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Promoting pluralism through media and other social institutions

S. J. Sumanasekera Banda.

1992

S. J. Sumanasekera Banda. (1992). Promoting pluralism through media and other social institutions. In AMIC Seminar on Media and Pluralism in South Asia : Karachi, Pakistan, Oct 29‑Nov 2, 1992. Singapore: Asian Mass Communication Research & Information Centre. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/92957

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Promoting Pluralism Through Media And Other Social Institutions

By

S J Sumanasekera Banda

Paper No.12 ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library £. 3\ SuM,

PROMOTING PLURALISM THROUGH MEDIA AND OTHER

SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Pluralism as a democratic means of achieving a more contended society in which each ethnic group could find free expression of views and opinions and participate on an equal basis in sharing and developing the country's resources has assumed greater significance today in all multi-ethnic developing countries. In Sri Lanka 74% of the 17 million population are Sinhalese who are mostly Buddhists. Tamils who constitute

17% of the population are mostly Hindus while Muslims occupy another 7 per cent. Many Buddhists and Hindus have been conver­ ted to Christianity during the four hundred years of Western domination and as a result Christians as a religious group comprise 7.5% of the total population. This demographic profile has compelled the country in recent times to promote multi- culturism to counterveil the dominant historical culture of the Sinhalese.

The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri

Lanka (1978) enumerates the fundamental rights of freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom from torture, right

to equality, freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention and puni­

shment and prohibit retroactive penal legislation. Article

14(1) of the Constitution states that :

(1) Every citizen is entitled to :-

(a) the freedom of speech and expression including publi­

cation ;

(b) the freedom of peaceful assembly ;

(c) the freedom of association ;

(d) the freedom to form and join a trade union ;

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(e) the freedom, either by himself or in association with

others, and either in public or in private, to mani­

fest his religion or belief in worship, observance,

practice and teaching ;

(f) the freedom by himself or in association with others

to enjoy and promote his own culture and to use his

own language ;

(g) the freedom to engage by himself or in association

with others in any lawful occupation, profession,

trade, business or enterprise ;

(h) the freedom of movement and of choosing his reside­

nce within Sri Lanka ; and

(i) the freedom to return to Sri Lanka. These rights are

however, subject to such restrictions as may be prescribed

by law in the interest of racial and religious harmony, national

security, public order and the protection of public health

or morality or in short, of meeting the just requirements of

the general welfare of a democratic society. Every person

is entitled to apply to the Supreme Court as provided by the

Article 126 in respect of the infringement or imminent infringe­ ment by executive or administrative action of a fundamental

right to which such person is entitled under the provisions of the Constitution.

Of the three languages used in Sri Lanka, Sinhala, Tamil and

English, Sinhala and Tamil are the national languages as well as official languages and English the link language. A person

is entitled to be educated through the medium of either of

the national languages, except in institutions of higher educa­

tion where the medium of instruction could be a language other

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than a national language. A person is also entitled to receive

communications from and to communicate and transact business

with any official in his official capacity in Sinhala, Tamil

or English.

The directive principles of state policy commit the state to

uphold pluralism and maintain justice and fair play in all

its activities. The State is pledged to establish in Sri Lanka

a democratic socialist society, the objectives of which include,

inter alia, the full realization of the fundamental rights

and freedoms of all persons, the promotion of the welfare of

the people, the realization by all citizens of an adequate

standard of living, the equitable distribution among all citizens

of the material resources of the community and the social produ­

ct, the establishment of a just social order, raising the moral

and cultural standards of the people, the complete eradication

of illiteracy, and equal access to education at all levels.

The State is bound to safeguard the independence, sovereignty,

unity and the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and strengthen

and broaden the democratic structure of government and the

democratic rights of the people by decentralising the adminis­

tration and by affording all possible opportunities to the

people to participate at every level in national life and in

government. Strengthening national unity by promoting co-opera­

tion and mutual confidence among all sections of the people;

ensuring equality of opportunity so that no citizen will suffer

any disability on the ground of race, religion, language, caste,

sex, political opinion or occupation, assisting the development

of the cultures and the languages of the people; creating necess­

ary economic and social environment to enable people of all

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- 4 - religious faiths to make a reality of their religious principles; promoting with special care the interests of children and youth so as to ensure their full development, physical, mental, moral, religious and social, and protecting them from exploitation and discrimination are the other salient directive principles of the Government policy.

