Ranil Attacking Patriotic Journalists

Any journalist worth his salt knows only too well, the media is the darling of politicians only when they are out of power. When in power, unless one is absolutely willing to toe their line, journalists soon become foes from being friends.

Federalist mind set Ranil Wickremesinghe‘s outburst against journalists in particularly on patriotic stance journalists like Keerthi Warnakulasooriya, of the Daily Diwaina and Chathura Alwis of Derena TV and several media organisations is not something to be surprised about, as the unruly behavior  and dictatorship character in unprofessional attitude of our Prime Minister is known to his masters in US and EU monitored by India .

The Prime Minister’s remarks against media personnel on Thursday came during an adjournment debate moved by the JVP on the “Conduct of the Police in the recent past”. The Prime Minister turned his guns on the media, accusing them of going on a witch-hunt against the police, referring in particular to the cases where the notebook of a reporter was forcibly taken away by police, while court hearings into the Embilipitiya case were under way.

Referring to one journalist, Keerthi Warnakulasooriya from Diwaina as a toad and another, Chathura Alwis from Derena TV as a “Riri yaka”, the Prime Minister accused them of having dirt on their hands.

The following day in Parliament, he once again took a dig at certain media personnel who he said were adherents of the “Maha Brahma”, who is now no longer in power. “The Brahmin class in media was created by a Maha Brahma who is no longer in power. That Brahmin class used to dine and drink with the Maha Brahma. The so-called Brahmin class has become outcastes (vasala),” he said.

Making it amply clear that the love-hate relationship that exists between politicians and the media will continue, maybe even with more intensity in the months ahead, as the Government grapples with implementing the controversial UNHRC resolution to prosecute our own heroic soldiers and sets sights on drawing up a new Constitution to divide the country to pieces of Federal States.

Pro-government NGO who worked with anti-Sri Lankan element, Free Media Movement (FMM), in a statement, expressed its strong displeasure at the speech made by Ranil Wickremesighe in Parliament on January 28, targeting individual journalists and media organizations, and said such behavior was unbecoming for a person holding such high office.

The Prime Minister has spoken in a threatening manner about media personnel. He has no right to tell editors on what subjects they should base their editorials. By this kind of behaviour, the Prime Minister of the country will not be able to win anything,” the FMM said in the statement.

This rowdy behavior of the Prime Minister, Ranil had been addressed by several opposition members and they have lodged a formal complaint on this matter with the International Committee of Parliament and SAARC Parliament Committee.

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