A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, February 28, 2012
WikiLeaks:Rajapaksa Managed To Influenced MTV Owner Maharaja
Colombo TelegraphFEBRUARY 28, 2012
IN JOURNALISM TRUTH IS A PROCESS
By Colombo Telegraph -
“During a cordial chat, Rajapaksa was able to persuade Maharajah not to air any more programs on such sensitive topics.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
A leaked “CONFIDENTIAL” US diplomatic cable, dated March 22, 2007, updated the Secretary of State on Sri Lanka’s media suppression situation shows that President Mahinda Rajapaksa managed to influence the owner of the Majaraja Broadcasting Company. The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable was written by the Ambassador Robert O. Blake.
Ambassador Blake wrote “ Television stations have also been feeling the heat. This matters, because about 60% of the population gets its news for TV. Television journalists tell us, however, that the Majaraja Broadcasting Company, owned by a prominent Tamil, had been the only broadcaster covering press conferences criticial of the gvernment by former Foreign Minister Samaraweera, as well as stories on human rights violations and abductions. However, a senior executive of the Maharaja channel (protect) told us that President Rajapaksa had summoned the owner of the station to Temple Trees (equivalent to the White House). During a cordial chat, Rajapaksa was able to persuade Maharajah not to air any more programs on such sensitive topics.”
Below we give the relevant part of the leaked cable;Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d).
¶1. (C) Summary: Since the inauguration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in November 2005, Sri Lanka's vibrant media has been slowly smothered by attacks on journalists, publishers and broadcasters by the LTTE and armed paramilitary groups with alleged links to the government security forces. The decline of human rights generally and the resulting "culture of impunity" have stoked the surge in intimidation, kidnapping and murder of journalists. The Government of Sri Lanka (GSL), invoking strengthened emergency regulations, has put pressure on editorial content and arrested journalists without charges. More recently, editors and broadcasters have received veiled threats by telephone allegedly from the top levels of the Rajapaksa government. As a result of direct and indirect harassment, four independent newspapers are likely to close in the next 90 days. End Summary. ¶7. (C) Television stations have also been feeling the heat. This matters, because about 60% of the population gets its news for TV. Television journalists tell us, however, that the Majaraja Broadcasting Company, owned by a prominent Tamil, had been the only broadcaster covering press conferences criticial of the gvernment by former Foreign Minister Samaraweera, as well as stories on human rights violations and abductions. However, a senior executive of the Maharaja channel (protect) told us that President Rajapaksa had summoned the owner of the station to Temple Trees (equivalent to the White House). During a cordial chat, Rajapaksa was able to persuade Maharajah not to air any more programs on such sensitive topics. BLAKE