The death of Diana, Princess of Wales had given rise to important questions, internationally and locally, specially after her brother Earl Spencer charged that newspapers and editors who patronized the paparazzi, had blood on their hands.
Earl Spencer's outburst is understandable, though it is largely emotional and even unjustifiable.
However, with Princess Diana's death, many more called for stricter privacy laws to prevent the media from digging aggressively or constantly into the private lives of public figures.
Here in Sri Lanka the state-owned media took the opportunity to attack the independent media and what they see as "irresponsible journalism" forgetting all what the government had done during the past three years under the pretext of transparency.
The time is ripe for the media to take a fresh look at the problem of overstepping the limits of responsible journalism, while the government also should reconsider its attitude and approach towards the free media.
In any democracy curbing the media is a violation of fundamental freedoms enjoyed by the people, and their right to be informed.
A vibrant media are an essential ingredient for a healthy democracy and any attempt by authoritarian regimes to curb this freedom should be stalled by the people forthwith to ensure that their own fundamental freedoms are safeguarded.
On the other hand here in Sri Lanka we do not have a breed of paparazzi to worry about. Thus the issues raised by the government media are not relevant. In any event, we all know what would have happened to any paparazzi, especially during those earlier periods of terror.
So in this context it is futile to talk about privacy laws or stricter measures to curb the press.
In short, the media in Sri Lanka do not enjoy adequate freedom and it will be the case in the future too.
In the circumstances, new laws to hinder the press will only curb the right of the people to be informed.
In this country, too, there are popular figures who had made a name for themselves for their achievements though they are not celebrities such as the Princess of Wales.
One
such person is Susanthika Jayasinghe who won a Silver medal at the World
Championship Athletics Meet in Athens recently.
With a victory Susanthika received many things she dreamt of in her life, including a double cab pick-up truck and a flat at a plush area in Colombo.
The luxury flat she received for her achievement belonged to the Sports Ministry and was occupied by two Korean sportsmen at the time she won the medal.
The Sports Minister telephoned his officials from Athens, telling them to keep the flat ready for Susanthika's occupation on her arrival. So the Koreans were asked to vacate immediately.
When they showed their displeasure and reluctance to occupy a Hotel in Colombo, the Koreans were formally told that the flat was needed for other purposes.
Finally the Koreans left after complaining to their Embassy in Colombo to pave the way for sprint queen Susanthika Jayasinghe, who hosted a house warming ceremony on Wednesday to friends and wellwishers, including Minister S.B. Dissanayake.
The invitees included businessmen like Thilanga Sumathipala, Buddhi Keerthisena, Rajan Joseph, A.J.M. Muzzamil and many others.
The guests enjoyed a sumptuous dinner in a cool atmosphere provided by the expensive air conditioners fitted to the luxury flat. The party lasted till the wee hours of the morning.
Minister Dissanayake was a proud man being the guiding hand behind Susanthika whose next goal is a Gold at the Sydney Olympics in the year 2000.
While he made headway in sports, it wasn't so successful for Mr. Dissanayake in politics. Though he is known to be a powerful figure in the Chandrika Kumaratunga administration, Mr. Dissanayake was sidelined by the organizers of the Thavalama - One Country-One People programme which was launched recently in Anuradhapura amidst high-profile publicity.
Mr. Dissanayake was not invited for the main function in Anuradhapura. An angry Mr. Dissanayake went to Temple Trees clad in his usual T-shirt and trousers to protest to the President. But Ms. Kumaratunga was quick to placate him and finally he joined the President on her tour to Anuradhapura as a member of the Presidential entourage.
As the chopper carrying the Presidential party touched down, many saw him reading a book on Che Guevera.
Within the government there is a debate at present as to what will happen to the Thavalama campaign. In the provinces it has had little response, giving a clear message to the organizers that the people are not interested in a political circus.
However, the package is likely to come up before Parliament in October and be debated till about January before a decision is taken.
The UNP is also likely to arrive at some sort of agreement with the government on the package with necessary changes.
But more than anything the government would have to sort out problems within itself before soliciting the support of the UNP.
Besides the package, there are other problems within the government, prominent among them being the on-going battle between Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and Constitutional Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris.
Minister Peiris last week toured Malaysia despite reservations by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that it was not appropriate at that juncture because the President is scheduled to visit Malaysia later this month.
But Dr. Peiris made it clear that his mission was not to attract Malaysian investment to Sri Lanka but to study the Malaysian Constitution which could be considered a unique Constitution where power had been devolved extensively.
Whatever the reasons, he received little or no co-operation from the Sri Lankan High Commission or its officials in Malaysia making it rather difficult for Dr. Peiris.
At the same time there is some speculation that Minister Peiris' grip on the government is loosening and he himself feels that only a handful of people within the government help him fully in his efforts to bring about a lasting solution to the ethnic cricis.
The Ashraff-Fowzie battle is another problem inside the government. It has grown out to serious proportions over the past few months.
Minister Fowzie on Wednesday had a long drawn argument with the President on the proposed Marine Drive which is aimed at reducing vehicular traffic on the Galle Road.
The President said although it was designed to connect Dehiwela and Fort it should stop somewhere near Bambalapitiya.
Mr. Fowzie said it could not be stopped since it had been planned to construct the road up to Fort.
Minister Indika Gunawardene said it was imperative to have the Marine Drive with the Colombo Port expansion to cater to containerized cargo, but the President insisted that it should not go beyond Bambalapitiya.
