Improving media freedom
MAR 05 2016
No country has witnessed a perfectly peaceful relationship between the media and the Government and Sri Lanka is no exception. Press freedom is guaranteed by the Sri Lankan Constitution itself which proclaims that every citizen has the "the freedom of speech and expression including publication" (Article 14(1)a). But there is always friction between the two. The media acts as a watchdog, scrutinizing the Government's actions and pronouncements by its representatives. Sometimes, the parties in question take umbrage at the press in those instances. That is part and parcel of the political process and there are mechanisms to address any genuine grievances.
However, only a few politicians ever admit that they have sometimes been rough with the media. We say this in the context of Higher Education and Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella's open admission that he "may have spoken forcefully" to some journalists, but had not allowed any problems with journalists to linger.
As the Minister has said "there is always a very close rapport between media personnel and politicians, but it is natural for certain small misunderstandings to occur between them". These misunderstandings can be easily ironed out, the minister pointed out. However, we witnessed an era when such "misunderstandings" ended in killings and disappearances of well-known journalists.
Minister Kiriella had recalled that era of the "white van culture". Indeed, 2005-2014 was one of the bleakest periods in history as far as the media was concerned. This does not mean that journalists were not attacked and killed during other previous regimes, but this was by far the worst period for local journalism and journalists. Among the many incidents were: killing of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickramatunga; killing of journalist D. Sivaram; disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda; assaults on journalist Poddala Jayantha and Keith Noyahr; torching of Siyatha and Sirasa TV stations and Lanka e-News offices and the jailing of journalist J. Tissanayagam (he was subsequently released). While these are high-profile incidents, there was a general air suppression and intimidation directed at the media. Many websites operating from within and outside Sri Lanka which were critical of the Government were blocked.
In fact, Sri Lanka is still placed sixth on the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) list of 14 countries where at least five journalists have been murdered without a single perpetrator being convicted. The index covers murders that took place between September 1, 2005, and August 31, 2015. Many of these attacks have not been fully investigated. After the present Government came to power, the Lasantha Wickramatunga and Prageeth Ekneligoda investigations have been revived and several arrests have been made in the latter. All unsolved attacks on journalists must be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.
Sri Lanka also has an unenviable record in the overall press freedom rankings, though there has been an improvement in media freedom since this Government came to power. On the Reporters Sans Frontiers (Reporters Without Borders) 2015 Press Freedom Index Sri Lanka was ranked 165th out of 180 countries, with no change from the 2014 position despite the positive improvements on the ground.
These positive improvements include the lifting of the previous ban on websites, a general air of freedom for all media, no instances of attacks against journalists and a better working relationship between the Government and the media. The Government media, which were completely under the yoke of the Government (with zero coverage of opposition figures and activities) during the previous regime have regained their freedom and credibility up to a great extent. This newspaper itself is a prime example. The State media may still not be 100 percent free and impartial, but it is a world of difference from those dark days when all opposition news was automatically taboo.
But there is a lot more to be done to improve media freedom in Sri Lanka, which could see a bigger change in our press freedom ranking this year. The Government should bring in the Right to Information (RTI) Bill without delay. Although not primarily aimed at the media, this will no doubt help the Government to be more transparent about its work and the media too will be able to enlighten the public on those matters. Sri Lanka is the only country in the region which does not have a RTI system and our international image will also improve if that is brought in.
The media must also behave with responsibility when it comes to national and sensitive issues, because media freedom is a two-way street. Many commentators rightly found fault with newspapers and TV stations for the graphic manner in which they reported the recent Seya Sadewmi and Vidya Sivaloganadan rape cases. In India, where a similar incident happened some time back, the media did not even report the girl's name. Many websites and even mainstream media regularly ignore media ethics and opt for sensationalism in order to increase their readership/viewership. Balancing readership numbers/ratings and ethical considerations is a challenge for the media in a fast-changing media landscape in a globalised world. But the media must evolve with the times and be always aware of its responsibility to the society.
