Senior Journalist Upali Tennakoon, who delivered the keynote speech of the book launch of veteran journalist Edmond Ranasinghe, said that Ranasinghe is a legend in the media arena.
The felicitation ceremony was held at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday (3) in honour of the distinguished figure in Sri Lankan journalism. President Ranil Wickremesinghe presented the first copy of the book titled “Edmond’s Newspaper 
Revolution” to veteran media personality Edmond Ranasinghe aiming to mark the incomparable and great work rendered to the journalism sector of his for nearly 7 decades.
Delivering the keynote address Tennakoon said that veteran journalist Ranasinghe is not very fond of accolades and awards. Anyhow it is necessary to give awards in recognition of the service rendered to journalism for the country.
“However I am happy that President Ranil Wickremesinghe has created such an opportunity to validate the excellent services of Ranasinghe. His journalistic journey had a goal, a purpose and a path,” he said.
Upali Tennakoon
Edmond Ranasinghe had commenced his career as an English teacher. He moved into a career in journalism in 1952 as an English journalist. He gave his maximum throughout whilst overcoming many challenges. He would never just churn out articles to bore the readers. He had a two pronged purpose which was to inform the reader and to hold their interest. These two factors are plainly evident even today, whether in newspapers in the United States of America or otherwise, Tennakoon noted.
Ranasinghe had a strong intention to do something new. He always used foreign news and foreign news sources. He would often be seen with foreign magazines and foreign newspapers seen in his hand. Sometimes he received these newspapers and magazines from embassies. He believed that something new could be absorbed from those foreign newspapers and magazines. He absorbed news on world politics and gained extensive knowledge on political economy. Being an avid reader he soaked in new knowledge. He had a unique understanding of the happenings in the countries of the world. This is why the Divaina newspaper became so popular in a very short time. Ranasinghe, who joined Lake House in 1952, held various positions there. But later, when Lake House was taken over by the government of that time, he quit all his positions and resigned from the newspaper. Then again in 1977, he joined Lake House as the editor-in-chief of Dinamina newspaper.
“There he worked as the editor of Dinamina newspaper as well as Silumina newspaper. I met him in 1978. I first met him at 
a workshop in Borella. Where I grabbed the opportunity and talked with him for some time. A few days following that, I joined Dinamina Newspaper of Lake House Group. I also had the opportunity then to share experiences with everyone who worked with Ranasinghe.
“At one juncture he asked me if I would like to go over to another newspaper with him, leaving Lake House. I unhesitatingly responded “Yes”. Thereafter, about eight of us joined the Upali Group and it was the begging of the Divaina Newspaper where Ranasinghe was made the founding Editor. Under his leadership, the Divaina gained popularity within a short period of time. The Divaina was founded on October 04, 1981. Then in 1984, the Daily Island Newspaper was started. There was no voice for the Opposition outside of the parliament then. As a result for the Divaina was released as a voice of the Opposition, representing the common masses. Due to this, the Divaina newspaper became a problem for the incumbent Government, the president and prime minister of that time. In such a situation, there were many threats to the Divaina. The Divaina and Ranasingje had to face that tough situation,” he said.
But the Divaina newspaper couldn’t be suppressed in any way. On a day in 1989 Divaina Editor Ranasinghe received a letter saying that he was doing a great service to the country through the Divaina newspaper. It was significant that the letter had been written by then JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera. However in the midst of all these situations, the threats from the Premadasa Government increased.
As a result of the agitation of the Government Edmond Ranasinghe’s house was bombed and he narrowly escaped without any harm. Anyhow he was not shaken by any of this. The Divaina newspaper dared more and more following this incident. At one point, former Minister Sirisena Cooray brought a message to Divaina management requesting them to dismiss Ranasinghe from service.
“Here, Chairperson Wijewardena, was informed that all debts of the company would be written off if the order to remove Edmond Ranasinghe from the Divaina Newspaper was adhered to. But the lady strongly responded that Edmond was worth more to the Company than the debts. Therefore, it was mentioned that Edmond would not be removed,” he said.
Tennakoon added that Ranasinghe also did a great service to the Jathika Namal Uyana.
“One day we went to visit Namal Uyana with Ranasinghe. But in those days no one knew about it. While visiting there and talking with Rev. Vanavasi Rahula Thera, we observed its historical significance. Then we came back to Colombo and made people aware of the significance and the uniqueness of the place through write-ups. After that we came to know that Ven. Rahula Thera was living on a tree in Namal Uyana. But, I am happy about the present condition of Jathika Namal Uyana,” Tennakoon said.
Ranasinghe always tried to do new things in journalism. At one point, commandos were sent to the Poonaryn area to control a terror attack. Of these platoons, several soldiers died. Another group disappeared. A group of six of them went to sea with the help of a boat and stayed at sea for forty-five days. Two of them died at that time. The remaining four were later rescued by a Thai fishing vessel. They were later taken into custody in Thailand. At that time I had the opportunity to go to Thailand to write an article about them. I went to Thailand. But we were not allowed to go where our soldiers were. Our Embassy could not help either. At that time, I spoke to the Thai Police and Newspapers. When I called a friend, he said let’s go see. At that time, I had the opportunity to go there and talk for a few minutes. After that I came to Sri Lanka and published an article in the Divaina newspaper in this regard. No newspaper could cover that event. That is why Ranasinghe is said to be someone who does new things,” he added.
New things were introduced to the newspaper industry. Also, if Ranasinghe was not there, Mani’s column would not exist.
“President Ranil Wickremesinghe has done a great service for the freedom of the press. Criminal law was abolished. But today journalism is in a difficult situation. Therefore it is better to give some concessions to the media sector, especially reducing taxes imposed on newsprint. The President’s grandfather and father have also worked as heads of Lake House Group. During that time, the largest number of weekly newspapers had been published. The sale of the Silumina newspaper was in the region of four lakhs. That period can be said to be the golden era of Lake House Group. Lake House is an institution that should be preserved and not closed down. Due to long politicization, Lake House has to face turbulence. It is better to focus attention on Lake House and take some remedial decisions” he noted.
Dharma Sri Abeyratne
