Ruwan notes threat to media freedom and obstacles by President

Wijewardene said the President’s decision to bring Rupavahini under his wing is clearly a move to gain advantage at the upcoming presidential elections.

“With elections coming around the President wanted to take over the Media institution. I hear that the Chairman of Rupavahini will now be replaced. This clearly proves his intentions,” Wijewardana notes.

“He has taken the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) under his wings, he will most probably find another reason to take the rest of state media institutions.” he added.

Meanwhile, sending a letter to the President yesterday, Wijewardene noted that the President had repeatedly obstructed his attempts to change the management of SLRC, leading to the impasse which resulted in the Corporation being brought under the Defence Ministry’s purview.

“Since I took over the Ministry of Mass Media in February this year, I tried to appoint an efficient, talented, and suitable person as Chairman of the Corporation, but the President objected to all the nominees, giving various reasons,” Wijewardene said in the letter.

The President on Monday, after months of wrangling over differences over appointments to the management of SLRC, issued a gazette notification announcing that Rupavahini has been assigned under the Defence Ministry with immediate effect.

Wijewardene also stated in the letter that the takeover of SLRC is a blow to media freedom in the country, and has been done in a contravention of all accepted norms.
“Your actions can be construed as a move against media freedom in the country. The step has been taken arbitrarily, with no consultation with the Minister in charge of the subject,” Wijewardene said.

“Even during the height of the war, SLRC was not placed under the Defence Ministry. The reasons that were given for the sudden move cannot be justified, as in the past four years, no interest was shown by you to use the station to achieve those objectives,” the letter noted.

The Gazette notification removing SLRC from the Mass Media purview said that the Corporation would be tasked with “implementation of programmes for the promotion of peace, harmony, and reconciliation among people, whilst ensuring national security through the use of audio-visual media, enhancement of the entertainment quality of the people, and creation of a higher media culture using state-of-the-art technology.”

Wijewardene has pointed out that the current Chairperson of the SLRC has failed to improve the ratings of the station, while the Corporation has suffered massive financial losses running into Rs. 40 million a month.

The Minster has sought to remove SLRC Chairman Inoka Satyangani, who was appointed by the former Minister of Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera, and who has disregarded calls for her to step down.

The President’s Office did not comment on the sudden move, and is yet to name anyone to the SLRC management.