CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

Fighting LTTE Propaganda the Right Way: London Shows How

By Philip Fernando Former Deputy Editor of the Sunday Observer

It is about time that somebody kick ass is just apt and becoming, when bureaucrats put on airs, like when the High Commissioner in London thought fit to pounce on a hard-working press Counsellor doing media work confronting the LTTE menace in UK. The rule of thumb pontificated by the sacred cows cow in London was “run everything by the Big boss even if urgent news need be reported in haste, no one else should get more publicity.”

The Commissioner got unceremoniously ousted from her pedestal, much to the delight of those waiting to cleanse the LTTE menace.
The dedicated Counsellor prevailed over the sinister attempt to reprimand him by the blundering bureaucrat. She was trying to practice the sacrosanct self-serving dictum laid down by her ancestors that when you allow patriotic staff members to do their work efficiently the bosses run the risk of getting overshadowed. How pathetic!

But the boss was brought down to earth as reported by a Sri Lankan Sunday media outlet , thus ” Why a circular that was designed to make diplomacy more effective was used by Sri Lankan High Commissioner to punish her Minister Counsellor for an article he had written to a web page has apparently come unstuck.

London High Commissioner Kshenuka Senewiratne had called for explanation from her Minister Counsellor Walter Jayawardhana for an item he had provided to the Lanka web page without her approval on the basis of a recent circular issued by Foreign Secretary Dr Palitha Kohona to all Lankan foreign missions to get clearance before submitting any statements including articles to journals/newspapers.

In a new fax message on Thursday addressed to Ms. Senewiratne, Dr Kohona has virtually asked her not to interpret his earlier circular so narrowly.

It states: “We confirm that the instructions issued by circular fax no. 56 of 14-02 2008 stand and have been endorsed by the President. However, it is acknowledged that attributed news reports prepared for journals may need to be dispatched at short notice and obtaining prior approvals for these may not be practical. I note that Mr. Jayawardhana has confirmed that he does not write on policy matters and on matters impacting on bilateral and multilateral relations without obtaining proper clearance.

In an endorsement of what Mr. Jayawardhana had done, the Foreign Secretary in the same message copied to Minister Counsellor, also states: “We also encourage Mr. Jayawardhana to implement his media strategy in particular, with regard to disseminating the Sri Lankan Government’s perspective to the media and continuing anti-Sri Lanka sentiments in the UK.”

What needs to stated is the High Commission did not know that time is of the essence, as explained by Counsellor and that news does not wait for any self-bloated big whig. Secondly, that the attempt to fight vicious propaganda and and deceptive campaign by the LTTE should be taken seriously, which unfortunately, the UK High Commission had not realized all this time.

London is still the hot bed of LTTE espionage and unstoppable propaganda. Why on earth should the government tolerate a soft attitude towards such a menace by the High Commission is beyond belief. Inaction or even a half hearted attempt to fight LTTE propaganda is completely unacceptable. The Minister Counsellor has tried his utmost to bring to light the underground activities of the LTTE. His unending barrage of news items to expose veiled fundraising activities of the terrorists must be appreciated and not denounced. Any decent human being would have by now apologized for what happened and got on with the fiercely urgent task on hand.

The belated statement coming from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs few days ago that all diplomatic missions have been given standing orders to take the battle to the LTTE must be carried out and not observed in the breach as had happened all this time.

Disclaimer: The comments contained within this website are personal reflection only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the LankaWeb. LankaWeb.com offers the contents of this website without charge, but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions expressed within. Neither the LankaWeb nor the individual authors of any material on this Web site accept responsibility for any loss or damage, however caused (including through negligence), which you may directly or indirectly suffer arising out of your use of or reliance on information contained on or accessed through this Web site.
All views and opinions presented in this article are solely those of the surfer and do not necessarily represent those of LankaWeb.com. .

BACK TO LATEST NEWS

DISCLAIMER