Media, An Unrecognised & Unutilised Stakeholder In The Transitional Justice Process

By Aingkaran Kugathasan –November 28, 2016

Aingkaran Kugathasan

In any country that is deeply divided, a lot more needs to be done than solely establish multiple offices with overlapping mandates towards, building trust and confidence across the divide and in bridging the information gap which was one of the main reasons for the mistrust amongst communities. It is quite disturbing to see that the Sri Lankan media hasn’t recognised its value and the impact it could make in supporting and promoting much-delayed national reconciliation and reform. Executing a transitional justice process that aims to bring national reconciliation in a society deeply polarised for decades over various reasons/ideologies won’t yield the expected outcome and it is time the Sri Lankan media realise their role and social responsibility in constructively engaging in the transitional justice process.

The crucial role the media can play in promoting reconciliation in Sri Lanka has been highlighted in various forums since the end of the brutal war in May 2009. The then government headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa did next to nothing to address the root causes of the conflict and to deal with the unspeakable consequences of the bloody war. On the contrary, the Rajapaksa regime cultivated a culture of intolerance and hatred by patronizing radical and nationalist groups and media outlets inciting racism and extremism and harassing, intimidating or threatening the media and any dissenting voice.

With the defeat of Rajapaksa in January 2015, media freedom in Sri Lanka improved sharply due to the apparently less restrictive policies of the Sirisena government. With some key changes, including, eased political pressure on media, Constitutional guarantee on the Right to Information (RTI), improved freedom of movement for journalists, and reversal of ban on internet, media personnel experienced an improvement in space as did the NGO sector. Besides, at various occasions, the key players in the transitional justice process, namely the President, Premier and Foreign Minister expressed their commitment (and willingness) towards an inclusive and consultative approach towards the transitional justice agenda. Nevertheless, despite the political rhetoric, the key actors in the National Government headed by Sirisena which came into power with promises of good governance for a transparent and corruption-free Sri Lanka has failed to do anything substantial to fight this culture of inciting racism and extremism using radical groups and media outlets backed by extremists or parties with vested interests.

In 2015 September, by co-sponsoring the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) Resolution titled ‘Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka’ the Sirisena government made a promise to Sri Lankans and to the international human rights community that this government will take genuine efforts for reconciliation. The Resolution emphasizes on the importance of consultative and participatory methods that include incorporating views of all relevant stakeholders to guarantee the effectiveness of the proposed TJ mechanisms.

In light of this the GoSL has established several offices (and Ministries), including the Consultation Task Force (CTF) on Reconciliation Mechanisms. The CTF was established in 2015 with a set of guidelines which specifically states that consultations will be preceded by public awareness and information campaigns on the purpose and objective of the consultation process. Be that as may, the CTF was unable to reach out to the masses as envisaged due to its own limitations.

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