Awards
for Sri Lanka’s veteran journalists
The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka will honour five senior journalists
this year with the Long and Distinguished Service Gold Medal Award
at its annual Journalism Awards for Excellence ceremony to be held
on June 24 at the Mount Lavinia Hotel, states a press release by
The Guild.
The five distinguished
journalists selected for this honour are Edwin Ariyadasa, D.F. Kariyakarawana,
Jeffry Yoonus, Annalukshmi Rajadurai and Dalton de Silva.
Fourteen Awards and several Merit Certificates too will be presented
at the Awards Night, at this fifth consecutive annual awards presentation
organized by The Guild.
This year's
ceremony is jointly sponsored by Upali Newspapers, Associated Newspapers
of Ceylon (ANCL), Wijeya Newspapers, Express Newspapers, United
Newspapers together with Sri Lankan Airlines, Ceylon Tobacco Company,
National Savings Bank, People's Bank, the National Lotteries Board
and the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka. The Mount Lavinia
Hotel is the host-hotel.
Pen-sketches
of the five journalists who will receive the Long and Distinguished
Service Gold Medal Awards are as follows;
Edwin
Ariyadasa:
Having passed out of the University of Colombo with a Bachelor's
degree in 1948, Mr. Ariyadasa joined the Ceylon Insurance Company,
but entered journalism the very next year by joining Lake House.
During a long
and illustrious career, Mr. Ariyadasa worked in the Dinamina, Janatha,
Silumina, Daily News, Sunday Observer as a writer and sub-editor,
and finally became the Editor of the Navayugaya. He has contributed
more than 17,000 English and Sinhala articles and written a number
of Sinhala books and also translated some of the books.
After leaving
Lake House, Mr. Ariyadasa held several media-positions, among them
as the Media Advisor to the Arthur C. Clarke Centre. He is currently
serving as a consultant to the Ministry of Irrigation and Water
Resources Management.
Mr. Ariyadasa
has been engaged in the preparation of syllabuses for Journalism
courses in Universities as far back as 1969 and also serves as a
lecturer at various Universities. Mr. Ariyadasa has been awarded
the Kalakeerthi award.
D.F.
Kariyakarawana
Mr. Kariyakarawana, began his career as a teacher and soon became
a well-known poet in the Negombo area.
He started
his Journalism career at the 'Gnanathapradeepaya'. In 1947 he joined
'Lankadeepa', published by the Times of Ceylon as a sub-editor .
In 1951 he crossed over to the rival Lake House Group where he rose
to the position of Editor of the Silumina and Janatha newspapers.
He was instrumental
in introducing the Yowun Janatha and Kreeda tabloid newspapers while
at Lake House.
In 1955 he
set up a Sri Lanka Newspaper Society, and in 1979 the Working Journalists
Association. He also played a major role in introducing journalism
courses at the University of Colombo.
Mr. Kariyakarawana
participated in world-wide press associations and on one occasion
was elected vice president of the International Press Union and
held that position for seven consecutive years. In 1996 he was elected
Deputy General Secretary of that Union.
Mr. Kariyakarawana
has completed 58 years as a journalist, and continues to contribute
to local newspapers.
Jiffry
Yoonus
Mr. Yoonus is a renowned political-cartoonist in the country, who
has been in the profession for more than 50 years.
Born in 1931
in Maradana he received his education at Presbyterian and Wesley
College, Colombo, Mr. Yoonus joined the 'Thinakaran' newspaper in
1952.
In 1970 he joined the Communist Party organ, 'Aththa' .
His popular
cartoons usually triggered controversy among politicians of the
day, but despite harassment and intimidation, he continued his work
undeterred. Following the closure of the Aththa, Mr. Yoonus joined
the Ravaya newspaper in 1998, but has now stopped drawing cartoons
due to ill health. Mr. Yoonus was awarded the Vishva Prasadeeni
Award in 1996, and the Kalasuri Award in 1998.
Annaluxmy
Rajadurai:
An old girl of Senguntha Hindu College in Thirunelvely and Ramanthan
College in Chunnakam, Ms. Rajadurai joined the Virakesari newspaper
back in 1962. In 1966, she was made Editor of Jyothi, a family tabloid
and in 1973 of the weekly Mithran, a sister newspaper of the daily
Virakesari.
She is presently
in charge of Kalai Kesari and Mangaiyar Kesari, two weekly tabloid
supplements of the Virakesari Group. Ms. Rajadurai has written several
books including ' Vizhichchudar' (a short novel), 'Ullaththin Kathavugal'
(a novel), 'Neruppu Vezhichchem' (a collection of short stories)
and 'Irupakkangal' (a collection of verses).
