Lasantha Wickrematunge’s name and memory will not disappear and, in that sense, those who were behind his murder made a mistake.”Ĭommenting on the MTV/MBC (Sirasa) attack, I described the typical reaction of the mirror-bashers: “…if you don’t like what you see in the mirror – which is what media is to society – just kick it, shatter it and hammer it into dust so that it won’t reflect anymore.
The anger is being sustained by the government’s flagrant obstruction of the investigation. They have joined a long list of crimes against journalists and media organisations in Sri Lanka, most of which have never led to any prosecution of the perpetrators.Īs Reporters Without Borders noted in a statement this week: “The emotion and anger have not gone away in the year since this famous Sri Lankan journalist’s death. Sirasa & Lasantha: Refused to be magic mirrorsOne year later, both crimes remain unsolved. On 8 January, exactly a year ago today, Lasantha Wickrematunga, editor of The Sunday Leader, was shot dead by two men on a motorcycle as he drove to work in suburban Colombo. It started on 6 January, when the studio of the Maharaja Television/Broadcasting Network (MTV/MBC, popularly known as Sirasa Group) was attacked by armed gunmen who almost blew up the country’s most popular private broadcast organisation. In 2009, we saw a spate of mirror smashing or media bashing in Sri Lanka. At its very basic, the media are expected to reflect our society and our times.īut some people don’t like what they see on a true mirror. In this digital age, the mirror is still a pretty good metaphor for the media industry that I have been part of, in one way or another, for over 20 years. If I seem to be preoccupied with mirrors, that’s nothing to do with my own vanity. They are obsessed with self-aggrandizing sycophancy – they’d only tolerate magic mirrors that totally boost their egos. We may not have too many monarchs left in the world, but our uncrowned rulers can be equally vain and ruthless. Little has changed, even in this 21st Century.
(All competition – real and imagined – was dealt with brutally.) The queen wasn’t looking for honest answers she just wanted to hear she was always the prettiest and fairest in the land. The magic mirror idea was popularised many years ago by Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, whose wicked and vain queen had an unusual mirror that talked back, each time she asked: ‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall. They’d rather not see their true selves on any mirror. Well, at least half the politicians in Sri Lanka would. Last chance.?Here’s a winning idea for a new business venture in these lean times: make an always-agreeable ‘magic’ mirror - and the vane and wicked will beat a path to your door. Visiting a Gulliver… on Titus Thotawatte (1929 – 2011)… Voces de los margina… on ‘Chief Seattle speech…
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