The Constitutional provisions as stated above, attempt to create a truly democratic society of a socialist pattern designed

to redress the social injustices. The commitment to translate this policy into action is reflected in the following pledge made by the first elected Executive President at the Convocation

Address of 31st May 1978 at the BMICH :

I will treat every citizen of Sri Lanka alike, and

give him or her equal opportunities to progress.

Sri Lanka will not be only a socialist democracy,

it will be a meritocracy too

The present Executive President when questioned about his commit­

ment to the attainment of a Sri Lanka in which all communities

will be able to live in amity and harmony while respecting

each others' rights has stated that :

" All human beings, of whatever race, religion, colour

or creed, have a right to fulfill their lives in

terms of their respective cultures. The obligation

of the State is to provide the framework under

which all its citizens may exercise their right. Then

we will have created a multi-ethnic democratic society

Interview with Neville Jayaweera -

A Charter for Democracy in Sri Lanka. ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library

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The United National Party's Manifesto.of Action States :

" We need to commit ourselves to a new restructuring.

We need to conceptualize the Sri Lankanness of

our different peoples. The diversity of peoples

must coalesce and unify to produce a richer and

larger Sri Lankan identity Historically, we

have so much that is common. Often person to person

relations are warm and cordial. There are the diff­

erences. But the differences lie within a basic

oneness and interdependence

" We call upon all Sri Lankans to strive to realize

this binding force, this shared identity, within

the Constitution. We will wholeheartedly protect

the provisions of the Constitution regarding Buddhi­

sm, other religions, languages and'fundamental rights.

Let us realize our strength in unity "

It would be clear from the statements given above that the new vision and the new deal of the government encompass a concept that integrates the people fully into the governmental process.

The party action plan uses devolution and decentralization to strengthen peoples participation in government through the establishment of democratic institutions at the grass roots and divisional level with autonomy in decision making using

ocal resources and managing their own development. According

the Manifesto the concept of Gramodaya Mandalayas at the

ss root level has been evolved "to transcend political,

'.gious, caste, class, linguistic and other divisions at

>ase."

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The Constitutional provisions for protecting human rights and

the declared intentions of the government so far described

attempt to meet the several criticisms levelled against the

Constitution of 1972. Prof. Neelan Tiruchelvam, Executive

Director, Asian Council for law in Development in a public

lecture on "Human Rights Policy and the General Elections" deli­

vered on the 25th May 1977 commented that :

Constitutional guarantees of human freedoms are of

no value if they can be subordinated on grounds of

state policy. To provide paper guarantees of funda­

mental freedoms and to ensure that they are incapable

of any real enforcement is to engage in a meaningless

exercise "

He also pointed out that :

" The freedom to participate in decision making and the

sharing of political power is futile if the people

are not provided with the tools of information and

knowledge necessary to render such participation

meaningful. The enforcement of the rights become

impractical unless there is a greater visibility

and access to the higher reaches of decision making

within the Government "

The promised package provides for the Restructuring of the

political system to create necessary conditions for a participa­

tory, consultative and consensual government in which members

of the executive, the public, professional bodies, the media,

trade unions, etc. collectively endeavour to solve problems

facing the country through consultation, compromise and consen­

sus. One important step taken to strengthen this position is ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library

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the establishment of the All Party Conference (APC) a non-statu­

tory body to test opinions outside Parliament and for consulta­

tion and advice.

The establishment of an All Party Conference (APC) in 1989

to arrive at a consensus on important issues facing the country

is a milestone on the way to promote pluralism. Several common

and national issues emerged through the process of consultation

at the All Party Conference among which were : devolution of

powers, electoral reforms, minority representation, liberali­

zation of the media, effective implementation of the language

policy, education policy, equality and equity in treatment

for all, formulating a national land policy, strengthening

the democratic process, safeguarding fundamental rights and

ensuring security for all in all parts of the country. The

APC at its third session discussed the findings and recommend­

ations of the Presidential Commission on Youth which was appoint­

ed to inquire into the causes of unrest among youth. Almost

all the recommendations were accepted by the government and

in regard to the recommendation for establishment of a Media

Commission to ensure independence of the press and media, the

President while agreeing to the recommendation, made the follow­

ing statement :

" The membership of the Media Commission will be through the

procedure of the Nominations Commission. I agree that an

independent media is essential for the proper functioning

of democracy. Independence is not only freedom form govern­

ment control but also freedom from monopolistic control by a

privileged few. I intend to actively consider broadbasing

the ownership, peoplisation-of newspaper companies with the

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participation of working journalists and other employees.

