It is certainly a person of
character who can take a hit and still stand tall. The stronger among us are endowed with both
humility and a sense of humor. Most
importantly they can laugh at themselves and laugh with others even when the
joke is less tasteful and perhaps unfair. They know that political satire is an
inevitable in political life and are not fazed by it.
Now it is true that not everyone is
blessed with a sense of humor that helps overcome adversity and rise above
poison pens and such. Still, that’s
hardly an argument for outlawing humor including political satire. It is an inevitable and important part of a
vibrant democracy.
Take it out and it would be like
Mahinda Rajapaksa without a smile. It
would not make a difference if he had never smiled, but a smile-less president
would not only look different, it would be ‘news’ and indicative of many things
political.
We make these observations in light
of something which is both laughable and also too serious to make jokes about.
On April 7 (Monday), the Lakbima
newspaper published a photo caption on Page 8 of Ayoma Rajapaksa, the wife of
the Secretary of the Defence Ministry at an event organized by the Seva Vanitha
of the Civil Defence Force. She was there as the chief guest. The photo shows her buying something from a
stall and the caption read 'Hora Salli
Nemeine...' (‘Not counterfeit notes, right?’ or ‘These are not counterfeit
notes’). The line makes sense only
because of a recent discovery of a large cache of counterfeit currency
indicating the existence of a sophisticated racket.
It is clearly a witty line and would
have elicited a laugh. It alerted the
public, thereby, to the issue. All in
all decent enough journalism, one would think. Few would conclude that it
insinuated that either the lady or her husband was implicated in passing around
counterfeit currency. The simple truth
is that the line would not work if it were, for example, a housewife offering a
100 rupee note to a mallun vendor at
the pola. President Rajapaksa, one
feels, would have laughed it off.
Lakbima, for whatever reason,
carried an apology on its front page the following day. The sub editor who put the headline ‘irresponsibly’
was thereafter interdicted. Now we can
conclude that the line had escaped the editor’s eye. If that’s the case and if the editor found it
objectionable the apology can be called appropriate and the interdiction
understandable. What happened thereafter, however, leads us to believe that
someone outside that newspaper appears to have been hurt.
Saman Wagarachchi, the Editor, was
still summoned and questioned about the photo caption by the CID for several
hours. According to Wagarachchi, the investigators had said they were
questioning him due to the mentioning of forged notes. However, they refused to
disclose who had made the complaint.
Police Spokesperson SSP Ajith Rohana, likewise, refused to divulge the
identity of the complainant.
This is ridiculous. If this
run-of-the-mill line of lightheartedness is objectionable then cartoons would
be out of order, satirical columns would have to be stopped. Collette,
Wijesoma, Yoonus and other greats would have been out of jobs if the powers
that be at the time they drew had dispositions as tender as that of the
offended in this case. We wouldn’t have
been thrilled and educated by columns such as ‘King Barnett’, ‘Manige
Theeruwa’, ‘Kasuruge Kolama’ etc. ‘The
Nation’ would have to drop its ‘lighter’ columns ‘View from Ritigala’,
‘Yakonet’ and ‘Meanwhile in a parallel universe’. Editors would have to ensure that the end
product is humor-free.
That’s so not Sri Lanka, by the
way. We are a nation that is resilient
and our resilience comes in part by our general ability to laugh things off and
laugh at ourselves. More seriously,
though, this move by authorities to rap knuckles has to be roundly condemned on
account of infringing upon media freedom.
Saman Wagarachchi is a senior
professional and is held in high esteem in the industry. The line in question is at worst mischievous
but any journalist and indeed most readers would call it ‘harmless’ if
questioned on the matter. Readers would laugh and forget about it. Now they
will find it hard to dismiss. They will
go ‘Aha!’ and ask themselves questions that are colored with suspicion. That’s what over-zealous reaction does.
Best for all concerned to drop
it, if necessary taking a cue from President Mahinda Rajapaksa. This is Aluth Avurudda, the
preeminent moment of national embrace.
It is for smile and laughter.
Let’s keep it that way.
msenevira@gmail.com.
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