The general consensus at this year’s World Press Freedom Day celebrations was that there was, in fact, very little to celebrate. Instead, it was brought home once again how reporters, journalists and media personnel in this country continue to be assassinated and abducted and how not only individuals, but entire institutions are subjected to intimidation far too frequently. Four days before World Press Freedom Day 2007, at a time when journalists should have been reflecting upon achievements of the past year, Selvarajah Rajivarman, a journalist who joined the Jaffna based Uthayan newspaper four months ago as a reporter, was ruthlessly gunned down in the street. He had previously worked for Nawadu Eelanadu, which had to be closed down after its Editor in Chief, Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah, was shot dead in August last year.
Media freedom is a concept which goes far beyond simply opening one’s mouth to speak, but refers to the structures making up an industry that provides a platform for all voices to be heard, regardless of individual, cultural, ethnic, social and political differences. However, as media is seen as a reflection of society, it is hardly surprising that Sri Lankan media has largely been tainted by the cycles of violence that continue to plague the island as the conflict rages on. Arjuna Ranawana, Director of the College of Journalism, who took part in the World Press Freedom Day discussion last Thursday, made the alarming and tragic point that some of Sri Lanka’s journalists today are younger than the war they are reporting.
Image courtesy CPJ
As a means to move forward and to escape these cycles, alternatives must be sought in order to press for change. Steven Gan, who was the keynote speaker at Thursday’s event, is the Editor in Chief of Malaysiakini, a website that has become the leading source of independent news in Malaysia. He emphasized the importance of exploring different avenues, in particular the internet. Before Malaysiakini, Steven Gan’s career as a journalist, which started in Hong Kong 17 years ago, had already been an extraordinary one. After covering the first Gulf War from Baghdad in 1991, he returned to Malaysia to help break the story of the 59 inmates found dead inside Semenyih immigration detention camp. In 1996, Gan was arrested at the Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor in Kuala Lumpur when a pro-government mob stormed the meeting, forcing it to a halt. Amnesty International adopted Gan as a prisoner of conscience but after his release, his work was rejected by his editor, prompting him to leave his country. His next post was as an Editorial Writer for The Nation, one of the leading independent English language newspapers in Bangkok. Upon his return to Malaysia in 1999, Steven Gan launched Malaysiakini – but the story does not end there. Malaysiakini has had to face the same problems as many of Sri Lanka’s media institutions, coming under sever scrutiny and being subjected to police raids merely for trying to report the news in an unbiased, transparent and independent manner. Malaysia and Sri Lanka have a lot in common in terms of multi-ethnicity and the problems this can cause within a society. Targeting those who actively oppose such issues as corruption, human rights violations, constraints on media freedom and armed warfare is also becoming somewhat of a trend in both countries. But this only seems to inspire people such as Steven Gan to pursue the cause with all the more determination. It seems to have paid off as the subscriptions based Malaysiakini is now going from strength to strength, reaching out in four different languages and has been making a substantial profit for the last three years.
By taking a leaf out of Gan’s book, or rather a page from his website, it is possible to see that the potential of the internet is enormous, providing alternative viewpoints in order to bridge gaps between different communities. Alternative communication is perhaps the only way in which people are able to keep talking and allows media freedom to survive these volatile and threatening times. Because, as Steven Gan said himself, it’s when the talking stops, that the problems start.
Video, combined with the internet, is another medium which is being used more and more as a catalyst for change. In November 2005, Malaysiakini took the bold step of showing a one-minute mobile phone video clip showing a woman being forced to strip naked and do ear squats in a police station in Kuala Lumpur. It sparked uproar, not only across Malaysia but on an international scale, forcing both the government and the opposition to call for an end of the use of such methods by the police.
Ultimately, in countries where press freedom is vulnerable, journalists must change the way in which they work and how they engage with their audiences in order to compensate for the lack of democratic practice in mainstream media. In this way, communal platforms can be established in order to ensure not only freedom of speech, but also freedom after speech. By changing and re-shaping the current media landscape, perhaps there will be more to celebrate at next year’s World Press Freedom Day.