This principle will be simultaneously applied to the

Associated Newspaper of Ceylon Ltd., Sri Lanka

Rupavahini Corporation, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corpora­

tion an the Independent Television Network "

Another recommendation was for the media (newspaper, radio

and TV) to intensify coverage of provincial news. Action has

been already taken on the latter while the establishment of

a Media Commission is still pending due to various representa­

tions made against it.

The APC was to be a model of participatory government and a

practical demonstration of involving the people in government

policy making. Like in other developing Asian Countries the

social and political impact of ethnic and religious diversities

has caused dissention and retarded the progress towards national

unity through the democratic mechanism. Although that every

person is entitled to freedom of conscience and religion includ­

ing the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of

his choice is not disputed and constitutionally guaranteed,

Buddhism being given the foremost place as the faith of the

majority had created an impression of discrimination, against

other religions. The creation of two State Ministries of Hindu

Religious and Cultural Affairs and Muslim Religious and Cultural

Affairs has confirmed the government commitment to look after

the interests of minor religious groups. In addition the creat­

ion of a Project Ministry for Socio-Cultural Integration is

believed to strengthen the structural framework for religious

harmony.

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The objectives and functions of the State Ministry for Hindu

Religious and Cultural Affairs are to . :

1. Foster and develop Hindu Culture & Religion

2. Foster and develop Tamil Language and Tamil Culture

3. Engage in continuous research on Hinduism and Hindu

Culture through the Hindu Research Centre

The programme of activities of Institutions coming under this

Ministry are based on the Government Policy to :

(a) devise measures to encourage and impart religious

values and moral education particularly through

younger generation, through schools and Hindu Kovils,

(b) encourage the Hindu Religious Education Movement in

consultation with religious dignitaries and laymen, and

(c) associate clergy and religious bodies in pre and primary

school education.

Similarly the State Ministry of Muslim Religious and Cultural

Affairs foster and promote Muslim Religious and Cultural activi­

ties through financial grants to Madrasas, Arabic Schools and

promoting Hiflul Quran Madrasas, Welfare Societies, Ahadiya

Schools (Sunday Religious Schools) and printing of books and

periodicals. These two State Ministries along with the State

Ministry for Information coming under the, line Ministry of

Cultural Affairs & Information have as there main objectives

the establishment of friendship, peace and unity among various

ethnic groups of Sri Lanka.

The establishment of an office of a Minister Socio-Cultural

Integration is of special significance for the promotion of

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pluralism through media and other social institutions. The

objective of this new office is to implement a national cultural

policy and programme for :

(a) strengthening and developing a Sri Lanka identity,

unifying the identities of the Sinhalese, Tamils,

Muslims, Burghers and other communities.

(b) creating and redefining national cultural values for a

modern Sri Lanka and

(c) imparting religious values and moral education (parti­

cularly to the younger generation ) in consultation

with the Ministries of Buddha Sasana, Hindu Affairs,

Muslim Affairs and Christian Religious Organisations.

The action plan of this office includes,inter alia,co-ordinating

the organisation of conferences and workshops with the partici­

pation of religious institutions, police stations and schools,

printing and translation of religious books, promotion of langu­

ages, promotion of national unity and support and help religious

events.

Treatment of different religious groups as equal partners in

resolving national problems is a break away from the past

and a sequel to the resolution of the language problem (which

agitated the country for over a quarter century) by recognising

both Sinhala & Tamil as official languages. Language policy

has now ceased to be a bone of contention. The new religious

policy is a departure from the earlier policies in that it

is more liberal as to recognise multi-culturism as opposed

to a dominant culture and sub-cultures.

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lt is now left for us to see how this thinking is reflected in the Media.

PRINT MEDIA :

The role of the press as a linking mechanism between public

and government has become more evident today than ever before.

