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Poddala Jayantha’s assault – Follow up

daily_edi.jpgWith the assault on senior journalist Poddala Jayantha, the accent is again on the threat to media.

“The responsibility of the government to create an environment conducive for an independent media, is paramount if Sri Lanka is to gain the real benefits of peace,” states the morning daily, ‘Daily Mirror’ in its editorial today titled ‘Media again under threat’.

The editorial reads:

 

Media again under threat

The dastardly attack on the General Secretary of Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association Poddala Jayantha, on Monday has again sent shock waves around the media circles. Abducted by an unknown group late afternoon on  Monday as he was on his way home, he was later found beaten and left on the road side by some people. Admitted to the ICU, he was later declared out of danger. 

A known advocate of media freedom, Jayantha’s attackers did not only inhumanely beat up an unarmed journalist, but also poses a greater threat to free expression in the country.

The manner in which half his beard was shaved off and then brutally beaten up, is a crude reminder of the punishments meted out by the insurgents in the 1989 era. Such attacks are neither welcome nor healthy for a country rising from the ashes of war. These attacks can only have a negative impact towards the normalization process that the country seemed poised for as the government announced the end of a three decade old war last month.

It is still not clear if Monday’s attack is an isolated one or part of a line of attacks that the media has continued to experience over a period of time. The number of journalists killed, attacked or threatened out of the country during the last few years is significant. It is not a number a democratic society can be proud of. Only independent investigations in to all these cases can bring light to this growing trend and where the threat emanates from, and thereby eliminate those unfairly accused.

The Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa yesterday assured that investigations in to this particular attack, has already begun, and that the government will bring the findings before the media as soon as possible. It would be to the government’s credit if this could be accomplished without delay and the fears growing within the media eliminated.

Certainly, many hold their reservations about the manner in which certain media organizations have carried out their duties in a manner threatening the war effort of the government.

It is also no secret that the government had aired its own reservations against such individuals and organizations. However the fact remains that if the security establishments have any evidence against any journalists or media organizations, then they must allow for justice to take its course.

The longer these accusations are levelled without sufficient investigation, the more difficult it will be for them to gain any credibility. Mere accusations that remain unsubstantiated, would prove a serious hindrance to the process of democracy the government claim it remains committed to.

The need for investigations in to these kinds of attacks and punitive measures against culprits becomes all the more important given the international pressures against the government at this juncture. Being at the receiving end of numerous counts of human rights violations, the government only loses the moral high ground it desperately needs to fight these claims, by allowing such attacks to go unchecked.

The responsibility of the government to create an environment conducive for an independent media, is paramount if Sri Lanka is to gain the real benefits of peace.

No society threatened against listening to constructive criticism, and learning to appreciate the voices of dissent, can hope to progress.

Creating such a mature society would prove fruitful to the government, more so than ever; as it begins a discussion on allowing all communities equal rights.

The wider the rights to free expression allowed, the more viable the outcome of a debate on a political solution enjoyed by all.

The hopes resting on the Rajapaksa regime to create such a society are large, and the benefits to the country’s future growth immense. The faster the government is able to arrest this unhealthy trend, the greater its chances of maintaining the goodwill it had won over the largest percentage of the population ever in the history of this country.

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