Keerthi Fernando
Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo says that no politician who appears to wield great power is eternal and that their party ideologies will be reduced to ashes and dust, and the media that distorts social thought by sowing their political ideologies instead of standing up for the truth also will be joined them.
He pointed out that most media outlets are not run to stand up for the truth, but to disguise the truth and distort society according to the thinking of the politicians who rule the country.
He said that newspapers who stand for politicians and depended by politics are not even worth the money value of a piece of paper. The Archbishop further accused that they are betraying the truth of this society.
This was stated by the Cardinal at a special service held at St. Peter’s Paul’s Church, Ragama yesterday (29) to mark the seventh anniversary of Verbun TV.
There he also said:
“Most media outlets are governed by the thinking of the rulers. In this situation a question arises about the truth of the society. If truth loses its place in society, the media must be proactive to the extent that it loses it. If it is directed by the political media it is unfair. What should be done by the media is to find out the truth and inform. “
“But we see that there is no room for truth. The truth is being betrayed. There is no freedom to find the truth. They only post what they want. A program to conceal the truth is being launched in the society. ”
There is a newspaper. That newspaper only writes government stuff. The government appoints that institution. In that situation only those who are in favor of the political ideology of the government are taken in the newspaper. Even a piece of paper has no value in that newspaper. This is a disrespect to human society. The media is used to create various problems in the society by distorting the minds of the people by fabricating false reports and making various reports. It’s a tragedy in the light of the situation. ”
Those who are biased in history are melting away. Not always. Leaders are also melting. No matter how much power there is. One day it will all turn to dust, to dust. Turns to ashes. If the media works to protect its theories based on them, the same thing will happen to the media.
“If the interpretation given by the government, the interpretation given by the opposition and the interpretation of another party is the only true one, then the media will have to say that it will not tolerate any longer.”
Honesty is essential to our society today. To be honest. If a government, an opposition party, another party or another group is working to cover up the truth and make the lie king, it should be the real responsibility of the free media to expose it. People should not be afraid to tell the truth.
Because the truth cannot be concealed. Someday the truth will come out. Then the nakedness of those who told the truth will come out.
I would like to urge Sri Lankan journalists never to try to hide the truth. Stand up for the truth. Even if it is true, act with courage. That is the main service that journalists can do to the society of Sri Lanka today.
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