groundviews » Ravaya, the LTTE and the Keheliya Chintanaya

Ravaya, the LTTE and the Keheliya Chintanaya

March 12, 2007 at 10:53 am · Categories: Colombo, Human Rights, Peace and Conflict | by Sunanda Deshapriya

Amidst shackles - Notes of a citizen journalist

My article, in Sinhala, explores the allegations made against Ravaya, The Nation and the Mawbima newspapers recently that they were supporting the LTTE. I consider this a serious and dangerous allegation, and my article explores the fallout for journalists as a result.

I go on to explore the new Rambukwella Chintanaya. As noted in a recent Free Media Movement Press Release (The Freedom of the Wild Ass vs. Media Freedom in Sri Lanka) Keheliya Rambukwella in a recent television interview brought up the example of Israel as a paragon of media freedom and a state in which the media was fully supportive of all its military offensives.

I explore this dramatic new chintanaya in a critical light.

The full article available here.

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The advent of terror politics Amidst shackles - Notes of a citizen journalist Sunanda Deshapriya’s article in Sinhala explores the recent statements of Champika Ranawaka, Minister for Environment and Natural Resources in the Rajapaksa government and a highly placed and trusted advisor to the President. With excerpts from MP Ranawana’s writings and his recent statement to Ravaya, Sunanda explores the disturbing growth... Sunanda Deshapriya, March 1, 2007

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Wicks said,

March 13, 2007 @ 6:22 am

Rambukwella is trying to hoodwink the people by saying so. There are many research papers on the state of censorship in Israel. See research papers by Nossek and Limor on this topic and publish to refresh the people of SL and Rambukwella.

The journalists are forced by the government to adhere and now it is a permanent feature. I believe all journalists love their country specially freedom of expression no wild ass as they do a duty by their public and Sri Lanka is no exception.

My research has proven that the Sri Lankan media - newspaper journalism is unique and they know to write or convey their expressions to the public without hiding facts. This is the most important function of a jounalist but without politicizing.

You can hide once and remember the famous quote of John F Kennedy- “If you are right no one remembrs. I you are wrong no one forgets”.

Vaporub said,

March 13, 2007 @ 11:38 pm

Wicks, that fact that Rambukwella buggered himself by using Israel as a example of free media is precisely what is deliciously ripped apart by Sunanda. As D.B.S. Jeyaraj said, this bugger is possibly a liability more than an asset to the Government. Jury’s out - let’s see what other fantasies he spins. He’s usually quite good at spin.

Jaffna said,

March 15, 2007 @ 9:17 pm

That’s why Israel is a pariah state and not a member of the United Nations.
Does Sri Lanka want to become a pariah state and withdraw from the UN?

Wicks said,

March 16, 2007 @ 4:16 am

As I said earlier, I have not been on ground zero vaporub and has not followed the guy. Credibility erosion is a serious matter and incompetency is still worse. This guy needs to know what he is taling about.
Sunanda is doing a good job and hope all journalists keep their freedom as they have demonstrated despite censorship during 1997 and 2002. This is what I found by research not just conjecture.
They must keep using the same tactics to keep ahead of drastic politics.

JustMal said,

March 16, 2007 @ 10:03 am

Jaffna, Israel is a member of the UN. Who told you otherwise, Sibernews?

The country is at war and it’s natural for people to be angry with foreign funded peacenik mediamen who seemingly support the enemy and try to undermine the war campaign. The same countries and organisations who give money and other benefits (foreign study tours, scholarships etc) to these “journalists” are also being accused of syphoning money to the LTTE via its NGO fronts such as TRO. Is it not fair for ordinary people to assume that these people are carrying out someone else’s agenda, one that’s hazardous to the operational health and safety of Sri Lanka?

The manifest bigotry of these people in exaggerating alleged offenses by the military, yet justifying and making excuses for far greater crimes by the LTTE, certainly does not help their (already non-existent) credibility among the ordinary people. Fairy tales about men in black in white vans abducting people left and right may strike a chord with unwary foreign benefactors, but most Sri Lankans would find the comparison between their’s and LTTE’s own propaganda much more interesting.

