Karunatilleke cautioned that “the Government had the power to formulate laws and policy with regard to media” but added that “we will not be forcing a regulatory mechanism on anyone.” He said the proposed Commission would be established through consensus
It seemed ironic that it should come in the wake of the jolt the mainstream media in the United States received after Republican Donald Trump won the November presidential elections. Both the electronic and the print media, almost altogether, spoke of a victory for rival Hillary Rodham Clinton. Most were very supportive of her. They have come in for a lot of flak now and their shares have dipped in the stock markets. They are now re-thinking and re-building the journalistic enterprise.
The exception perhaps was the social media though many were accused of having scant regard for facts. They were accused of viral disinformation because of the false and misleading reports. Kyle Pope of the Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism calls it the antithesis of the Watergate, the scandal of the break-in at the Democratic Party’s National Headquarters in 1972. Those media exposures by the Washington Post forced the then Republican President Richard Nixon out of office. It is the Columbia University that confers the Pulitzer Prize, one of the highest and prestigious in US journalism.
Added to that is the worry for successive administrations in the United States over the ISIS. At present US advisors are helping the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga forces to oust the ISIS who are still in control of the Iraqi town of Mosul. In Syria, the Government forces, supported by Russia, are fighting the ISIS in the heavily war torn town of Aleppo. Sights of misery and human suffering are a daily occurrence shown on television.
Strange enough, with no elections after the presidential and parliamentary polls in 2015, the worries for the Government still seem to be about the media and the fear of the influence of ISIS growing in Sri Lanka. The Government is worried that it will not be able to win the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections, if the media are “not disciplined.” Hence, several ministers were of the view that measures would have to be adopted from now. That is not only for the mainstream electronic and print media, but also for the social media. The matter figured prominently at Tuesday’s weekly meeting of ministers at Committee Room 3 in the parliament complex.
Strange but true, there was only one minister who opposed any measures against the media. That was Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera. He was perhaps conscious that it was he who would have to answer questions in world capitals about the Government’s about turn in just two years. During the elections, speakers at different political rallies spoke of media suppression, murders, abduction in white vans and other forms of harassment. They pledged they would not only deal with those responsible but also ensure those dastardly acts were a thing of the past. Now, how would he justify what may turn out to be a possible move to control the media.
The issue came to the fore last Tuesday when Media Minister Gayantha Karunatilleke raised issue about a local television network. Media Secretary Nimal Bopage had claimed that the channel had misreported President Sirisena’s speech to war heroes at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) on October 11. He had sought a written explanation from the channel. In its response, the television channel had replied that there was no “intentional” misreporting but pointed out that they had to take only the main elements from a speech that lasted over 30 minutes. The ensuing discussion saw some ministers criticising Bopage for what they said was his behaviour akin to a Minister. Others criticised the television network and charged that it was espousing the interests of those in the opposition.
The discussion widened to other areas. Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva opined that the Criminal Defamation law should be re-introduced. This has been his pet hobby at previous meetings too. The proposal, however, did not draw support from other ministers. Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe argued that not only the electronic media but the print media also should be brought under some form of control. He spoke in Sinhala. “Tikak innako. Mang karrannam wedey” or just wait a while. I will do the job,” he declared.
Rajapakshe has already launched a campaign against a London-based website which reports both in English and Sinhala. In the wake of this, the Gampaha Magistrate issued an international warrant for the arrest of the editor. The procedure now would be for the Sri Lanka Interpol branch, located in the office of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), to convey the court order to the Interpol Headquarters in Lyons, France. In recent times, Interpol has changed procedures. It no longer issues a Red Notice acting on a court order from a member country for an arrest. It is now done only when a person is convicted. Instead, Interpol issues a Blue Notice. This is expected in the case of even Udayanga Weeratunga, former Sri Lanka Ambassador to Russia. He is wanted by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) in connection with investigations into the procurement of MiG-27 fighter jets. The issue of a Blue Notice is by no means a requirement that the country where the person named lived would be deported to Sri Lanka. The only immediate outcome would be his inability to travel outside the country of such person’s residence. In this case, the editor concerned will not be able to travel outside Britain.
Foreign Minister Samaraweera raised strong objections on moves to deal strongly with the media. He said when they were in the opposition, they had worked for media freedom and promised to undo what the previous administration did. Now, he said, the Government would be accused of stifling the media. When a minister pointed out that there was defamatory or bitter criticism against them, he said, “why not respond by hitting them hard. That is the way to deal with it.” He said it could otherwise boomerang on the Government.
President Sirisena concurred with Rajapakshe’s remarks on measures against the media and added that even the social media should be covered. He re-iterated his previous remarks that the State-run media, particularly the Lake House group, did not give him adequate exposure. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe noted that the media were sometimes “irresponsible” and the reportage was “not factual.” It was agreed that both President Sirisena and Premier Wickremesinghe would meet to formulate ways and means of dealing with the media. The new measures are now being awaited.
At Thursday’s briefing on matters that came up at the ministerial meeting, no mention was made about the discussion. However, Media Minister Karunatilleke, in what appears to be a separate move, announced that he had presented a Cabinet Memorandum to initiate a dialogue on setting up an “Independent