{"id":44303,"date":"2015-12-05T00:45:46","date_gmt":"2015-12-05T04:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=44303"},"modified":"2015-12-05T00:45:46","modified_gmt":"2015-12-05T04:45:46","slug":"ranjan-ramanayake-and-arjuna-ranatunge-must-name-the-journalists-allegedly-on-payroll-of-avant-garde-and-ports-authority-the-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=44303","title":{"rendered":"Ranjan Ramanayake and Arjuna Ranatunge Must Name the Journalists Allegedly on Payroll of Avant Garde and Ports Authority – “The Island”."},"content":{"rendered":"

(Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Island” of December 5th 2015 under the Heading “Fish or cut bait!)<\/strong><\/p>\n

No sooner had Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake claimed that there were journalists among 300 \u2018outsiders\u2019 who had benefited from Avant Garde largesse, than Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said a dozen journalists had been on the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) payroll.<\/p>\n

Both Ranatunga and Ramanayake are political matadors known for their pugnacity. They are not known for pulling punches. But, they have, strangely, stopped short of naming names, in this instance, for reasons best known to themselves. Ramanayake has told this newspaper that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake are also privy to a list of Avant Garde beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

Ramanayake, in figure-hugging, short-sleeved shirts, flaunting his gym-toned muscles and flashing his trademark mega-watt smile, is a frequent visitor to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). It looks as if he were resident there, making complaints of corruption against various people including his ministerial colleagues. Why he has baulked at divulging the names of the journalists in the pay of Avant Garde defies comprehension.<\/p>\n

What has happened to our Captain Cool? He treated killer bouncers, toe-crushing yorkers and full tosses alike, danced down the track, throwing caution to the winds, instilled fear into the much-feared pacies and wily spinners and sent formidable opponents on leather hunts? Time was when he displayed his buccaneering spirit on the political front as well; he had the courage to take on the Rajapaksas in their heyday and throw his weight behind the war winning army chief Sarath Fonseka in the 2010 presidential race. But, today, he is too pusillanimous to name a few journalists who have allegedly got paid by the SLPA! Has Arjuna given up the fight?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It is incumbent upon Ranatunga, a champion of good governance, to name the journalists concerned and reveal the amounts and the purposes for which they have been paid. Will he also tell us what action he has taken against them? It is intriguing why he has not so far instituted legal action to recover the fraudulently disbursed public funds. That is unbecoming of a prominent member of the present government which campaigned on an anti-corruption platform before the Jan. 08 regime change.<\/p>\n

Arjuna has left much room for an argument to be peddled that he has concocted a story to make each and every journalist a suspect in the eyes of the public in the hope that damning media reports on him, his brother and the government won\u2019t be taken seriously.<\/p>\n

Most of the projects that the present administration suspended, immediately after coming to power, citing corrupt deals as the reason, have resumed. Some government top guns stand accused of having their palms greased. (Ask Ramanayaka, who frequently takes them to the cleaners!) The government is bound to get bad press in time to come. One wonders whether some of the ruling party politicians are working according to a plan to paint a black picture of the fourth estate.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, none of the media rights outfits have asked either Ramanayake or Ranatunga to either provide them with the names of journalists who have been obtaining money fraudulently or make them public.<\/p>\n

Parliament was told the other day that the much-awaited Right to Information Bill had passed muster with the Cabinet. Whether it contains the provisions the government promised the public and the media remains to be seen. But, that certainly is a progressive step that needs to be appreciated.<\/p>\n

So, it is up to Deputy Minister Ramanayake and Minister Ranatunga to respect the people\u2019s right to information by disclosing the names of the journalists who have got paid by Avant Garde and the SLPA. Let them be urged to fish or cut bait.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Island<\/em><\/p>\n

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(Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Island” of December 5th 2015 under the Heading “Fish or cut bait!) No sooner had Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake claimed that there were journalists among 300 \u2018outsiders\u2019 who had benefited from Avant Garde largesse, than Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said a dozen journalists had been on the …<\/p>\n

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