The question is that how could the fair and righteous indignation of the ordinary Sri Lankans towards the likes of Mr Deshapriya be interpreted as a prelude to a Rwandan-esque massacre of himself and his associates, as he’s done in his Sinhala article. How paranoid (guilty conscience perhaps?) would one has to be in order to draw such an absurd comparison, when neither the NMAT nor the JHU have any history of assassinating their ideological opponents or other terrorist activities. It is the LTTE that is unanimously believed to be involved in such things, and yet Sunanda does not feel the slightest threat to his life from them - as it should indeed be the case, if he had in fact been an non-partisan rights crusader exposing the abuses of both parties.

Kaputa said,

March 16, 2007 @ 10:04 pm

JustMal, are you resident in the same country I am? Because the Sri Lanka I live in, there’s really no question that people are getting abducted, and that the Government is involved in some of them, if not all. Far from fairy tales. What’s the operational health and safety of Sri Lanka? What does that even mean?

Sunanda doesn’t speak of Rwanda in his Sinhala article - clearly your facts, as your judgement, is mixed up. In attempting to colour the NMAT while, you are clearly espousing their attitudes to the resolution of this conflict, which to me again suggests you are some diasporic individual who has no real connection to what’s going on in Sri Lanka, and seeks to shout as loud as he / she can, in order to feel important, wanted and heard.

Thank god that there are those like Sunanda to inject a saner more reasoned voice into the debates on peace, even though he’s not always right in his judgements. I don’t ever recall the FMM inciting people to violence, spewing hatred, publishing hate publications, putting up posters to incite hate and holding public conventions in which the speakers openly name people for people to kill them - all things which your beloved NMAT has done, and will continue to do.

Nobody’s whitewashing the LTTE - but this government, in trying to wipe them out, is becoming much like them. And that’s a real danger those of us who live here have to deal with everyday.

Kaputa said,

March 16, 2007 @ 10:07 pm

BTW Jaffna, JustMal’s right you know. Israel is part of the UN, but has an “special” relationship with the US and the likes of the UK and Australia. Amazing how terrorists in the form of States get to be represented in the UN, while others are hunted down, by these big terrorists, in their own countries.

JustMal said,

March 17, 2007 @ 7:01 am

Kaputa, that still doesn’t answer why Sunanda does not feel threatened by the LTTE at all, who without a doubt would kill anyone opposed to them, but only by NMAT/JHU, whose public rhetoric never really translates into action. If the FMM do not support the LTTE, wouldn’t they be hunted down by the Tigers as well?

Does the FMM not participate in rallies and other events with LTTE front organisations and TNA MPs who openly support terrorism and genocide? Does it not overlook and make excuses for crimes by the LTTE yet exaggerate abuses by the military. The arrest of Lalith Seneviratne et al is a case in point. These terrorists have previously worked for the FMM linked Hiru newspaper, and FMM went into such a frenzy following their arrests saying they were innocent trade unionists abducted by men in white vans, despite the daunting evidence that they were trained terrorists who had participated in many terror activities in Colombo. When have the FMM ever made such a fuss about any genuinely innocent person killed or abducted by the LTTE?

Judging by these facts, is not fair for Sri Lankans to be angry at FMM’s hypocrisy. Is it not natural for them to think that FMM’s actions are deliberately meant to be beneficial to the LTTE, not least because the allegations against FMM’s foreign donor nations, organisations and other affiliates that they are linked with the LTTE? Are they not allowed to publicly voice their indignation and frustration.

Many of these so called abductees are simply being detained by law enforcement agencies or the armed forces. There arrests are perfectly legal under the PTA. The secretiveness is justifiable considering the gravity of their alleged offenses and is akin to the lack of transparency seen in counter-terrorist measures taken by other nations.

Kaputa said,

March 17, 2007 @ 8:20 am

JustMal,

Clearly you’ve not read the statements by FMM, Sunanda’s own points as reported on Groundviews at a recent press conference, or the report that they brought out. What you say so clearly indicates that you are going by heresay, the Government Press, JVP / NMAT propaganda and the news as reported on the MOD website - all these accusations and allegations have already been answered, and the government is left without any reply, not the FMM.

The FMM didn’t say what you say they did - so much has been written on it that to debate it again here is tiresome, and useless really - those like you don’t read the statements anyway, and just like to base your judgements on what others say.

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