe.

Marshal was confident that mid April would mark a watershed in Mr. Wickremesinghe’s political career and there would be a meteoric rise that will propel him to the top. The star constellations are in favour of him and the celestial bodies are showering good effects upon Mr. Wickremesinghe who was born under the zodiac sign of Pisces.

Mr. Wickremesinghe is expected to visit Kataragama for several poojas to ward off ill effects caused by malefic planets which are minimal, according to Marshal. He will also perform another pooja according to Buddhist principles to get over the minor obstacles on his ascend to power. Not only Mr. Wickremesinghe but President Mahinda Rajapaksa too had reportedly visited Marshal and participated in poojas.

It was in the late eighties that a UNP parliamentarian from the area was invited by Marshal to participate in the inaugural pooja of his newly built devalaya. At the pooja he had told the politician that there would be a leader from the South who would try to resolve the ethnic crisis in the country. At that stage the parliamentarian wondered as to who this person would be. But later he had realized that the leader from the South was Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Marshal had also predicted Mahinda Rajapaksa’s victory when Minister Dinesh Gunawradena had visited him just before the Presidential election. Dinesh and Geethanjana Gunawardena –the two socialist brothers – are frequent visitors who call on Marshal. Among others are opposition politicians S.B. Dissanayake and Rukman Senanayake.

Not only Sri Lankan politicians but most politicians in the West and particularly in India depend on Astrology and various occult sciences to peep into the future of this usually unpredictable field of politics. The irony of the whole thing is that Sri Lankan politicians are more gullible than others and depend totally on astrologers and soothsayers to achieve there objectives. This is a sad indictment on the Sri Lankan political arena.

However, Sri Lankan politicians believe in the stars so much that almost all of them make regular visits to astrologers and soothsayers. The astrologers too knowing the nature of politicians predict favorable outcomes to those who visit them but keep stretching the times and dates when these predictions are supposed to happen. It was the case during the previous regime when there were predictions that President Chandrika Kumaratunga administration would fall on this and that date. Despite all those predictions she enjoyed both her presidential terms.

During the past few months there had been numerous predictions about various politicians, that they would make their way to the top by April. According to astrological predictions former President Chandrika Kumaratunge’s chances appear to be very high, so are the chances of Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe, according to various astrologers. At the same time former Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s horoscope too is powerful according to soothsayers. We are yet to see who will make it to the top in April or whether the status quo will remain.

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