Sri Lanka Guardian will uphold its mission

EDITORIAL

‘Let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe.’- Abraham Lincoln

This is our motto.

(October 25, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The forward path of Sri Lanka Guardian since its formation is not an easy one. It has earned its reputation for its broad based inclusive approach and for publishing news and views surpassing all the boundaries and hurdles put on its way by the conditionality of the state of governance in Sri Lanka

When the media in Sri Lanka came under draconian control by the assassinations, detentions of journalists and the heavy handedness of the secret services of the state to reflect only its views, Sri Lanka Guardian too faced the consequences for being upright. We too went through the whisking of the state intelligence machinery. Lately, we were put through harrowing experience by the former Commander of the LTTE dallying with the government for petty parochial reasons. We are still on the head hunting mission.

The pressures put on us were life threatening. Thanks, we are here and hoping to be here for some time to give our people the taste of the freedom of expression that is lacking and has been jettisoned in a systematic in the country.

It is not only the state that brought about pressures on the Sri Lanka Guardian. Persons with petty outlooks intending to score points on their conditioned agendas too became hostile when we were taking a broader accommodative approach.

One time, we were highly critical of the LTTE. We exposed the LTTE’s shenanigans without any fear.

Now that the LTTE is defeated outright, there are serious issues that are to be discussed. Whilst defeat of the LTTE is a factor being debated, we give importance to the need for good governance practices in Sri Lanka. The government cannot continue to wrest on anti-LTTE bashing for ever and must proceed to deal with issues that are rotting the country in every direction. The whole governance mechanisms have come under the ambit of the state intelligence services, military manoeuvring and the crony family bandit culture. These have to be dismantled to steer an accountable and just governance in the country.

The anti-LTTE forces patronised by the government wants Sri Lanka Guardian to run according to their terms. Whilst welcoming their contributions, Sri Lanka Guardian will not obscure itself by a self defeating path of living in the wilderness. Any amount of personal diatribe to belittle our mission will not undermine our resolve to be fair and frank in our mission.

Feudal type of family governance of the President is hampering the very basis of democracy in Sri Lanka. Then the eccentric anti-western agenda of the government is already showing signs of consequences for the people. Bribery, corruption and lack of transparency in dealings are rotting the very survival of the country as a self respecting nation.

Opportunists are rallying round the government to get positions and rewards. Appointments to foreign missions from peons to mission heads have become seductive offerings for pandangkarayas who will go to any extent to follow the Nazi Germany’s Goebles who earned the reputation to make concoctions truths.

When the ordinary people are suffering, their needs are not being addressed. Herculean effort is made by the state to keep the people in abeyance. People are not thinking even to realise what is brewing for them post defeat of the LTTE. People are being deceived by holding elections after elections and manipulative projections are being portrayed to deceive the very same people to prop up the government mission.

Sri Lanka is going through an unimaginable decaying process and it is time, right thinking Sri Lankans join hands together to regain our lost freedom to crony governance in the country.

Words of solace to journalists in exile and in Sri Lanka! Let us take forward the mantle that we have surrendered to the crony governance to create a just and humane society in Sri Lanka.

-Sri Lanka Guardian