What price “Freedom of the Press”? : Reporters Without Borders have taken umbrage at the Sri Lanka government’s action in blocking out the BBC Sinhala service “Sandeshaya” programme rebroadcast by SLBC.
The Sri Lankan Diaspora welcomes this move by the Sri Lanka Government and the SLBC. This has been a long time coming.
[ad#200×200]The BBC Sinhala service, on many an occasion gave the impression that it was no more than another propaganda arm of the LTTE from the time Vasantha Rajah hijacked the programme. Subsequently, more inexperienced journalists involved in this programme worked towards the very same objectives.
In keeping with the Vasantha Rajah practice, the present BBC Sinhala service journalist, of questionable ethnic background whose past work experience in a notorious pro-separatist publishing house in Sri Lanka offers no credibility, has been fabricating news to help the Tamil Tiger terrorist cause.
His latest tactic of comparing Sri Lanka to Somalia using a WFP (World Food Programme) representative boomeranged on the BBC, when the WFP apologized to Sri Lanka denying the story. Unfortunately, by that time the Tamil Net and other NGO websites had already used the BBC’s white lie. This blunder has brought even more disrepute to the already questionable standards of the BBC ‘s SINHALA programme.
Further, your unfounded concerns about the judgement handed down by the Courts against the Editor of The Leader newspaper in Sri Lanka places a question mark about your impartiality. Whilst exposing your duplicitous actions, this has served to confirm your inability to sift right from wrong. Your recent statement has indicated scant regard for the Democratically elected multiethnic Government of Sri Lanka, which is indeed unbecoming of a supposedly well recognized organization of journalists. This manner of behaviour is totally inappropriate and unacceptable in this day and age.
If your organization,” Reporters Without Borders” are champions of truly democratic, ethical journalism, perhaps you might like to consider writing a factual article on the heinous barbaric terrorist acts perpetrated by the Tamil Tiger terrorists in Sri Lanka and how they suppress public opinion. Then perhaps we may be able to accept you as a vibrant body.
The LTTE has given a new meaning to the word ‘Infantry- by making pawns of children as young as eight years, abducted by them mostly at gunpoint from schools and homes, to fight as foot soldiers in their despicable terrorist war that mainly targets civilians: women, men, children, old people. religious dignitaries and democratic opinion makers.
Did your organisation take action when the LTTE supporters in Canada targeted Stewart Bell of the National Post when he published revealing investigative reports on their activities undermining the peaceful and democratic way of life in Canada and exposed the true nature of their so-called charities that raised millions of dollars for the LTTE terrorist coffers?
How about Paul Harris another well-known investigative reporter? Did your organisation come to his defence when he became a target of the LTTE’s ire at his revealing reports on their terrorist activities?
What were Reporters Without Borders doing when Tamil writers such as Rajini Thiranagama were murdered by the LTTE and many a Tamil journal was forced to stop publication, including Tamil journals published in foreign countries?
One-sided championing of “Press Freedom” with a bias seemingly favouring the Tamil terrorist cause only exposes the true nature of Reporters Without Borders. In contradistinction to their name, they appear to carry on a surreptitious sweeping campaign to safeguard the interests of Tamil Tiger terrorists of the LTTE and their fronts at the expense of Democratically elected Government. This manner of action is certainly not geared to preserve Press Freedom in its true sense and it will be helpful if the above facts were given consideration by your organization.
Jeanne Jayasinghe
President Society for Peace, Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka, Vic-Australia
source:spur.asn.au 18/12/08