Tiran Alles and the Media War

Tiran Alles was Mahinda Rajapaksa’s emissary to the North-East during the run-up to the Presidential Elections in November 2005. Now he is in custody and shares a fate similar to that of Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi, Mangala Samaraweera and Rohana Gamage. Media that was against vehemently Mahinda Rajapaksa during the Presidential Elections now clamour to openly, or in secret, support his rule.

Truth is stranger than fiction. The about turns of media, friends and foes reminds me of Stalin’s Russia, where friends where killed, foes kept in check through sheer terror and a public kept in the dark through the control of the media.

Gen. Ratwatta used to tell us through the media that he was certain he had won 85% of the war against the LTTE. We now know what a disaster both he and his war against terrorism was. Today, we are in the midst of another media war. Three vital uses of the media by the government at a time like this are vital to keep in mind.

One, the media is used to portray the imminence of victory against the LTTE. Second, the media is used to quell dissent & disenchantment of war by portraying those who express views contrary to that of the government as pariahs and traitors. Thirdly, the media is used to justify human rights violations – the violation of some rights are seen as inevitable in pursuit of a larger victory. Over time, human rights is systematically marginalised and ridiculed through the rhetoric of the imperatives of war.

Evidence of what is tantamount to the repressive control of the media was clearly seen in the LTTE’s attacks on the Navy base in Delft and in Pampemadu on the Mannar road. We do not yet know the true facts and figures of those injured or killed. The figures keep changing and anyone who ventures to give an accurate estimate of casualties on the Government’s side is branded as a traitor who undermines troop morale and helps the cause of the terrorists.

Today, with abduction from places as public as the train platform of the Fort Railway Station a grim reality of life in Sri Lanka, those who control the media wish to also control the flow of information regarding these incidents. Allegations against Karuna’s complicity in abductions and terror have gone un-investigated – who is to blame? Have you read a single news report in the media that has spoken to Karuna and investigated the actions of the TMVP with regards to these allegations?

Today, there are those who want us to believe in a world where victory is around the corner, the LTTE is too emaciated to fight, human rights are secure and democracy alive and thriving.

This is not a world we inhabit in reality. Read my article, in Sinhala, here.