The press in Sri Lanka has been so powerful that in 1959 in

an address to the Press Association of Ceylon, Prime Minister,

S W R D Bandaranaike said :

One of the most unhealthy features in this democracy

of Sri Lanka is this existence of what in fact amounts

to press dictatorship, a Press monopoly. It amounts

to almost a monopoly which is most unhealthy in

any democratic country because far worse than political

dictatorship is a situation amounting to the dictatorship

of a Press monopoly. In various ways, this Press mono­

poly, if it does not approve of a Government elected to

power by the votes of the people can, by various exagger­

ations, distortions and misrespresentations, create an

almost impossible position for such a Government. There-

fore, the position arises that only a Government of which

this Press chooses to approve, can function satisfactorily "

The Press Commission appointed by the Government in 1963 in

its report issued in 1964 held that "by reason of the concentra­

tion of the ownership of the four principal newspaper companies

in the hands of four families and a few individuals, there

is a definite monopoly of the Press." It further stated :

" With the grant of independence the political

power passed into the hands of the masses but the econo­

mic control continued to remain in the hands of a ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library - 12 -

privileged minority. The Press has proved to be one

of the very few powerful bastions still in the possess­

ion of that minority "

The Sri Lanka Press Council Law adopted by Parliament in 1973

consequent to the recommendation of the Press Commission created

a Press Council with the following objects :

1. To ensure the freedom of the press in Sri Lanka, to

prevent abuses of that freedom, and to safeguard the

character of the Sri Lanka press in accordance with

the highest professional standards.

2. To ensure that newspapers shall be free to publish as

news true statements of facts, and any comments based

upon true statements of acts.

3. To ensure on the part of newspapers and journalists

the maintenance of high standards of journalistic ethics,

and to foster a due sense of both the rights and respons­

ibilities of citizenship.

A. To improve methods of recruitment, education, welfare

and training in the profession of journalism.

5. To promote a proper functional relation among all sec­

tions engaged in the production or publication of news­

papers , and the establishment of common "services for

the supply and dissemination of news as may from time

to time appear to be desirable.

6. To undertake research into the use and needs of the

press, to keep under review developments likely to

restrict the supply of information of public interest

and importance and developments in the Sri Lanka press

which may tend towards concentration or monopoly, and

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to suggest appropriate remedial measures in relation

thereto.

7. To advise the government on any matter pertaining to the

regulation and conduct of newspapers.

State intervention for a change in the ownership and

control of the largest newspaper group in the country

i.e. lake House Group in 1974 is also a follow-up of

the recommendations of the Press Commission.

The period of the control of press and press censorship

can be reckoned as ended in the present context in which

it is incumbent on governments to promote multi-culturism

and pluralism. In a more liberal atmosphere the press

is assuming a more autonomous position expressing diver­

gent views and extricating itself from traditional politi­

cal controls. Increased reliance on the' part of the

government and the governed on the press as the primary

source of information has encouraged the proliferation •

of magazines and newspapers. The following table gives

the number of newspapers published in Sri Lanka as at the end

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- H - of 1991 :

Type of Newspaper Sinhala Tamil English

Dailies 04 03 04

Weeklies 22 04 08

Fortnightly 02 - 01

Monthly 14 05 -

Irregularly 11 03 -

Total 53 15 13

Source : National Archives

In addition to the newspapers nearly 400 periodicals are publi­ shed in Sinhala, Tamil & English. The main group of newspapers still continues to be the Lake House Group registered as the

Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. which publish dailies and weeklies in all three languages. The daily papers : Daily

News (1918-English) Dinamina (1909-Sinhala) Thinakaran(1932-

Tamil) and Sunday Papers : Sunday Observer (1923-English)

Silumina (1930-Sinhala) Thinakaran Vaara Manjari (1948-Tamil) are the widely circulated newspapers published by this Company.

The Island (1981-English) and Divaina (1982-Sinhala) published by Upali Newspapers Ltd. as dailies have successfully captured the newspaper market in competition with the Lake House Group.

The Island (Sunday (1981-English) and Divaina (Sunday(1981-

Sinhala) claim, to be the newspapers having the widest circulat­ ion in the country, a claim also made by the Sinhala weekly

Silumina. Sinhala daily Lanka Dipa and the Sunday Times publi­ shed by Wijeya Publications Ltd. constitute the third powerful

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- 15 - group of newspapers in Sri Lanka.

Political Parties have their own newspapers published mostly on a weekly basis while numerous tabloids too support

party causes. Ethnic religious and cultural diversity is reflected in the numerous periodicals published today and inspite of the rising costs of paper, there is a visible

increase in the titles of books and magazines published

in the country.

The Government policy in regard to newspapers is best

expressed by President Premadasa in his address at the

60th Anniversary Celebrations of the 'Silumina' Newspaper

on 24th March 1990. Exploding the myth that a newspaper

can make a Government or break a Government he said :

But society needs newspapers to get correct infor­

mation and to provide the opportunity for the people

to express their views and to put forward their

criticisms. If I am now asked whether the number

of newspapers we have now is neough, I would say so.

