The Hindu : Report peace process responsibly: Ranil

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 26, 2003

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International

Report peace process responsibly: Ranil

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO. FEB. 25. The Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, today inaugurated the biennial conference of the Commonwealth Press Union, with a promise to introduce a set of legislative measures aimed at providing greater transparency in governance.

Pointing out that the relationship between the Sri Lankan media and politics ``has been both uneasy and highly complicated'', the Prime Minister called for responsible reporting of the peace process.

Referring to the reporting of the ongoing peace process, Mr. Wickremesinghe said, "publishing of unsubstantiated news, as well as deliberate misrepresentation of issues can undoubtedly cause serious damage to the peace process''.

On the role of the media vis-à-vis the ethnic conflict, the Prime Minister said governments of the day and the media had "travelled parallel paths''.

During the days of armed conflict, the media "supported the war - without further discussion'', Mr. Wickremesinghe said, pointing out that ``consequently it was very rarely that the armed forces and military strategy were ever questioned or critiqued''. Those who questioned, he said, ``were deemed unpatriotic'' and many "crucial issues were never brought to the public gaze''.

Referring to the present situation, marked by a year-long ceasefire and five rounds of talks between Colombo and the LTTE, as "a critical phase'' the

Prime Minister said "the balance between seeking greater media freedom and ensuring that those who wish to oppose the peace process do not misrepresent the Government is a challenge''.

Mr. Wickremesinghe, who hails from a family of pioneers in the island's journalism, said the Government had agreed to support the establishment of the Sri Lanka Press Institute and the Press Complaints Commission. In addition, discussions were also on with regard to laws relating to press censorship and contempt of court, he said, adding all these would "devolve a greater responsibility on the media''.

Legislative measures such as the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, the Freedom of Information Act and a proposed Citizen's Charter Law, he said, would provide for greater transparency in government.

For political parties, the Government was contemplating bringing in an Election Manifesto Law, which would require each political party to cost out their pledges to the people and to publish their costs'', Mr. Wickremesinghe said.

Some 100 delegates are participating in the biennial conference. N. Ravi, Editor, The Hindu, K.N. Shantha Kumar, Editor, Deccan Herald, Mammen Mathew, Editor and Publisher, Malayala Manorama, Dileep Padgaonkar, former Editor, Times of India, and the political commentator, Kuldip Nayar, are among the Indian participants.

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