Sri Lanka’s current ‘no war no peace’ situation means that it is a country constantly teetering on the edge of a full scale war. As a result, tension is always high amongst the different communities that make up this diverse nation, and even the slightest provocations can cause violence to escalate at an alarming rate.

In September 2006, several journalists and media practitioners began a process of reflection and discussion on their role in easing this tension and building lasting peace on the island. Collectively, they felt that they had a duty to contribute positively towards building national unity in Sri Lanka and subsequently devised the Weligama Declaration. It was accepted and signed in the Southern town of Weligama by ten professional media organizations including the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association, The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka, the Free Media Movement, The Muslim Media Forum, The Tamil Media Forum and the South Asian Free Media Association.

The Weligama Declaration highlights several areas where journalists and the media can play a conscious and proactive role to foster peace and a better understanding of the different ethnic compositions of Sri Lanka. For example, by enabling the diversity of the socio-cultural and political aspirations of the people to be heard; by clarifying misconceptions that could worsen tension; by a greater awareness of the need to work towards peace building and by acknowledging that sections of the media have contributed towards the deepening of the conflict in the past.

With regard to the last point, this is by no means the first time that the media, and in particular the press, has been guilty of expressing power without responsibility. Sunanda Deshapriya of the Free Media Movement added that “If our reporting causes riots and if murder carried out by anyone is considered a heroic act and if distrust and fear is spread amongst the general public then I feel that there is some fault in the manner in which we report. We feel that the Weligama Declaration will enable us to make positive changes to the way we operate as journalists.”

But the question remains, does peace and harmony sell as well as defamation and hatred? After all, media organisations are commercial ventures. This debate is not a new one and the issue of what is in the public’s interest and what is merely of interest to the public, has been raised time and time again. There are contrasting views with regard to how far freedom of expression should be taken, what constitutes propaganda and whether or not censorship is necessary in critical situations. It seems that all publicity is not necessarily good publicity after all.

In Sri Lanka today, journalists not only have to contend with the immense responsibility of having an influence over the easing and fuelling of tension between ethnic groups, they must also face the reality that what they write has a direct impact on their personal safety. Despite this volatile and uncertain environment, those who signed the Weligama Declaration had the courage to make a commitment to contributing towards greater social, cultural and political unity which is not only commendable, but also a step in the right direction on the road to peace.

A related podcast on VOR Radio available here.

By Nia Charpentier

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