Going in search of democracy - Editorial

As nominations close and a vibrant if not vituperative campaign begins for elections to the Western and Southern Provincial Councils on March 29, the media will also play an important role and the time may be appropriate to reflect on the real state of the media today.

The well-known and outspoken media personality Richard de Zoysa—who was abducted and killed on February 18, 1990 but the killer or killers are still not known as in many such cases—wrote eloquently about media freedom and the search for democracy in 1983.

Richard said in his verses tittled ‘Rites of Passage’:

1956
Api yamu ko josey
Api yamu ko josey, yamu ko josey, chandey damanna ...
Dakuna kakula perata dama; shata pata gala
(Lets go Josey, Lets go Josey, to cast votes
Put forward the right leg first and hurry up )
(Electioneering Song)
1985 - Tangalle
Going in search of democracy
Off to the election down south
Land of milk and honey and guns
(They call it shotgun democracy)
40 miles away from democracy,
The enterprise falters - it’s 2 a.m….
HALT!

The searchlight comes screaming out of the dark,
Blinds and freezes you, cat in the path of a truck.
Hands fly up - then it hits you ...

APPROACH!
Stumble over the rough grass - Eager to show identity
Show we’re on the right side.
We were just taking a stroll. We’re going in search
of democracy, going to see the by-election next door
Don’t you know these are not the times
For nuts like you to be roaming around
Least of all in search of Democracy…

Perhaps 2014 is also not the time “for nuts like us to go in search of democracy” we need to reflect on the adverse consequences or repercussions of what we do or do not do.

In 1964, exactly 50 years ago, the then Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike moved a bill to take over the then independent Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL or Lake House). It sparked a crisis. There was a big SLFP cross-over led by the veteran C. P. de Silva and the Government was toppled after it lost a motion of no confidence. But when Sirimavo Bandaranaike was swept back to office in 1970, despite the JVP insurrection in 1971, she went ahead and took over the biggest independent newspaper group ANCL in 1973. In 1974 Ms. Bandaranaike abused Emergency regulations to seal the other major independent newspaper group, the Independent Newspapers Limited or the Davasa Group. This prompted the grave joke in the famous obituary of the death of D.E.M.O’Cracy, husband of T. Ruth, (meaning truth), and father of L. I. Berty (meaning liberty). The newspapers remained sealed till March 1977.

Recently Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s daughter Chandrika who was the first female Executive President of Sri Lanka complained that the Government media were battering or defaming her when she spoke out on major issues. She must be aware that what she is suffering now is a consequence of what her mother did more than 40 years ago.

On most ocassions media freedom and the right to information are just slogans for political parties when they are in the opposition. These are conveniently forgotten after coming to power. This has been the case on most occasions in the past. Most of the present leaders in the opposition parties too are guilty of the same.  
After 1978 and with the introduction of new information and communication technology Sri Lanka has scores of newspaper groups television and radio stations in addition to the social media to which hundreds of thousands of people have access. Though figures have changed vastly, the independence of the media is in question. Although censorship and take-over of media institutions as in the past are not prevalent today, those in power have found other ways of controlling the independent media.

In a such scenario a big question mark hangs over the right of the people to make an informed choice at the elections.