SRI LANKA’S VERNACULAR PRESS AND THE PEACE PROCESS Part of the Sri Lanka Strategic Conflict Assessment 2005 S R I 2000 – 2005 L A N K A ’ S V E R N A C U L A R P R E S S A N D T H E P E A C E P R O Award winning photographs by Annuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi, Dominic Sansoni and Gemunu Amarasinghe C E S S 2000 – 2005 Suthaharan Nadarajah VOLUME N.0 6 SERIES SIX - PART SRI LANKA'S VERNACULAR PRESS AND THE PEACE PROCESS PART OF THE SRI LANKA STRATEGIC CONFLICT ASSESSMENT 2005 By Suthaharan Nadarajah The governments of the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, in collaboration with The Asia Foundation and the World Bank funded this project. The contents of the studies should not be construed as reflecting the views of the five funding agencies. © Copyright 2005 Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency The Asia Foundation Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland World Bank For reproductions of this publication please contact: 3 1/A Rajakeeya Mawatha Colombo 7, Sri Lanka Phone: +94 11 2698356 Fax: +94 11 2698358 www.asiafoundation.org All rights reserved Printed in Sri Lanka 1 | Contents Contents Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................................................. | 2 About the Authors................................................................................................................................................. | 3 Acronyms............................................................................................................................................................... | 4 Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................................. | 5 1. Introduction................................................................................................................................................... | 7 2. Methodology.................................................................................................................................................. | 9 3. Public Perceptions And The Peace Process........................................................................................... | 13 General Trends.............................................................................................................................................. | 13 "Ethnicity-Correlated" Trends...................................................................................................................... | 14 4. Press Coverage: Overall Trends................................................................................................................. | 17 Limited Commonality.................................................................................................................................... | 18 Ethnic Divisions............................................................................................................................................. | 19 Covering the Muslims.................................................................................................................................. | 20 Split on the LTTE............................................................................................................................................ | 21 Political Parties............................................................................................................................................. | 23 Covering the International........................................................................................................................... | 26 Muslim Issues............................................................................................................................................... | 27 Summary......................................................................................................................................................... | 29 5. Press Coverage: Case Studies................................................................................................................... | 31 Site 1: High Security Zones......................................................................................................................... | 31 Site 2: LTTE Withdrawal from Peace Talks............................................................................................... | 33 Site 3: Interim Administration and ISGA................................................................................................... | 35 Site 4: President Kumaratunga's Seizure of Three Ministries.............................................................. | 39 Site 5: Enabling Tamils in LTTE-Held Areas to Vote................................................................................ | 41 Site 6: Karuna's Split from the LTTE.......................................................................................................... | 43 6. Analysis.......................................................................................................................................................... | 49 Zero-Sum: Stereotypes and Tensions....................................................................................................... | 49 Resisting the Liberal Peace........................................................................................................................ | 50 Sinhala Drivers.............................................................................................................................................. | 51 Tamil Drivers.................................................................................................................................................. | 52 Muslim Drivers.............................................................................................................................................. | 54 7. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................... | 55 Bibliography........................................................................................................................................................... | 57 Sri Lanka's Vernacular Press and the Peace Process | 2 Acknowledgements All views expressed in this study are the author's and do not represent those of the commissioning agencies, the facilitators of this study or those who were interviewed. I would nevertheless like to thank the following for their contributions to this study: first, Jonathan Goodhand, Bart Klem, David Rampton, and Madura Rasaratnam who provided feedback on earlier drafts of this report; second, Alan Martin, and Gina Genovese who provided valuable editorial assistance. 3 | About the Authors About the Authors Suthaharan Nadarajah is a doctoral candidate with the Department of Politics and International Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His research explores the international system as a socializing and subject-producing device, using the conflict in Sri Lanka as a case study. Sri Lanka's Vernacular Press and the Peace Process | 4 Acronyms EPDP Eelam People's Democratic Party FBIS Foreign Broadcast Information Service (US government) HSZ High Security Zone ISGA Interim Self-Governing Authority JVP Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna JHU Jathika Hela Urumaya KAPS Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Survey LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam RSF Reporters Sans Frontiers SLFP Sri Lanka Freedom Party SLMM Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission SLMC Sri Lanka Muslim Congress SLA Sri Lankan Army TNA Tamil National Alliance TULF Tamil United Liberation Front UNF United National Front UPFA United People's Freedom Alliance 5 | Executive Summary Executive Summary BACKGROUND summaries of stories and editorials) from Sinhala and Tamil newspapers, this study seeks to summarize This Sinhala and Tamil press review, conducted under observable themes in attitudes on key issues that could the aegis of the second Strategic Conflict Assessment be relevant to SCA2. It focuses on the time period after (SCA2), "Aid, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka" the February 2002 ceasefire between the Sri Lankan (Goodhand and Klem, 2005), sought to capture local government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam perspectives on the island's protracted conflict and (LTTE) until the Indian Ocean tsunami of December Norwegian-brokered peace process as reflected in the 26, 2004, with particular emphasis on 2003 and 2004. vernacular press. While many local actors have been While a limited period has been selected for study, it is subject to closer scrutiny in relation to Sri Lanka's sufficiently wide to identify important trends, with a politics and peace process, there has been insufficient focus on general themes being maintained. This report is focus on the role of the vernacular media. Sri Lanka's divided into seven sections: (1) an introduction; (2) an English language media has understandably been more outline of the methodology; (3) a summary of the KAPS "visible" to international and local actors. However, all II survey; (4) overall themes observed in media coverage; major actors--including successive governments, the (5) a discussion of six sites of study selected for closer LTTE, major political parties, and Sri Lanka's powerful examination; (6) an analysis of the observed themes and Buddhist clergy,