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| Sunday, 22 February 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Kapukotuwa's allegations 'wild and baseless' - Mangala SLFP spokesman Mangala Samaraweera in a letter to Information and Telecommunication Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, referring to the letter sent by the UNP General Secretary Senarath Kapukotuwa with regard to State Media, has requested the Minister to give consideration to how the UNP behaved when the Media was under their control. Calling Kapukotuwa's allegations 'wild' and 'baseless' he had pointed out that the 'President was essentially blacked out of the media' and there was "little or no real media debate on public issues and the news and views of the political opposition was virtually non existent". He has also pointed out that although "the UNP now complains of political appointees in the State Media, during their tenure (UNP's) their own appointees, all members of the Prime Minister's media unit followed the most appalling and partisan policies. A situation much rectified today". The Letter goes on to say the Private media institutions in the country are "a cartel of closely held and tightly controlled family business.More importantly the private media cartel ensures that views that are contrary to their own partisan UNP agenda are rarely permitted". Samaraweera has further stated that a cursory examination of the entire media during the past two years would demonstrated that while the President Kumaratunga has been scathingly attacked and vilified, Ranil Wickremesinghe has been spared any criticism for two years a remarkable feat of self censorship and media control which bodes ill for democratic freedoms and dissent in a pluralist society. |
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