Speaking for unity
In this holy season between Vesak and Poson, Sri Lanka’s people need to reflect deeply on the need for inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue in the spirit of unity in diversity. Religious and political leaders and the media also need to pro-actively support such a noble mission.
One exemplary instance of Buddhist-christian unity was spotlighted in the media over the weekend. The Rt. Rev. Oswald Gomis, the former Archbishop of Colombo paid a glowing tribute to the international award winning newspaper publisher Sepala Gunasena for the generous and courageous manner in which he helped the Colombo Catholic Press during a time of crisis in the 1960s. It was a time when Sirimavo Bandaranaike was virtually drawn out of nowhere to take control of the Government because the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) then did not have a popular leader.
This happened about two years after the assassination of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. President Sirisena repeatedly says that though the mortar shells and suicide bombs stopped in 2009 when the war was won, a lasting peace has still not been achieved due to the failure to take practical steps for reconciliation.
Due to various reasons Ms. Bandaranaike took certain steps which had some repercussions. One such step was the take-over of assisted schools, generating a protest by the Catholic community. During that time, the Colombo Catholic Press published the weekly Gnanartha Pradeepaya and the Catholic Messenger. On June 7, the CCP held a simple ceremony to the mark the 150th anniversary of the Gnanartha Pradeepaya which was first published in 1866 and is the oldest, still thriving Sinhala newspaper in Sri Lanka. Archbishop Gomis, who was the Editor of the Gnanartha Pradeepaya and administrator of the CCP from 1981, problems they went through.
During this crisis, the Government restricted the quota of newsprint supply to the CCP and this was a severe blow. Sepala Gunasena defied the Government and came forward to give a helping hand. He was getting a sufficient stock of newsprint for the many publications of his group. He used half or more of the reels and sent the rest to the CCP in a magnanimous move which was a blessing for Buddhist-christian unity.
In the 1970s, a similar fate befell Sepala Gunasena’s newspaper group, but unfortunately he received little or no help. The group had supported Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s United Front Coalition in the 1970 election campaign. But when the Government did not go the right way and began producing queues and quotas instead of progress, the newspaper group spoke out. So much so that the Sirimavo Government drastically cut the newsprint quotas given to Sepala Gunasena’s Davasa Sun Group but it continued to speak out with courage and conviction. In those dreadful days of April 1973, Sirimavo Bandaranaike declared a state of emergency, banned rallies by other political parties and sent troops at midnight to seal the Dawasa Sun Group Newspapers.
Despite the massive blow and the massive loss, Sepala Gunasena did not bow down to political pressure. While many tried to negotiate a settlement, Sepala Gunasena insisted that the ban must be lifted unconditionally. He suffered for his courage and commitment to principles. This went on till March 1977 when the Government had no option but to lift the ban unconditionally. Four months later, at the general elections in July 1977, the Sirimavo Government was thrown out by the people with its 2/3 majority being turned upside down and the United National Party Leader J. R. Jayewardene getting an unprecedented 5/6 majority. Magnanimous in victory Sepala Gunasena himself gave a front-page lead-story headline declaring that no power on earth could stop the march to democracy.
Sepala Gunasena’s death anniversary was commemorated on June 10, and we hope that in this important era we will see media group owners and journalists who work with sincerity and commitment for democracy and unity.