Sri Lanka It's Happening

January 31, 2005

Sri Lanka is a country where journalists lick the boots of big businessmen and politicians. If you read a local daily you might go away thinking that all businessmen in the country are saints, and industries do not pollute or engage in unethical practices.

Strangely in spite of that some of the newspapers are still interesting to read. Mostly because of the contradictions they contain. Let's check out some of what appeared in the news of late:

The other day, I wrote about the first brother saying the coastal buffer zone is a stupid idea. That story appeared in the Daily Mirror front page. Then on page five on the same day, there is another headline: "Police to enforce buffer zone".

The main banner headline on the front page says "Minister's wife remanded in murder case". And breaking with their tradition the mewspaper actually gives the name of the minister (Milroy Fernando). The mirror's usual tactic is not to name names, in fear of antagonizing the parties involved, as demonstrated by another article on page 5:

"Certain top officials of the excercise department has reportedly intervened in the investigation on the restaurant-karaoke lounge near thurstan college". Don't these people have names? doesn't the restaurant have a name? If the mirror does not have concrete proof that excercise department officials have inteferred they should not make this statement.

The report goes on to say: "The restaurant belonging to a former UNP MP of kandy district was raided by the excise department on tuesday for running an unlicensed bar". Isn't it hard to believe that they paper would no the owner is a member of parliament but doesn't know his name?

Clearly the Daily Mirror should be printed on yellow colored paper, because the editor and the journalist who work there are yellow. The same can be said about 99% of the country's journalists. No wonder democraticy is on the wane.

Posted by raditha at January 31, 2005 12:27 PM