We need more newspapers than we have now

Further he said :

" Every shade of opinion must be allowed to come up

and be heard. I have instructed the mass media

organisations of the Government to provide room

for the expression of all manner of conflicting

opinion as far as possible "

" We must welcome the publication of more and more

newspapers and the publication of more and more ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library

- 16 -

news. Criticism based on those news was extre­

mely useful. We must as far as possible make the

media as truthful as possible "

Most dailies allocate much space for current news both

local and foreign and for political activities of different

parties and also carry features such as culture, science,

sports, women, film, youth and children. Investigative

journalism is gaining currency though not developed.

The privacy of the individual is ensured by the Code of

Ethics for Journalists published in 1981 under Section

30 of the Sri Lanka Press Council Law of 1973. The Code

states that "every journalist shall respect the reputation

of an individual and refrain from reporting or causing

to be printed or published any information or comment

regarding an individual's private life unless the publica­

tion of the said matter is in the public interest as disti­

nguished from public curiosity." Despite the fact that

the Press Council is given a wide range of powers and

functions and law restricts by penal sanctions the publica­

tion of certain kinds of matter regarded as undesirable,

the Press Council has confined its activities to inquire

into complaints made by aggrieved parties against various

press statements and other corrections or apologies, as

the case may be, if the complaint is proved correct.

RADIO :

Sound broadcasting in Sri Lanka goes back to 1924 when

transmission started on an experimental basis leading

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to a regular broadcasting service in 1925. Slowly and

steadily it has grown up to be a powerful medium of enter­

tainment, education and information. The radio today

is under a Corporation set up in 1966 by an Act of Parli­

ament. The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC)

is managed by a five member board nominated by the Minister

in-charge of information and broadcasting. To that extent

government controlled, radio happens to be the most perva­

sive medium of mass communication. There is hardly a

family that does not possess even a small transistor

radio although the number of radio sets in the whole

country is estimated to be around 3,500,000. It is also

estimated that about 40 per cent of radio sets are unlice-

nced.

The national services of the SLBC cater to Sinhala, Tamil

and English listeners. Regional Services Rajarata Sevaya

(1979) Mahanuwara Sevaya (1982) and Ruhunu Sevaya (1980)

and the Community Radio at Girandurukotte (1982) Kotmale

and Mahailuppallama cater to regional listeners through

special programmes designed to meet local requirements.

Air time allocated to different services given in the

following table will provide an insight to the managements'

attempt to satisfy the need of ethnic groups' and regional

interests :

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Service Medium Hrs. Mts.

National Sinhala 73 35 Tamil 53 00 English 22 00

Commercial Sinhala 116 05 Tamil 63 00 English 62 00

Muslim Service Tamil 10 30

Education Service Sinhala 08 45 English 01 50 Tamil 02 10

Rajarata Sevaya Sinhala 71 15

Ruhunu Sevaya Sinhala 57 00

Mahanuwara Sevaya Sinhala 69 30

City FM Service Sinhala ) English . 64 00 Tamil )

Mahailuppallama Community Radio Sinhala 05 00

Girandurukotte Community Radio 13 25

Kotmale Community Radio - 05 30

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Number of Broadcasting hours per day (Local Services 199) is given

in the following table :

No. of Broadcasting hours per day Service Monday to Friday Saturday to Sunday

Hrs. Mts. Hrs. Mts.

01. Sinhala National Service 09 00 14 00

02. Sinhala Commercial Service 16 30 16 30

03. English Service 10 00 17 00

04. Tamil Service 18 00 18 00

05. City FM Service 08 00 12 00

06. Rajarata Sevaya 08 45 13 45

07. Ruhunu Sevaya 07 00 08 00

08. Mahanuwara Sevaya 08 30 13 30

09. Girandurukotte Community 01 55 01 55 Radio 1

Total 87 40 114 40

Weekly 413.05 hrs. of Sinhala ; 121.40 hrs. of Tamil and 85.50 hrs. of English programmes are broadcast over the radio. Although radio is being used as an informant, educator, motivator and entertainer, through out its history, radio in the public eye has been that of an instrument of entertainment. Even today, the Sinhala Commercial Service dominated by music has captured

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_ 20 _ about 84% of the total audience. The Sinhala National Service devoted to promotion of arts, literature and culture in general reaches only about 12% to 15% of the audience. News broadcast which is the most popular item among radio programmes draws an audience of 6 to 7 million listeners.

