Sajith, Dulanjali at Sumathipala home to mollify Lakbima!

 Wednesday, 30 April 2014 

Premadasa siblings Sajith and Dulanjali had gone to the home of Sumathi Publishers owner, MP Thilanga Sumathipala, yesterday (29) to exert influence to sanction ‘Lakbima’ editor Saman Wagarachchi who is constructively criticizing the immature, childish politics of Sajith Premadasa.

At the outset, the duo has told Sumathipala that the ‘Lakbima’ editor was a very dangerous person, and that the president and the defence secretary were very much angered by his conduct. If Wagarachchi is not removed from his position immediately, the owner will face serious repercussions, they had warned. An irate Sumathipala has inquired as to whether they had been sent to him by the president.

Without giving a direct answer, Sajith has asked as to why ‘Lakbima’ was not supporting him in politics, unlike ‘Sirasa’ and ‘Mawbima.’ If such support is forthcoming, he has said, he could recompense adequately, and even get the CID investigation against the editor halted.

With a smile, Sumathipala has replied that he never influences the freedom of the editorial, adding that Wagarachchi is the best editor he has seen for a long time. Before Wagarachchi joined ‘Lakbima’, the newspaper was about to die down, but it has now been revived, he said with many words in praise of Wagarachchi. “You know better than me about the politics of Mr. Saman Wagarachchi. But, he is not a person who gets his politics and journalism mixed up. If you do the right thing, he will do justice to it. Other than that, I cannot tell him to stop criticizing you just because you are a friend of mine,” he has gone on to say.

Sajith and Dulanjali had gone to meet Sumathipala to ask that the ‘Lakbima’ column by lawyer Chandrasiri Seneviratne be stopped. That column is featured in our features segment.

Launch of Special Edition: The end of war in Sri Lanka, five years on

Photograph by the author

by Sanjana Hattotuwa 

 

- on 04/30/2014 

In the corner of my room, there’s a large air-tight plastic bag I open once a year, and occasionally glance at with mixed emotions. It contains, carefully folded, all the newspapers I could buy on 19th May 2009. Those who tried to buy a newspaper on this day may recall how difficult it was. Almost all the leading daily newspapers, especially in Sinhala, were sold out in the morning. With distribution networks disrupted on account of the unprecedented countrywide celebrations, all newspapers were just in short supply, or not available at news agents at all. I live in Nugegoda and drove as far as Bambalapitiya in search of newspapers on any other day I could have just walked up the road to purchase. I’m glad I made the effort. This was Sri Lanka’s New Day moment, a day no one, truth be told, had really planned for. The bold headlines, symbolic mastheads, full colour ads, op-eds, euphoric editorials and articles are long-forgotten, and yet, for many in the South, a sharp and welcome difference between war and post-war years endures. With this flows a gratitude towards the incumbents in power still powerful enough to varnish a systemic rot at the core of government and governance.

Launch of Special Edition the End of War in Sri Lanka, Five Years On by nelvely