Media Minister to Northern journalists:

Unity vital to win back what was lost

Suraj A. Bandara

Everything that was lost due to the 30 year war could be won back only by maintaining unity, Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said addressing a group of journalists from the North and East.

The program was organized by the Sri Lanka Jatika Saama Mandalaya to enhance friendship and unity among journalists of South and North. The meeting was held at the Mass Media and Information Ministry yesterday.

All professional journalists working in both electronic and print media and journalists of all regional newspapers such as Udayan, Valampuri in Jaffna, Vavuniya and Trincomalee met the Minister and forwarded their grievances hoping for redress. The Minister said all journalists whether from the North or South are journalists.

No differences could be made based on territory. "The only way of getting rid of those unpleasant war experiences is to develop the mutual respect and harmony among the communities of the country," he said.

He insisted that journalists are more sensitive than others since they are more exposed to society. They love the country and people and they keep the country first without considering personal goals, he said.

Therefore not only the media rights of the journalists but also all type of basic human rights have to be protected as a democratic country, he said.

The Minister urged the journalists of the North and East to help bring out the widespread development initiatives carried out in their provinces so that progress could be accelerated. "It is your duty to convince the people on the development works undertaken by the Government after the war," he said.

The Minister said to create a Media Broadcasting Development Authority, a series of workshops have been conducted throughout the island and the first of these was held in Kandy recently. The Ministry expects to gather views from North and East journalists after workshops in Jaffna and Trincomalee in the near future. The Minister promised support to purchase media equipment on concessionary rate terms for North and East journalists since they lost opportunities to engage in a responsible media career due to the war.

Media Centre for National Development Director Ariya Rubasinghe also participated.