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Vituperative politics

As the presidential polls campaign gathers momentum speakers at political platforms, media conferences and interviews have a field day. They go by the maxim the end justifies the means and villify and slander the opponents to the amusement of the faithful.

They prefer not to put forward future programs for the development of the country. Nor do they dabble in intelligent criticism. Defamation and character assassination have been the stock of ammunition mostly used in shooting down the adversary.

An orchestrated campaign has been unleashed on the pet topic of corruption accusing the President and his next of kin of various misdeameanours including ill-gotten wealth and misuse of public funds.

One would expect anyone bringing such serious allegations to substantiate them with proof. Otherwise it amounts to an unethical conduct of defaming opponents. Some of the allegations brought forward are not only malicious but have also been already found to be untrue. The continued repetition of such allegations reflects a hidden agenda to gain undue political advantage.

Such accusations and even lodging of complaints with the Bribery Commission during campaign time is now a common phenomena. It must be recorded that none of the complaints made by either side during the previous elections were substantiated when the Commission started investigations. As a result they were abandoned. However, the damage was done politically.

This situation should not be allowed to recur. Those who bring forward allegations should show proof or else withdraw their allegations.

Let us examine some of these allegations. One example is the oft repeated allegation that the Defence Secretary has bought the Apollo Hospitals. In actual fact, the Supreme Court in a landmark decision decided that the privatization of the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation was illegal and reverted its ownership to the Government. As the leading shareholder of the hospital was the Insurance Corporation the ownership of it passed on to the Government. It is now a Government owned business enterprise and has been renamed the Lanka Hospitals. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has been invited to be the Chairman of the Board of Directors. He holds the position on an honorary basis without receiving any remuneration. This fact has been explained by the Director Board of the Hospital. Yet the unfounded accusation goes on. These are facts in the public domain.

Similar stories are being circulated at election platforms and by rumour mongers that Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa MP has also bought some landed property. All land transactions are registered at the Lands Registry and title deeds are public documents. The strange thing is that no title deeds are presented to substantiate the allegation.

Similar rumours are being circulated about holiday resorts allegedly bought by the Rajapaksa family although the owners of the named resorts have disclaimed them.

The Opposition seems to be following a Gobbelean propaganda strategy according to which it is believed that an oft repeated statement would stick in the memory of the listeners even if it is not true.


Media freedom:

Double standards

These days there are plenty of people defending media freedom. It includes those who gagged the media every time they were in power. They include those who brought editors to Parliament sitting as a tribunal. They include those who campaigned to boycott certain media houses.

It is difficult to understand what their ideal of media freedom means. Can media freedom be defined differently for different media institutions? Going by the campaign conducted by the Opposition and unfortunately sections of the media subservient to them there seems to be two criteria - one for the State media and one for the private media.

It is irrational and unjust. It is, at the same time a joke to call upon the State media to shut up when the private media is full of vituperative stuff vis-a-vis the Government and its leaders. Give the media freedom and let the customers decide. There is no media monopoly. The customer has a choice. Therefore there is no sense in the demand to gag the State media alone.

Political allegiance of Sri Lankan Muslims:

SWRD and Muslims

The Muslim community in Sri Lanka prior to the formation of the people’s government of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in 1956 was more or less a community of serfdom depending entirely on the handouts from the rich traders, landowners in the agricultural areas,

Full Story

The Morning Inspection

The Charter on Free Inquiry as antidote to political quackery

The media on December 30, 2009 reported that the Health Ministry has decided to ‘crackdown on quacks’. Apparently the Ministry has received over 6,000 complaints about quack doctors operating in all parts of the country.

Full Story

Ensuring unity and safety under one flag:

Uniting to defeat vicious forces

Continued from yesterday

It is manifestly evident that the human rights activists of the world who are now agitated and incited and activated by the words purported to be uttered or denied by the disgruntled General after his retirement,

Full Story

 

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