EGSL chief repudiates Ranil's allegations

The charges levelled by UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe at a rally in Gampaha recently against the Editors Guild of Sri Lanka (EGSL) and its President are completely baseless President of the EGSL Upali Tennakoon said.

Already, UNP Spokesman Gayantha Karunathilake has issued two further letters of condemnation regarding a statement I made in this regard which was aired on the Independent Television Network.

I am well aware of the concerted effort to get these letters published in several leading newspapers in order to give them maximum publicity and circulation. There have also been attempts made to speak directly to the management of publishing houses in order to get the letters published.

It is a serious breach of media ethics to misinterpret and misunderstand my statement on ITN and use those misconceptions to issue such blatantly nonsensical press releases. Furthermore the incessant attempts to get those releases published has exerted tremendous pressure on newspaper editors, media organisations and the officials of those institutes.

There is no other way to put it than to claim that this too, is media oppression and a breach of media freedom two things the Opposition Leader has taken up as his per causes recently.

It is actions such as these that have led to charges being levelled against him at one point about the creation and nurture of a media mafia.

I made three key points during my statement on ITN. The first was that politicians speak of media freedom only while in opposition. The second was that there is a law of the land and the third was that no person, his or her status notwithstanding, may go against it.

There was no mention in my statement to the effect that media personnel and media organisations were taking cover underneath the media freedom banner in order to violate the laws of the land? My statement has been thus misinterpreted and warped in order to mislead newspaper editors and media organisations. I see these attempts as being an effort to deliberately exert untoward pressure and influence on both editors and organisations.

At the time of my statement, there was no issue of Mawbima accounts being frozen. Furthermore, the problem regarding Mawbima needed to the discussed separately at a different forum. It is unfortunate that the Opposition Leader was unaware of our attention towards this matter.

It is also shocking that all the statements we have issued regarding the threats to Tamil media personnel and Tamil newspapers from the LTTE and other Tamil organisations have eluded the Opposition Leader so far. It is also very unfortunate that this is the case, since very few people speak on their behalf today. The reason for this reluctance is no doubt the fear of reprisals from the LTTE or because they dislike making allegations against the Tigers.

To this day, I stand by the statement I made on ITN. I maintain the same position that the law of the land is common to all.

I use this opportunity to make one request of the Opposition Leader. I beseech him to refrain from creating divisions among media personnel and media organisations based on political leanings. The attempt to do so would result in monumental problems that will benefit no one, and least of all our country in the long run, Tennakoon said.