MCR :

The Mahaweli Community Radio set up as a support service to assist families settled under the Mahaweli Project in new town­ ships deals in all aspects of Community life with emphasis on community development. It has proved to be an effective instru­ ment to motivate settlers in their . agricultural persuits and to harness their talents in every sphere of their cultural life.

Mahaweli Community Radio plays an important role in development communication. From its inception in 1981 the MCR Project took a scientific and critical approach, its guiding principles being credibility and objectivity. Programme formats were deve­ loped on data collated by research and not on speculative assump­ tions. Teams of producers visited remote villages spending time to live with the people experiencing their difficulties devoid of basic facilities. This experience enabled the profess­ ionally skilled staff to use creative and innovative techniques

in programme production to touch the heart and mind of the rural audience.

MCR's contribution towards integrated development through optimum agricultural productivity and employment, conservation and the maintenance of the physical environment and the promotion of

general welfare and cultural standards of the community is so much appreciated that action is being taken to introduce an independent Community Radio Network to cover other districts

as well .... 21 ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library 21

TELEVISION a THE INDEPENDENT TELEVISION NETWORK :

Established as a private company in 1979 the ITN commenced

the first Television Station in Sri Lanka. Soon after its

establishment the Company was acquired by the Government and

managed by a Competent Authority appointed by the Minister

of Finance. Under the peoplisation programme of the present

government it is now converted to a public company managed

by a Board appointed by the Minister of Finance until it is

completely privatised in the near future.

ITN caters to a wide variety of viewers by its emphasis on

entertainment and foreign programmes. The break down of air

time allocated by origin of language shows that ITN carries

more English programmes than programmes in Sinhala or Tamil :

Category 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

English 1300 83% 1352 -- 70% 1586- 84% 1574- 78% 1485- 73% 1261- 61%

Sinhala 260 17% 360 -- 19% 286- 15% 398- 20% 522- 25% 738- 35%

Tamil 112 - 11% 26- 01% 34- 02% 39- 02% 78- 04%

Total 1560 -100% 1924 -100% 898-100% 2007-100% 2046-100% 2077-100%

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The distribution of ITN programmes in comparison to Rupavahini programmes is as follows :-

ITN RUPAVAHINI TYPE OF PROGRAMME HRS. % HRS. %

Children's 349 - 17 278 - 14

Musical 490 - 23 127 - 7

Drama 620 - 31 376 - 20

Educational(Non formal) 135 - 7 57 - 3

Comedy/Entertainment 188 - 9 289 - 15

News 122 - 6 385 - 20

Current Affairs 32 - 2 103 - 5

Sports 52 - 3 102 - 5

Others 16 - 1 50 - 3

One of the most popular programmes among youth is the programme

featuring songs recorded by local artists- ITN has played

a significant role in introducing and popularising western

music among the youth of Sri lanka. One fourth of the total

number of ITN programmes are musicals. ITN's dependence on

foreign programmes changed in 1990 when locally produced program­

mes exceeded foreign programmes in number, the percentage of

local programmes rising to 55.86 which is an increase of 13.66

per cent over the previous year. The number of transmission

hours has increased, dramas occupying the highest number of

hours. In 1991 the transmission hours increased to a total

of 2345 an increase of 13% over 1990. Commencement of foreign

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news, introducing a Sports Mangazine Programme and a Saturday

morning transmission has expanded the activities of the ITN.

Being a public company the ITN is taking steps to formulate

and implement measures to improve the credibility and objectivi­

ty of information given' in the news bulletins both local and

foreign-

b SRI LANKA RUPAVAHINI CORPORATION :

The Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation established under the

SLRC Act No. 6 of 1982 is the second television broadcasting

station to be established in Sri Lanka. It had the advantage

of having a modern studio fitted with the latest equipment

available at the time and a staff trained by Japanese

Engineers. Unlike ITN it had a country wide audience with

its 90% coverage over the island. The SLRC is managed by a

Board appointed by the Minister in charge of the subject of

information.

At the time of introduction of television to Sri Lanka the

major component of the programme i.e. 52% were in English

and Sinhala programmes occupied only 39% of the programme time.