She has covered
overseas assignments in the Philippines and China and has been conferred
the title 'Thamilmani' by the Ministry of Hindu Cultural Affairs
in 1992 for her contribution to Tamil language and literature.
Dalton
de Silva:
Trained in British newspapers in Fleet Street, London, Mr. Dalton
de Silva has worked as a reporter, feature writer, news editor and
associate editor at the Daily News and The Island.
A veteran journalist
for more than 50 years, he was also a foreign correspondent for
two major news agencies, Agence France Presse (AFP) from 1975 to
1981 and Reuters as Chief of Bureau from 1982 to 1991.
He is a founder
member of the Foreign Correspondents' Association (FCA) of Sri Lanka
where he served two separate terms as President and has been appointed
a life-member of the Association in appreciation of his services.
Mr. de Silva
worked as an Assistant Director of the then Ministry of Defence
and External Affairs where his duties included briefing the local
and foreign press and keeping Sri Lanka's diplomatic missions abroad
informed about developments in the country.
He served as
Information Officer to Sri Lanka's delegation headed by Prime Minister
Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike at the Non-Aligned Summit in Zambia,
the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Singapore and during
bi-lateral talks with the Indian Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi
on the citizenship issue of workers of Indian origin in the tea
plantations. During the past 12 years, Mr. de Silva has been conducting
lectures in Diploma in Journalism courses held at the Aquinas College
of Higher Education, the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute and other
institutions.
Crisis
looms over SLFP National Convention
By Harinda Vidanage
A leadership crisis has now emerged in the backdrop of the SLFP's
14th National Convention due to be held today at Sangabodi Vidyalaya
in Nittambuwa. While the Anura Bandaranaike faction is supposed
to bring up the issue regarding the election of deputy leader of
the SLFP and according to the Convention organizers this post is
expected to remain vacant and the matter would not be taken up at
the executive committee where party appointments are made.
Information
has also been received regarding another dispute that has arisen
within the SLFP. This time it is in the Sangha committee of the
SLFP- a very powerful arm of the party - a section of whom are supporting
the anti Mahinda Rajapakse group who are trying to oust the present
Sangha committee head Ven. Watinapaha Somananda known to be a staunch
ally of opposition leader Mahinda Rajapakse.
Ven. Somananda,
had not received the official invitation to attend the Convention
even upto Friday and a senior SLFP parliamentarian said the monk's
exclusion would lead to a crisis within one of the most important
and traditionally powerful arm of the party,
The opposition leader was not included in any of the main organizational
functions of the national convention and he was only co opted into
one of the committees supposed to organize and coordinate the program.
Initially his
name was not even among any of the 23 committees while Ratnasiri
Wickramanayake a former Prime Minister was included in more than
five of the most important committees. The convention will focus
mainly on drawing up a new economic policy statement outlining the
future political vision of the SLFP.
Amendments to
the party constitution are also expected to be introduced.
The policy statement is being formulated mainly to help the party
to function in a broad based coalition. The much talked of JVP-SLFP
coalition has been the main issue that has made the party to alter
its political outlook.
The other concern
has been garnered from the experience the SLFP has gained within
the People’s Alliance coalition with the mounting criticism
of faced by the SLFP in recent times and the fear of some parties
opting out of the present coalition.The policy statement had been
formulated by top presidential advisors including P.V. Jayasundara
and Prof. Jagath Wickramasinghe.
Matara
Fort sports complex
Archaeology Dept. says no, but residents say it is
on
A sports complex project in the historic Matara Fort initiated by
Minister Mahinda Wijesekera is going ahead as the Archaeological
Department is apparently ignoring the illegal construction.
Archaeology
Department Director General Dr. W.H. Wijepala, told The Sunday Times
that no unauthorized building is currently being erected within
the Matara Fort. But residents said a considerable part of the building
had already been completed and the project was very much a going
concern.
The 1940 Antiquities
Ordinance prohibits any erection within the Matara Fort. Minister
Mahinda Wijesekera had initiated his project in the historic Matara
Fort after ordering the cutting down of a 500-year-old mara tree
but he has reportedly said, despite growing criticism from the public
and environmentalists, that it was only a mara tree which is of
no use and was used by foreign women to rub their backs against.
Meanwhile Attorney
Mohammed Illias, whose office was demolished to make way for the
sports complex, has filed a fundamental rights case in the Supreme
Court citing the Minister as a respondent among others.
Mr. Illias
told The Sunday Times that Minister Wijesekera has used powers excessively
to cause a deliberate destruction of his property for which he is
not being compensated.
JVP Municipal
councillors in Matara said that they were planning to obtain a mandamus
order against the Archaeology Department Chief to stop the illegal
construction at the Matara Fort following his inability to ban the
construction taking place in the Fort. |