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Govt facilitates donor funding for press institution and media training centre

The Government of Sri Lanka has welcomed the establishment of the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) by the Newspaper Society, the Editor's Guild and the Free Media Movement.

The primary objects of the Sri Lanka Press Institute are to promote press freedom and enhance the professional standards of media personnel in Sri Lanka. Towards this end, the SLPI will establish both a College of Journalism and a self regulatory Press Complaints Commission.

"Though the Government has no role whatsoever over its management, it would welcome financial and other support to the newly formed SLPI by the international community," Bradmon Weerakoon Secretary to the Prime Minister told a meeting of prospective foreign donors held at the Prime Minister's office last Friday.

Nothing that the new national body would require adequate resources to ensure the success of its programmes. Weerakoon told representatives of Colombo based diplomatic missions and NGOs that "financial support to help the SLPI embark on their tasks vigorously became a priority". He said achieving the aims and objectives of the SLPI would not only contribute to good governance and the creation of a new media culture, but also bring the skills of Sri Lanka media on par with their counterparts in developed democracies.

He said the Government had already repealed the laws of criminal defamation and was currently working on a draft Freedom of Information Act. Several other laws that impacted on media freedom were also being looked into by the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice, he added.

He pointed out that the Government believed in supporting media independence and welcomed the three organisations joining hands to take measures to ensure good governance in the country. Many international agencies adopted the same approach towards media freedom and good governance, he said.

Already, UNESCO has pledged its support with financial assistance and technical advice for the SLPI's Journalism College, and he believed that foreign governments, agencies and non governmental organisations will now find a local collaborator backed by the country's publishers, editors and working journalists to train journalists, hold seminars and workshops and have mutual exchanges of press persons, Weerakoon said.

Government has no part to play in the administration of the SLPI and all monies channelled through it will be transferred automatically to the SLPI, Mr. Weerakoon assured, adding that the Government in this instance will only act as the facilitator for foreign funding.

Ranjit Wijewardene, President of the Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka outlined the concept of establishing the SLPI which would be the parent body that would spearhead the two topmost priorities of the profession - those of a long felt need for media training in the country as well as creating a mechanism whereby the public could complain against press violations and obtain redress cheaply and speedily from a tribunal independent both of the Government and the Press.

He said the establishment of the SLPI has been made after nearly three years of discussions within the three major media unions in the country, together with a host of well recognised international media groups and experts.

The newspaper industry in Sri Lanka was very small and subject to the vagaries of the world market prices of newsprint.

There were good years and sometimes very bad years. He explained the difficulties for the industry alone to carry the burden of financing the projects envisaged by the SLPI.

Tracing the history of seeking funding, Wijewardene said that they had several discussions in the recent past with international agencies such as the World Bank, UNDP etc. but were hamstrung by Government regulations which required foreign funding to be channelled through the Treasury. Foreign agencies were willing to help, but were themselves not prepared to permit the State to disperse their funds for local media projects because of the attendant strings that were usually attached by the Government.

The industry desperately needs trained journalists to feed the increasing number of media groups and three very detailed reports from the UK based Thomson Foundation, UNESCO - New Delhi, and a consultant formerly from the University of Colombo are before them for implementation, he said.

Bruce A. Lohof from the US Embassy said that he had served in ten countries and found the standard of journalism practised in Sri Lanka "very high". He assured his Government's earnest consideration of the project proposals both for the Journalism College and the Press Complaints Commission.

He said he looks forward to further discussion on how to assist what looked like salutary projects engaged by the Sri Lankan Press and suggested the creation of Reader Councils from where the industry could obtain a feed-back of its strengths ad weaknesses.

Carol Becker, Mission Director from the US Agency for International Development, Sheila Richards from Swedish SIDA and Jeong Yeon-Doo from the Korean Embassy also expressed their support.

Representatives from the Newspaper Society, the Editors Guild and the Free Media Movement were present at the meeting together with Kumar Abeysinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Communications.

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