By

Vishnuguptha

Lasantha Wickrematunga

In the days of television, internet and cellular phones, a period spanning four years seems like an eon as far as the number of events that occur during a 24-hour period is concerned. Life-cycles of events get shorter and so do their memories; the advent of television has brought about a revolution in dissemination of information so much so that folks have got used to morning news-shows on television before they leave for their jobs. The news websites on the internet have added a further impetus to this trend.

The four years that have passed since Lasantha’s demise, have witnessed many changes in his profession and an apathy bordering on fear seems to have set in on the minds of the average journalist. This is most evident and manifest in the self-censorship that the journalists have imposed on themselves. When fearless, bold and honest reporting is the call, our journalists seem to have settled down to a comfort-zone from which they seem terrified to emerge. They seem to have found lasting contentment in indulging in various nuanced arguments and theories, instead of attacking the targets that deserve attack.

Daring investigations

The shocking under-coverage or zero-coverage of the shameful behaviour on the part of some notorious politicos and their henchmen and the scant respect that they display towards civil intercourse is ample testimony to such propensities. In such a stale atmosphere of fear, hesitancy, indecision and cowardliness, can one expect an honest and dedicated journalist to do his reporting and writing about and commenting on the most distasteful and dishonourable acts – commissions and omissions of those who hold the reins of power?

Is it fair for one to expect such ‘bravery’ and ‘courage’ from mundane writers? How far is a budding investigative reporter willing to go in search of social-ills and their perpetrators? How far are their Editors willing to drive these up-and-coming journalists to go after the ‘ills’ of society and present those ills, their perpetrators, their root causes and their (un)natural evolution into a more shocking syndrome that would eventually engulf society and cause the eventual decay and destruction of its value systems and morals? Investigative journalism has its inherent dangers and perils. The challenge and the test of an innovative and daring journalist is to recognize it; smell it before it starts emanating its nauseating and foul stench, recognize the potential of the ‘story’ before anyone else does and go after it, do the necessary research and write about it, without holding back any punches, so to speak. Then we come to the obvious question: has bold and innovative investigative journalism died with Lasantha?

Contribution

When assessing the contribution made by Lasantha Wickrematunga towards Sri Lanka’s journalism, one cannot escape from the current environment and its evolution since his death. For, such an evaluation should be essentially related to and be viewed in the context of the socio-political development of Sri Lanka’s polity. The factual record of these four years has been narrated by many a writer, especially during the anniversary week of Lasantha’s death. Although the effort of this writer is not confined to offering a traditional appreciation or a tribute to a slain professional, a critical appraisal of the general atmosphere that is prevalent in the country might well be the need of the hour.

Lasantha was an extraordinary journalist. The contacts, both within and outside the governing circles that he established and nurtured were wide and were always a subject of envy of his contemporaries. Those contacts were his treasured sources of information; they were his treasures, which he visited time and time again, to dig out more and more. The sources kept growing while a side that was concealed inside various closets started bearing open either some miserable conduct of a budding politician or a perverse demeanour of a private sector CEO. The financial dishonesties, intellectual deceits and cruel and inhuman ghosts that haunted these targets were the subjects of Lasantha’s many a marvellous piece of investigative writing.

Building up sources and nurturing them is a special skill, yet it is only a ‘skill’ as opposed to ‘talent’, that can be taught or imparted by a senior journalist to a junior partner. Such skilled journalists can be found among us today in dozens.

Writing skill

Then writing in the most exciting manner, riveting the attention of the reader to what is written and thereby building one’s own niche readership is also a skill that Lasantha possessed and showed in his writings. The skills he displayed in the Suranimala column are ample evidence of his prose style; simplicity and the ability not to be verbose made him understandable even by a novice reader of English letters. His style lacked that unhealthy quality of the snob-journalist whose condescending writing manner angered many a reader. However, writing too is a skill that can be inculcated if the learner is willing and able. There are a few such great writers who are present in the market place today. In that sense too Lasantha was not unique.

Commitment is another virtue Lasantha showed in no small measure. Once he started an investigation, until he collected all the data, facts, figures and statistics he did not rest. The essential corroborative documents and affidavits that one needed to build a fool-proof case became easy apparatus in the able hands of Lasantha. His education and his profession as a lawyer helped him in his journalist’s trade. They are all acquired skills and aptitudes.

But what struck me most as unique in him was his daring, the daring to go where no man has gone before, so to speak. That boldness put him on a totally different pedestal in that, he had no equal in Sri Lanka. In the most arduous circumstances, against all odds, he showed courage and fearlessness that no educator or teacher could teach you.

That is why I dare say that with Lasantha died the purest form of investigative journalism in Sri Lanka. Pundit Nehru remarked: “The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.” Lasantha was never too cautious and he paid the price with his life for that. Whoever killed Lasantha achieved their purpose, at least for the time being. The dearth of daring reportages about corruption among politicians is telling; the culture of displaying rashness at the most inopportune time and then succeeding simply because of that rashness, is absent today.

Heroism

Yet, the world of journalism, at least outside the shores of Sri Lanka, is full of brave and daring heroes. Afghan war, Bosnia, Chechnya, Russia and China are some of the theatres that have produced many memorable dramas and performances of journalistic heroism and the daring of the spirit. If not the journalist, who else is going to give you the truth, its many-sided shades, its source and its defilements and its ultimate exposure? It is the journalist and none else. The risks, the perils and hazards as Voltaire said, are many and frequent; but man has come a long way from fear and hesitancy, he has travelled many a hazardous path and overcome untold jeopardies and he has risked his life to satisfy his inner craving for knowledge, truth and justice. He has measured himself, at times of crisis, against the greatest odds and triumphed, not because that triumph was his ‘destiny’ but because he was well-prepared and skilled and above all superlatively determined. The spirit that keeps burning inside him can never be extinguished; it knows no bounds or limits; it lasts as long as he, himself lasts.

It is that spirit which is in short supply today. The bold approach to investigative journalism has flown out the door. In Sri Lanka, journalism is poorer because such a one like Lasantha is not with us today.
COURTESY:CEYLON TODAY