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The media is engaged in a witch-hunt against the police, says Premier
View(s):Addressing the adjournment motion i Parliament this week, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said there are problems with regard to police worldover and they were not unique to Sri Lanka.
In a hard-hitting speech, criticising the media’s role, the Prime Minister said some journalists used different yardsticks to assess the news worthiness of different issues.
He said: “Embilipitiya incident is only one of them. The other incident was with regard to the conduct of officers at the Kotadeniyawa Police station. That has been investigated and courts have been moved in this connection. If any wrong has been done, we have no intention of covering their wrongdoing
“But what we witness today is a witch-hunt against the police. It is the media that is engaged in this witch-hunt. Why is the media after the police? I do not talk of the death in Embiliptiya.
“There were reports of forcibly taking media notebooks. I ask you who is this Jayantha Nanayakkara (the reporter whose notes were taken away)?
Where was he when Ekneligoda was abducted? Did he utter a word when Lasantha Wickrematunga was killed? Under who is this Jayantha Nanayakkara working?
He too is one who is on the hunt. He is now raising some other issues to cover his past. I call upon a single journalist who fought for media freedom, a member of the civil society and an attorney-at-law to come from one side, and I would come with the police from the other side, so that the two sides could discuss the matter.
“If you say there had been no wrongdoing by the media, I would go to courts. If you are going to courts, you need to go with clean hands. There is an Editors’ Guild.
“What was the Editors’ Guild doing when the Uthayan newspaper was attacked? If you are going to courts now against the police, we too could go there.
I could give an affidavit describing what the editors did in the past. There is one editor who carried tales of a fellow journalist and got the previous regime to abduct the latter in a white van.
“I intervened to save him. This incident is known to the editor and the journalist involved. I call upon the newspapers to clean the mess in their institutions.
I tell the journalists that your hands are not clean. If there is a violation of law, the journalists could go before courts and file a fundamental rights case. We too could come. Otherwise, we could talk and sort this out. But do not engage in witch-hunting. That is wrong and I am opposed to it.
“Have you been able to write a single editorial on what happened at the Homagama court? You do not talk big, because your hands are not clean. What are you all doing with regard to racism? I am telling all newspapers, I am asking from the electronic media, “What have you all to say about the incident at the Homagama court?
Write an editorial if possible on Homagama incident. We too have a right to talk of Buddhism as Buddhists. It is we who follow the teaching of the Buddha to the letter, not the journalists. We always said Buddham Saranam Gacchami, Dhammam Saranam Gacchami and Sangham Saranam Gacchami. Those who said Mahinda Saranam Gacchami have no right to talk of Buddhism.
”What happened at the Abhayaramaya yesterday? Some 20-30 came there. How many journalists were there? Now they want to go for street fights.
I could bring hundred from Colombo to counter each one of them. We are ready to bring any number. We could bring thousands as opposed to a 100 by them.
Do not think that people’s power could be undermined by the power of the former regime. If you think that you could whitewash those of the previous regime and resurrect them, you are mistaken.
“The Bar Association issued a statement with regard to the Homagama incident. How many media organisations talked of that incident? A new sort of game has commenced.
Some are shouting that war heroes are being killed. What did they do when Ekneligoda was abducted? Who is Eknaligoda? Is he a politician? Eknaligoda was a journalist. What is the standpoint of media with regard to Ekneligoda’s abduction? I call upon media to tell the country their position with regard to Ekneligoda. I am asking each one of you to tell the country what your standpoint is. Do not stir up racism.
“I call upon the media to decide among yourselves where you stand. There are two groups of journalists. There is a group that fought for media freedom. We fought together. If those who went on the witch hunt try to pose as clean journalists, we have information to expose them.
There are some who went on the witch hunt and used to tell me to go home. Now the situation has changed. It is time for them to go home.
“We should remedy the shortcomings and errors within the police and judiciary. I call upon the journalists too to join us, but first they should get their hands cleaned. There are journalists who always fought for their rights. They are a strength to us.”