The silence maintained by Sri Lanka’s ‘warriors of freedom of expression’ at their annual show at the Mt. Lavinia Hotel on those journalists who had paid the supreme sacrifice for free expression in the media was deadly. The show was by the Editors’ Guild, their bosses the Newspaper Publishers Association and the newly formed Press Institute.

While the reassuring comforts of old Governor Barnes’ mansion with mellow waters of Scotland flowing down a hundred journalistic throats would not have provided the sombre atmosphere for remembrance of their dead colleagues, the lapse was unforgivable.

The world and local media pundits

Lasantha Wickrematunge was assassinated almost six months before the Editors’ show and to date police investigations have wound up at dead ends. It is no exaggeration to say that the world was shocked by this killing. The United States, European Union, Japan condemned the killing while the World Bank expressed concern.

Soon after his death UNESCO awarded Wickrematunge the UNESCO/ Guillermo World Press Freedom Award. Britain’s prestigious Guardian awarded the 2009 Freedom of Expression Award at a ceremony held in London on April 21.

Yet, Sri Lanka’s press freedom fighters did not care or dare to make even  a reference to Wickrematunge who by any given standards had outstripped them in the field of journalism.

An infantile excuse had been trotted out ‘unofficially’ to say that his death did not fall in with the calendar year for which the awards were being given. Would this asinine excuse have held water if a leading light staging the awards ceremony had departed from the world, not keeping to the calendar year?

This writer having been a participant from the embryonic stages of development of the Editors Guild in the ’80s can well understand the marked reluctance to commemorate Wickrematunge’s demise.

Editors and bosses

Firstly, even though the Editors Guild is considered to be the engine powering the now three pronged press establishment, this Guild does not have the power or the clout as other editors’ guilds in democratic countries. The Sri Lankan Editors’ Guild is subservient to their bosses in private establishments, most of whom are members of the Newspaper Owners’ Association. That is the reason why, we have in this column many times raised the issue of the Editors’ Guild of having a Code of Conduct for Journalists  in the absence of  a similar code for newspaper bosses.

It is at times argued that this situation prevails in newspaper establishments of most countries. It is not so. The freedom of the press and freedom of journalists are almost sacrosanct in those countries. The trade unions are mighty powerful and even though press barons can have their way it is a tough and arduous process.

We are commenting only on the privately owned press. There is absolutely no doubt that it is far more preferable to the state owned media who continue to dish out garbage in the form of ‘news,’ morning, noon and night. Now even those who savoured this garbage are getting sick of it.

Final say

The reason for bringing out the relationship between journalists and their bosses is that in reality, the journalists in the private sector do not have the final say on a vital issue. Most press barons in the private sector here are fair minded gentlemen but they have business interests on which a government can have a decisive bearing.

In the present political context Lasantha Wickrematunge even in death is anathema to the government. Ruling party politicians, even now, do not hesitate to call him a ‘traitor.’ Thus, however much some journalists may have entertained good intentions of remembering Wickrematunge and other dead at the Editors’ Guild grand show, it would simply have been unthinkable for the bosses who were the hosts.

‘Don’t rock the boat’ are the watch words of most business establishments today. Today, you can find few critics of the government in all walks of life but the least number of critics would be in business circles — at least openly.

Acid test

An acid test for the privately owned media is the re-activation of Press Council which was created by the Sirima Bandaranaike government to crush any signs of life in the non state owned sector. The Press Complaints Commission enacted by Ranil Wickremesinghe when he was prime minister took shackles off journalists and was hailed by the free press around the world. It was in keeping with the liberation of the media from government controls that was taking place in most countries.

What is objectionable about the Press Council is that those sitting in judgement on complaints made against the press will be all government nominees save one journalist who in the bad old days proved to be more loyal to government than its official watchdogs. What would the Editors’ Guild do now? Let the Press Complaints Media which they created perish and rejoin the Press Council?

What is most significant and most ominous about the seemingly innocuous act of the Editors’ Guild in not remembering those journalists who died expressing their individual opinions is that it may be a silent manifestation of the fear now in the minds of leading lights of journalism. They can be on backslapping terms with the high and mighty, the notable and quotable as well as media commissars. They may even occasionally feint some punches or indulge in back pinching but they dare not cross the line — nothing in praise of  Wickrematunge.

One man opposition

Lasantha Wickrematunge lived and died for his right to express his thoughts and what he perceived as being correct. He had many enemies and many faults. But what is of note is that he was virtually a one man opposition, particularly in exposing scandals and corruption in public life. No man can be a one man opposition under any circumstance. Wickrematunge paid the price. What the opposition now could do is at least to back the independent media in expressing their opinion and what they perceive to be facts.