Lanka Dissent’s response to Sunday Island

News 2 Minutes


Tuesday, 16 September 2008 13:20   
The Editor of Lanka Dissent responded to a news report carried by the ‘Sunday Island’ newspaper of 07th September, 2008, titled “Jeyaraj quits Rivira / Nation group under new ownership” that introduced the “lankadissent” news website as belonging to Mr. Mangala Samaraweera.

The ‘Sunday Island’ of 14th September carried the response in part with an apology and we publish below, the full text of the response sent.


      07th September, 2008
 

The Editor,     
Sunday Island,
Upali Newspapers Ltd
223, Bloemendhal Road,
Colombo 13

Request for correction on reference to Lanka Dissent web site in news report – Jeyaraj quits Rivira / Nation group under new ownership

We refer to the above captioned news report in your Sunday edition of 07th September, 2008 and appreciate the fact that our web site www.lankadissent.com had been duly credited as the news source.

Nevertheless we regret to inform you that your reference to our web site as “the Lanka Dissent website of Mr. Mangala Samaraweera.” is wholly incorrect, while we presume your reference is to the Matara District MP, Mangala Samaraweera.

Please do note, our web site www.lankadissent.com has absolutely nothing to do with MP Mangala Samaraweera or his politics, both editorially and in ownership. The web site is owned and published by a small group of concerned citizens under the label “Centre for Social Democracy” and among them, there is not even a namesake Mangala Samaraweeera. The editorial too has nothing to do with Mr. Samaraweera.

Those who work for us as “news sources”, do have many links to very many political parties that cut across the ruling UPFA through the UNP, JVP and the JHU to the SLFP-M Wing and then to the small time left parties like the USP and the Left Front, as most or all newspapers and media channels do enjoy.

Besides that, we also do not know of such an editorial tradition or practice to refer to media when quoted for news as saying “……. of Mr. Welgama or Mahendra or Wijewardene” as one may wish to insert. This reference in your news report to Mr. Samaraweera therefore is most intriguing, while we see no reason for any one to link our website to Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, other than on ignorance or for political mischief.

That said, we wish you would give this complete letter of clarification due prominence in your columns and in your online edition too, as was done for the news report referred to.

Please also note that we would be publishing this letter in whole on Sunday the 14th September, in our own web site, after you carry this in your Sunday columns.

Thanking you in advance,

Yours in fraternity,

Indika Gamage
Editor

 

Published by FMM Sri Lanka

The Free Media Movement evolved out of the Standing Committee of Journalists, which was formed in late 1991, as a collective enterprise of journalists and media personnel to critique and respond to moves by then government of the time to introduce a Media Commission to Sri Lanka. The first public meeting of the group as the Free Media Movement was held in Colombo in June 1992. Since then the FMM has continued to be active in all areas relating to media freedom, defending the rights of journalists and media people, calling for reform of repressive legislation, agitating against censorship and intimidation of media personnel and standing for broad principles of democratic and human rights. Through the years, the FMM has become the watchdog of media freedom in Sri Lanka, and has also developed an extensive network of links with other media freedom and human rights groups internationally.

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