International media abetted death of journalism in Sri Lanka

'International media abetted death of journalism in Sri Lanka'
TamilNet, Monday, 19 January 2009


Following the latest assassination of prominent editor Lasantha Wickramatunge of The Sunday Leader, four notable journalists, have reportedly fled Sri Lanka last week. "Had the international media, which was refused access to the war front and LTTE held territories, boycotted the government news, from the beginning itself as a measure of asserting media rights, the casualty of journalism in the island could have been avoided. But, the international media, especially the popular news agencies, are part of the game and they pay only lip service at every media casualty in the country," says a journalist formerly based in Colombo and now operating in the West.



The journalist, who wishes to withhold his name, as he often visits Colombo, said that
in the current war, the international media forfeited its privileges to Colombo
government and was functioning almost like mouthpieces, helping the propaganda war,
showing only superficial resentment.
"This has happened, as the major agencies of the international media have become
handmaids of Bush's 'War on Terror'. Such an outlook encouraged Colombo
government to pounce on whatever little remaining traces of independent journalism in
Sri Lanka," he argues.
Sri Lanka ranked 165th out of 173 countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2008
press freedom index. This was the lowest ranking of any 'democratic' country.
The international media reproducing Colombo's version of a story, without critical
investigation of the logic and the source, failed to maintain a positive balance of media
etiquette, commented the journalist.
Even though the informed readership always manage to filter away the bias in the
reporting, the buying agencies in various countries only reproduce the version of the
Sri Lankan government, rendered through the news agencies.
Apart from the role of the international media, various media outlets controlled by the
government or serving the Sinhala Buddhist nationalist agenda, have portrayed many
International NGOs, the peace facilitator Norway, eminent Human Rights defenders
and even the visiting former UN Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour as Tiger
agents. This kind of biased reporting, which gets blown up in Colombo media, became
a tool in the hands of the government and was used to control and define the attitude
and agenda of the personalities involved. The international media didn't care to counter
this with critical reporting, according to the journalist.
As a result of such tarnishing of image, the Norwegian facilitators were blackmailed
against criticising the Sri Lankan government. While having a free ticket to criticise the
Tigers, they were reluctant to issue statements that blamed Sri Lanka for rights and
ceasefire violations. This has eventually become a major setback to Norway, which was
openly acknowledged by the Norwegian peace facilitators to their media.
Despite the fact that the war has been taking place for decades between two regions,
the international media failed to establish parallel centres in the island of Sri Lanka. For
instance, Jaffna was a pioneering media centre in Asia running its own daily
newspapers right from 1840s. But, the international media agencies, for ages, have
concentrated only on Colombo and have developed a Colombo-centric media culture
for which they have become victims.
TamilNet's own experience is the web-blockade of the Colombo government since June
2007.


The Free Media Movement reported, back in 2007: "The ban on Tamilnet is the first
instance of what the FMM believes may soon be a slippery slope of web & Internet
censorship in Sri Lanka."
ARTICLE 19, an independent human rights organisation that works around the world to
protect and promote the right to freedom of expression, in a press release stated: "
“This is a blatant and unjustified attack on freedom of expression. [...] Until now,
control measures have largely been directed at local media. Applying these measures
to the Internet represents a serious escalation, which threatens to cut off an important
source of independent and alternative news. This not only threatens press freedom but
also undermines efforts to address the conflict.”
The media watchdog described TamilNet in the following words: "Although some claim
it has an LTTE bias, the online paper has, over its ten-year life span, earned a solid
reputation for providing alternative news and opinions with a particular focus on the
North and East of the country, operating under the banner of 'Reporting to the World
on Tamil Affairs'. It is relied upon as a credible news source by journalists, civil society
and the diplomatic community, both within Sri Lanka and globally. Over the years, the
site has endured various threats and attacks, including the gunning down in April 2005
of editor, Sivaram Dharmaratnam."
However, the international media continue to discredit the Tamil national perspectives
of TamilNet, by labelling it as a 'pro-rebel' website, copying Colombo-centric rhetoric
and thus weakening alternative perspectives of journalism in the island.
When the late senior editor, Mr. Sivaram (Taraki), a few years before his assassination
asked the then Colombo Bureau Chief of Reuters why they needed a special adjective
to TamilNet, there was no answer.
None of the countries of the International Community thought that they should
condemn when Sivaram was assassinated, which was the second TamilNet casualty
after Nimalarajan, and was an irreplaceable loss to Eezham Tamil journalism. Such was
the awe and respect for alternative journalism.

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