However from the very beginning Rupavahini's own productions

contained an informative, educational and cultural orientation

while the foreign programmes were used to meet the demand for

entertainment. By 1984, more than a third of local telecasts

were of news. The beginning of transmission time was advanced

from 6.00 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. with effect from 7 April 1984.

Still the news Bulletins continued to take the largest share

of local productions and in 1987, News consisted 36.5% of the

programme and musical, drama, sports and other entertainment

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programmes amounted to 30.4 per cent.

The distribution of local, foreign and dubbed programmes during

the years 1987 to 1991 is given below :

Year Local Foreign Dubbed Total Hours % % % % %

1987 55.7 40.0 1.5 100 2,103 1988 61.0 37.0 2.0 100 1,931 1989 68.7 . 28.9 2.4 100 2,109 1990 70.0 27.5 2.5 100 2,245 1991 69.0 28.5 2.5 100 2,411

The distribution of programmes by major categories is as follows :

The total telecast time by type of transmission

1987 1988 1989 1990 1991

% % % % %

Educative & Information 34.1 35.6 35.1 34.8 33.8

Children's Programme 14.0 14.4 13.1 11.5 13.4

Religious 2.5 2.6 6.0 5-.5 5.1 Entertainment 49.2 47.4 45.8 48.2 47.7

Some significant changes have taken place in the area of progra­

mme production during the period 1987-1990. The production

of local and dubbed programmes continued to show an upward

trend and out of 6 hours of daily programmes more than 04 hours ...25 ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library - 25 -

of programmes were local productions. It is worth while to

note that out of 1629' hrs of locally produced programmes 87.7%

had been produced by the SLRC itself. The distribution of

local programmes by language indicated a marked increase in

Sinhala and Tamil programmes and a decline in the English lang­

uage programmes as evident from the following table :

1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 % % % % %

Sinhala 36.9 40.8 44.1 45.2 44.3

Tamil 10.2 13.4 17.70 17.6 17.9

English 52.9 45.8 38.9 37.2 37.8

The number of hours allocated for Tamil programmes increased

significantly with the introduction of a Sunday Tamil telecast

from 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. with effect from 07th October,

1990. However, it is to be noted that ETV, formal programme

time, during morning school hours and holidays also recorded

a drop of 253.7 hrs or 53%. However, two new programmes for chil­

dren were commenced during the year 1990. The first, a programme

called 'Rasara' with a cartoons series and other entertainment

programmes commenced on 11th February 1990 and the second,

a programme to teach English, a BBC production titled

'Follow Me' was introduced on 17th October, 1990.

A second channel scheduled to be started by 1993 will present

13 hours of formal and non-formal educational programmes a

day, mainly aimed at school leavers, workers, farmers, women

and adults in general. The Open University of Sri lanka will

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be closely co-operating with the SLRC in the preparation of and presentation of the required educational component.

SLRC entered into an agreement with the CNN (Turner Programme

Services) in March 1990 to use CNN news in her daily news bulle­

tins and as a separate programme at the end of the day. As the SLRC did not possess the necessary equipment, tentative arrangements were made to record the CNN WR at the Arthur C

Clarke Centre. SLRC makes a weekly contribution to the CNN

World Report with an item from Sri Lanka which helps to face misinformation campaigns launched against Sri Lanka and to

promote tourism.

For the first time in Sri Lanka's television history a morning

transmission of one hour for news and entertainment was started on the 01st of October, 1991. Morning transmission hours are

to be extended from the year 1992. The increase in the hours of transmission and the distribution of telecast time by type

by language is shown in the following table :

RUPAVAHINI TOTAL TELECAST TIME BY LANGUAGE 1985 - 1991

Year Sinhala % Tamil % English % Total % Hrs. Hrs. Hrs. Hrs.

1985 704.5 37.3 203.0 10.8 980.8 51.9 1888.3 100.0 1986 674.0 3A.1 198.4 10.0 1105.9 55.9 1978.3 100.0 1987 775.0 36.8 207.7 9.9 1121.1 53.3 2103.8 100.0 1988 788.7 40.8 258.0 13.4 884.7 45.8 1931.4 100.0 1989 930.6 44.1 358.0 17.1 820.8 38.9 2109.4 100.0 1990 1013.9 45.2 395.9 17.6 834.6 37.2 2244.5 100.0 1991 1067.6 44.3 430.9 17.9 912.5 37.8 2411.0 100.0

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The distribution of religious programme time in 1990 is given below as an indicator for recognising religious diversity in television programmes :

RUPAVAHINI RELIGIOUS PROGRAMME TIME BY RELIGION - 1990

Month Cultural Buddhist Christian Hindu Muslim Total Hrs. Hrs. Hrs. Hrs. Hrs. Hrs.

