Deplorable assault on Editor

The dastardly assault on Lakbimanews Editor Rajpal Abeynayake by a lawyer at an event of great importance to this country's legal fraternity is yet another unsettling reminder that tolerance of each others views is not at all a strong point among sections of local civil society.

In a vital way, this is an assault on the inalienable right of a citizen to express his or her views on a matter of crucial importance, without running the risk of being physically harmed over it.

We do not intend, of course, to criticize the entirety of this country's lawyers, over an indiscretion committed by just a member of their profession. However, one would have expected those in the legal profession in particular to know right from wrong in this connection. Unfortunately, this was not the case and this is a matter for deep regret. We in the journalistic profession expect the BASL and other important legal forums to take up this matter urgently and ensure that justice is done by the Lakbimanews Editor who has suffered physical hurt as well as deep pain of mind as a result of this attack.

However, we journalists cannot help but experience a sense of collective hurt and outrage over this ugly incident. Rajpal Abayanayake's traumatic experience could be the lot of any of us. Accordingly, the inference is inescapable that what is at issue is the right of a journalist to express his or her personal views on matters of grave and national importance. In other words, the freedom of expression has been undermined by the savage assault on the Lakbimanews Editor.

We of the journalistic profession and the public expect the legal profession of this country to view this attack with the utmost seriousness, since the country's lawyers, like us journalists, are vitally instrumental in keeping democratic freedoms alive and deeply entrenched in Sri Lanka. If sections of the legal profession are callously dismissive of democratic freedoms, what could we expect of the rest of our polity? By taking their errant members to task on offences and outrages to human dignity committed by them, the legal profession could ensure the continued flourishing of the country's democratic traditions and ethos. Hopefully, the relevant disciplinary measures against their erring member will be taken by the relevant legal bodies themselves.

Incidents of this kind are a wake-up call to the rest of society too. We could see in this assault, the extent to which the values of tolerance and mutual accommodation of views and comments have suffered steady erosion over the decades. While the constitution of the country guarantees a set of fundamental freedoms and rights, and the state is obliged to uphold them and ensure that they are exercised untrammeled by the citizenry, civil society too must play its part in keeping these values alive.

It is to the extent to which these values and principles are practised and scrupulously observed in our day to day lives, that they could be perpetuated and preserved. Ideas need to be confronted and if need be debunked by ideas and none other. This is the reason why our traditions of lively public discourse and a free give-and-take of ideas among groups and citizens should be kept alive. While the state should ensure that the space for democratic discourse and practices remains unrestricted, it is up to the public too to do its bit to foster and sustain the country's democratic spirit, practices and traditions.

We need to be prepared to ‘defend to the death’, another citizen's right to express his or her opinions on particularly matters of national importance. Any attempts to deviate from this path would only pave the way for a repressive culture which would, of course, be to the detriment of the country and its democratic traditions.

The state and the public should also see in the assault on the Editor, the degree to which our culture has been steadily brutalized. Increasingly, it has come to be seen that it is brute force and not ideas and values that are of importance in resolving even disputes on public matters among individuals. This dangerous trend must be reversed immediately.