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INDICTMENT AGAINST SRI LANKA
Censorship, Disinformation & Murder of Journalists
Reuters & Reality
- Tamils must believe in themselves first
N.Ganapathy
USA, 19 July 2000
| "Unsavoury
regimes these days hire the best talent available to spruce up their
international image... The PR technique is simple enough:
minimise the human rights abuses, talk about it as a 'complex' two sided
story,
play up efforts at reform, speak of all the positive 'modernisation'
that is going on and - most of all -
the crucial economic stake 'we' all have in (the country's) markets...
If possible, it is best to put these words in the mouth of
some apparently 'neutral' group of 'concerned citizens', or a lofty
institute with academic credentials." (Richard Swift,
New Internationalist, in Mind Games, July 1999)
"Persuasion by its definition is subtle. The best PR ends up looking like
news. You never know when a PR agency is being effective; you
will just find your views slowly shifting.." (a PR Executive, quoted in
New Internationalist, July 1999) |
A number of news items from Reuters and other agencies are regularly posted in
the Tamil Circle (and elsewhere). The purpose, apparently, is to conveniently
present the predominantly Sinhala point of view under the cover of
rational reporting by a foreign news agency.
In reading these reports, it is important to bear in mind that the reports are
written by Sinhala reporters employed by the respective agencies. Their reports
are often in stark contrast to the news coverage appearing in the local news
papers in Colombo, as the former presents a rosy but distorted picture of events
in Sri Lanka.
Names of Sinhala Reporters in Foreign News Agencies
Here is a list of Sinhala reporters who feed the news for the
agencies from Colombo.
| Reuters |
Rohan Gunasekera |
| Reuters |
Mohan Samarasinghe |
| Reuters |
Prithi Kadagoda |
| Agency France |
Amal Jayasinghe |
| Inter Press Reports |
Manik de Silva |
| South China Morning Post |
Gaston De Rosayro |
The ethnicity of Gaston De Rosayro is undetermined at this time.
He is probably a Sinhalese of Portuguese origin.
News Analysis
An analysis of the news items of foreign agencies, over a period
of several months, leads to the following conclusion on the motive of the
Sinhala reporters behind these news agencies.
present Sri Lanka
as an investor friendly country at every opportunity by selectively
highlighting foreign investments
convey a
distorted picture of LTTE and its gains
above all, give the world an
exaggerated image of Chandrika as a peace maker and a
false picture of the degree of autonomy being offered
Reuters Reality Check
Here is a news item for comparison.
A paragraph from a front page article on the Island Newspaper of June 6, 1996
entitled - Stiff Resistance from UNP, DUNLF and Others - was as follows.
-- Subjects such as foreign affairs, defense, finance,
postal services, railways, national harbour, airports, national development,
national planning and customs could be retained by the central government
while the other subjects be given to the regions. --
Compare this news with a paragraph from Reuters news of June 18,
1996 written by Rohan Gunasekera.
-- The (peace) plan offers to devolve extensive power to
Tamils in the north and east to meet their demands for autonomy and woo them
away from the Tiger struggle for a separate state. ---
Judge for yourself
The former was written to massage the Sinhala ego and the latter
to appease the world community. The truth is hardly spoken or written in these
news reports. Today, foreign agencies of all kinds suffer from a credibility
crisis. Tamils must believe in themselves, first! |