January 0.8 7.0 0.5 . 0.5 1.0 9.8

February 1.2 8.1 0.5 0.8 1.0 11.6

March 7.3 0.4 0.4 1.2 9.3

April 6.5 1.5 0.4 2.2 10.6

May 9.3 0.4 0.5 1.0 11.2

June 7.9 0.4 0.6 0.8 9.7

July 8.4 2.0 0.4 0.5 11.3

August 2.0 7.8 0.4 0.9 11.1

September 7.6 0.4 0.3 0.9 9.2

October 6.8 0.5 0.4 2.1 9.8

November 6.3 0.4 0.4 0.9 8.0

December 7.7 3.3 0.3 0.9 12.2

Total 4.0 90.7 10.3 5.4 . 13.4 123.8

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The inroad of satellite based 'Borderless Television' has already shaken Sri Lanka. MTV introduced by Maharajah this

year is the first private television station to commence work in Sri Lanka. How its island wide coverage is going

to affect the country, apart from pluralism is yet to,be.seen.

Another private TV Company will" start its operations very

soon in competition with the SLRC, ITN and MTV. Free from

government control this transformation to private TV and in the near future to radio, is viewed with a mixture of elation,

fear and doubt. Now that the bold step of privatisation of

the media is taken there is at least better hope for pluralism and its promotion.

I do not propose to discuss the role of film and drama or of other social institutions in the promotion of pluralism.

Suffice it to say that the film-imports are liberalized and activities of the National Film Corporation set up to break the private monopoly in the film industry are directed towards assisting the industry rather than having a control over it.

The number of social organisations directly or indirectly using media to promote pluralism, free discussion, freedom of expression, human rights are too many and varied that to

pick-up a few organisations for reference would be injustice to others which may be more active in their media operations.

It is a truism that the first priority of state owned media

is government news. The government must inform the people*

Due to inept handling of news, emphasis is often placed on

personalities and not on the activities. This may be due

to lack of training,briefing or imagination. Being the programme

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* which attracts the highest number of viewers or listeners

it needs to reflect pluralism while at the same time being

truthful and carrying latest news. The difficulty of providing

sufficient time for cultural programmes of three different

groups of viewers Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and others with diver­

se faiths is often not realised or recognised.

The facts and figures given above merely show the main media

facilities and avenues available in the country for the expre­

ssion of diverse views of the general public and for keeping

the people informed of various development activities of the

government. Figures provided may not present an exact picture

in the absence of accurate records. To take an example from

the print media, the National Archives figures of three Tamil

dailies and four Tamil weeklies given above is clearly incorr­

ect, for the well known journalist K S Sivakumaran, who is

a Tamil himself writing on contemporary writers in Sri Lanka

states "There are eight dailies and eight Sunday editions

of Tamil newspapers which publish their writings. Besides

there are a few "Little Magazines" and other journals to cater

to these writers and their readers" (Sri Lankan Culture -

A symposium - Dept. of Hindu Religious & Cultural Affairs

1991 - p.72). Incidentally he also says "There are more

writers in Tamil in the Western Province than those in the

North or East." (ibid)

The demand for the North-East, as a 'homogenous' area for

the Tamil speaking people has been the biggest issue during

the last decade in Sri Lanka for which in spite of ample media

coverage of opposing views no acceptable solution is found

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yet. Tamilians and Moors who speak the Tamil language live in all parts of the island. Sivakumaran points out that

"perhaps it may sound surprising that the Tamil language spoken by nearly 65 million people all over the world is also used in the nine provinces in this country." (ibid) This kind of objective analysis to some extent at least helps those involved in finding solutions to ethnic conflicts to be aware of the reality. A series of seminars organised by the State

Ministry of Hindu Religious and Cultural Affairs intend to bring some clarity of thinking and remove misconceptions on ethnicity to create a basis for tolerance and respect for diversity of cultural practices, prejudices and loyalties.

As Radhika Coomaraswamy pointed out at one of these symposia

"today after years of bloodshed we are finally trying to recon­ struct our national imagination (a 100 years too late) so that it can accommodate all the diverse experiences."

S.J. SUMANASEKERA BANDA