The discussion ended there, leaving Minister Fowzie wondering as to what he should do next.
President Kumaratunga during Wednesday's meeting of the Ministers had a word of praise for Minister Ashraff for his honesty and integrity.
"After me, one person, whom I can guarantee, would not take commissions or bribes is Ashraff," she said referring to a newspaper item, where allegations of corrupt practices were thrown against the Ministry of Ports.
Continuing, the President said that they would go ahead with their decision to award several projects to the parties whom they had chosen. "We will give them more work in the future," the President said.
She also said she would be visiting Malaysia shortly to attract large scale investments.
"My intention is to invite them to set up an industrial park in Sri Lanka."
The President is scheduled to sign an agreement with the Renong group of Malaysia which is headed by the son of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed. This would bring in at least US $500 m. investments to Sri Lanka.
The projects undertaken include the Colombo-Katunayake highway, Colombo-Kandy highway and a water purification plant.
While the President has her eyes on extensive foreign investments the old guard of the SLFP is focusing inwards in an effort to revive the party.
They feel that the party has lost its image with the formation of the People's Alliance and many prominent SLFPers are sidelined.
Hence most of the old hands are backing Party General Secretary Dharmasiri Senanayake to revive the party and bring it back to the limelight.
Mr. Senanayake who was relieved of the vital media portfolio recently, is believed to feel that he is less important and is determind to make progress in this direction by reviving the party with the help of more senior and prominent SLFPers before it goes into the hands of inexperienced politicians in the party.
In a separate development Fisheries Minister Mahinda Rajapakse in a note to the Cabinet has requested a ban on the use of dynamite in the fishing industry, saying it destroys marine life indiscriminately.
The Minister had said a few big time businessmen were involved in this, causing many problems to the traditional fishermen and to the marine life. He also called upon the government to enact necessary regulations under Emergency laws to stop it forthwith.
Meanwhile
the opposition UNP, in a dilemma over Wijeyapala Mendis issue, is planning
to obtain independent assessments on the findings of the Special Presidential
Commission of Inquiry.
For this purpose the UNP is likely to appoint an independent panel comprising two-three retired Supreme Court Judges, once the report on Wijeyapala Mendis is tabled in Parliament.
The panel so appointed will consider whether the fundamentals of legal principles are adhered to by the Commission, and whether its conclusion, warrants the member to be removed from Parliament or deprivation of civic rights.
Already there is a debate over the matter within party circles. A section in the UNP feel that Mr. Mendis may have committed himself by his own action in wanting to give the controversial land back, and that this was a tacit admission that what he did was not right.
But other senior parliamentarians think that they should oppose the move to expel Mr. Mendis. One such person who openly advocates this, is former Minister Dharmadasa Banda.
He feels opposing the Mendis expulsion would put a stop to any further moves to harass or persecute UNP parliamentarians through various commissions.
At the same time another section of the UNP believes in reforming the ranks of the party and that the party should be cleansed.
Their view is that as much as Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike was dealt with on the findings of a Commission, Mr. Mendis also should be dealt with similarly if the Commission had recommended he be stripped of his civic rights.
The irony is that both Ms. Bandaranaike and Mr. Mendis were dealt with by the Commissions on land deals.
But according to latest development it is likely that Mr. Mendis would go before the Supreme Court seeking to quash the findings of the Special Presidential Commission.
While Mr. Mendis was pondering what he should do next to defend himself, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe concluded his evidence before the Batalanda Commission on Thursday.
He gave evidence for six hours, of which most of the part was spent on asserting his association with Douglas Pieris' Batalanda episode.
Mr. Wickremesinghe was also questioned on Wijayadasa Liyanarachchi's death which was connected with the Subversive Unit at Sapugaskanda.
In spite of he being subjected to a lengthy questioning some of which were deeply penetrating into significant areas connected with the Batalanda episode, he fared well as a witness and came out largely unscathed.
The other problem faced by the UNP is the government's decision to submit the Select Committee report on constitutional reforms before the end of October. The UNP will have to take a stand. Its members will have to sign the report or decline, in which case they would have to state their reasons.
But now the government has decided to submit the report as a majority decision without mentioning who had opposed proposals of the Select Committee. This will keep options open for the UNP to join hands with the government even at a latter stage.
Meanwhile, there seems to be high level contact between the government and the UNP to work out some compromise formula.
Minister Peiris has had several dinner meetings with prominent UNPers in this connection. At a dinner held last week to bid farewell to the outgoing Indian High Commissioner, Nareshwar Dayal, many factors relating to the package were discussed. Several MPs, including the UNP's Tyronne Fernando and TULF MP Neelan Thiruchelvam also participated in this discussion where Mr. Dayal said that India would be satisfied if Sri Lanka kept it informed about the political developments here.
With all these, the question of a referendum is also looming large.
In political circles they say the referendum will be held by around February next year.
UNP's A.C.S. Hameed has maintained that the referendum could be held at any time but it cannot short-circuit the Constitutional provisions.
In a recent interview, Mr. Hameed said that one does not cut down the tree because a branch is obstructing the flow of traffic or smash the traffic lights because it is delaying the movement of vehicles. Mr. Hameed further observed in the interview that in Switzerland, the land of referenda, many proposals for referendum are announced but only few of them are held because the parties resolve the matter without a referendum.
But is such compromise possible in Sri Lanka where the gap between the government and the opposition is widening daily? The million dollar question today is what will the UNP do if the government pushes the referendum.
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