25-year journey amid turbulent weather: Ravaya at crossroads
During my teens I used to go to the D.S Senanayake Library in Kandy regularly to read the Aththa Newspaper. The editorial was what attracted me to it. I was quite fascinated by B.A. Sira. The cartoons of Yoonus were a form of art in itself.
I am referring to an era when President Jayewardene could do no wrong like the Queen of England. Constitutionally too His Excellency, was protected. It was an era when dissent was limited to whatever that appeared in the Times of that era and in the Sun and the Weekend. There were no websites or independent TV news channels. No independent "on-the-spot news reporting radio stations".
Political news was what was dished out by the state media. Sumana Nellampitiya, Ravinatha Ariyasinghe and my contemporary at Trinity College, Arjuna Ranawana would rattle "what we should hear and see on TV."
It was during this period of political tranquility that the JVP insurrection appeared in the firmament. Political dissent engulfed the nation in the most violent form. The whole country would come to a standstill on the mere delivery of a note that the next day was declared a day of mourning. Government would come to a standstill. The seats of higher learning turned into killing fields. Mutilated bodies were strewn on roadsides. Anarchy and mayhem were the order of the day.
It was also during this period that the birth of Ravaya took place. A few years later along with the impeachment motion, there arrived a plethora of anti-government literature in the form of weekly newspapers! From Yukthiya and Hiru to the most bizarre sounding names such as Kaputa, to Sulanga! Not many were able to stand the test of time.
Ravaya today is 25 years young. Youthful! Vibrant! Current!
This is all about Ravaya….
Ravaya as it is today has consistently been pragmatic.
During the era of President Premadasa it carried views which were diametrically opposed to that of the Government. It spoke about the excesses of Government with regard to killings and also with regard to manipulated figures of development. It attracted the wrath of President Premadasa by stating that his "Gam Udawa" was a farce. It backed the impeachment motion against President Premadasa. The newspaper backed UNP breakaway group leaders Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake. That turned out to be a battle in vain.
The next phase was the arrival of the new phenomenon in the Sri Lankan political firmament -- the arrival of President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Having backed her during her ascendancy and the consolidation of her power and the power struggle with the Late Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Ravaya by 1997 was back again an antiGovernment newspaper.
However it was during this period that the debate on devolution of power was being pursued by the Government of the day. Ravaya true to its conviction backed the debate to its hilt. Its animosity with the regime and the excesses inflicted on democracy at the Provincial Council Elections in Wayamba, did not have an impact or bearing on the stance of Ravaya with regard to the devolution debate. It lambasted the Government on other issues! It stood firm on the National issue!
The next crucial issue of national importance was the entering into of the "ceasefire agreement" (CFA) of the then Government in 2002. Ravaya was a protagonist of this CFA and backed it to the last. It carried the virtues of the CFA with a weekly dose to the point of annoyance. Nauseating as it was, it carried on nevertheless with its line.
However, to its credit when the full scale offensive against the LTTE escalated Ravaya was one of the first newspapers to turn a full circle and by 2007 was effectively backing the Government on the stance it had taken. When others were still vacillating on the stance to take and were pessimistic on the efficacy of a full scale offensive Ravaya decided to back the Government. It did it effectively!
It is not that Ravaya was infallible. The most serious criticism against Ravaya was that it was being funded by the NGOS. The reason for the initial identification with NGOS came from its association with Sarvodaya. It was being printed at the Sarvodaya press. Another factor that made some people to identify the paper with NGOS was its promotion of issues that were pet subjects of NGOS. Whether it was the peace initiative of any Government, ceasefire agreement or devolution; these were subjects exclusively the preserve of the NGOS.
Challenging the judiciary on matters strictly not legal, peeping into private lives with statements attributed to third parties turned out to be a dangerous trend created by Ravaya. Most of the incidents highlighted "may" have been factual. However the credibility of the persons making those statements was not always on the reliable side. These would be the main criticisms against this newspaper.
Ravaya had a role to play and it has played its part effectively. What of the future though! Where would and could Ravaya pitch itself in the current context? In this era of elec-
tronic media, holding a readership for the print media
would be the challenge that it would have to face! The writer is an attorney at law