Article originally written in Sinhala. See Tamil translation here.
The judgment of 20 years with heavy labor passed on media reporter J. S. Tissanayagam recently sent shock waves internationally, among the societies that value democracy and especially amongst the community of the international media, who thinks the charges brought against him and the ruling of the courts as highly unreasonable. This verdict imposed on the 31st of August has become the main point of discussion among the civil society and those actively engaged in the media related work. Over this sentence there is some displeasure voiced to some extent within a section of the media in our country to and to a larger extent among the civil society, about the danger on the freedom of expression as a result of the prevention of terrorism act and the state of emergency. The failure on the part of the defendant’s lawyer to convince the Judge to get the sentence which is based on 3 separate charges lessened to 10 years from the original verdict of 20 are noted as weak points and are currently in discussion. Certain reports made by some media after a careful observation on the judgment passed are of the opinion that under the ruthless law named the Prevention of Terrorism Act, even though he is not going to be the last person to be jailed, certain evidence brought against him, being the first person, had not been in his favor. Read more…
Translation of article originally written in Sinhala. See Tamil translation here.
For the second time the British Channel 4 television service, has become the main topic of discussion in the Sri Lanka’s media circles. The first time it came to attention was, when on the 9th of May, 3 of its media personnel, taken into custody were deported out of the country. The reason was for preparing and forwarding a report on human rights violations taking place inside some IDP camps in Vavuniya. On the orders of the authorities who studied the contents of the report , they were arrested and deported. Our attention was drawn to the attitude shown and the approach made by Sri Lanka media on reporting this incident. But on this occasion the incident is considered more serious. Channel 4 has broadcast a video clip that could bring discredit to the government of Sri Lanka on war crimes. As such it can be observed through their counter media reports, with how much ferocity and contempt the Sri Lanka government has treated this matter. Our objective was to make a report on how the Sri Lanka media reacted to a state of affairs where 300,000 of their population were displaced due to a war situation. Read more…
Article originally written in Sinhala. Read Tamil translation here.
By closely observing the media coverage on the reports of confusion and distress connected with the college education, it is apparent the importance attached to it. On one hand the students from the IDP camps who sat for the year 5 scholarship exam on the 23rd set off from their homes, which were covered with water contaminated by the overflowing toilet pits due to heavy rains. Some are even now writing for the A/L exam.
Read more…
Translation of article that originally appeared in Sinhala. See Tamil translation here.
The Humanitarian day of the United Nations falls on the 19th of August. The UN commemorated this day for the first time on last Wednesday 18th August. But when this commemoration as going on the residents of Sri Lanka were apparently unaware of the massive amount of displaced people suffering severely from the dire need for human needs and deprivation of human rights, in the biggest man made disaster in the history of Sri Lanka. It is also quite possible that they are pretending to be unaware of it. They may feel it but ignore it because it is not their pain and are insensitive today because of the lack of eyes to see or ears to hear. It is the information provided by the media that gives eyes for the people to see and ears for them to hear. But if the media is not fulfilling this responsibility or they are not permitted to do so, the biggest responsibility of media, to be faithful to people, will not take place. The country has no use of a media that is not faithful to people and do not act for the betterment of the people. Read more…
Nowadays very often we hear about the doctors who give the foremost place for money making. It is very rarely people hear about a health service that gives prominence to the wellbeing of the people. But not only in the world, in Sri Lanka as well, there are admirable stories about the doctors who were sensitive not only about the treatment but also about the people as well. The memory of Dr. Senake Bibile of Sri Lanka is one such admirable example. It is clear that all over the world such lives of those who engaged in an honorable public service became even the sources of literary creations not just because of the imagination. It was around such an ideal doctor that Jayalath Manorathna’s serial Tele drama “Rathriya Manaram” which was telecasted over the National Television, had been created.
However an incident that could refresh the memory of doctors who engaged in a community service which transcended the medical service was observed when monitoring the media in the recent days. That is the story of the three doctors who engaged in mobile hospital service in the Wanni and served the community till the end of the war.
Read more…
