Agriculture Minister at Ran Aswanu launch :

Highlighting only negatives in media can retard country's progress

Ishara MUDUGAMUWA

" The media play a very important role in a country like Sri Lanka to bring important messages to the public," said Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane.

He was speaking at a ceremony to launch 'Ran Aswanu' published by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL), yesterday.

Private Secretary Wasantha Yapa Abeywardane, Additional Secretary D.B.T. Wijayaratne, ANCL Administration and Legal Director Rasanga Harischandra, Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane, Editorial Director ANCL Seelarathna Senerath, Ministry Secretary W.Sakalasooriya at the journal launch. Picture by Nissanka Wijerathna

"Sri Lanka is a democratic country. So media publicity is very essential to bring important messages to the public. The country is owned by the general public. Therefore, they have a right to know what is happening in the country and what the government is doing. Unfortunately, a majority of media organizations always try to highlight negative things such as crimes, abuses as they only seek commercial benefits," the minister said.

"The minister said the relevant authorities must take action against criminals. The media has the freedom to point out errors or mistakes. But, if the media always highlights only the negative things, it will retard the country's progress. ANCL is an institution which renders a great service for the betterment of the country. There was an era when the ANCL acted as the only media force to convey the conflict situation in the country." said the minister.

Minister Secretary W. Sakalasooriya said under the guidance of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Agriculture Ministry has a big responsibility to enhance the nutrition level of over 21 million people in the country. So it is necessary to bring the mssages about the agricultural sector to the general public specially the farmers. "The World Food Organization has recommended that the people eat 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day, but, Sri Lankans only get about 75 grams per day. It is necessary to forward these messages to the public to produce a healthy nation. We have scientists, technical officers. But we didn't have a proper way to disseminate their knowledge among farmers and the people. Ran Aswanu will be a great opportunity for us to make this effort successful." said the Secretary.

ANCL Editorial Director Seelarathna Senarath said ANCL has already started about 15 publications apart from the main

newspapers under the guidance of ANCL Chairman Bandula Padmakumara with the objective of keeping the readers with us. 'These papers have a huge demand among the readers. ANCL has been labled as the mouthpiece of the government as we work for the government. But other media too are mouthpieces of someone else. They too have their own agendas," said the Editorial Director.

ANCL Administration and Legal Director Rasanga Harischandra, Dinamina Editor Gamini Jayalath, ANCL Layout and Graphic Designing Managing Director Samantha Karunasekara, department Heads and ministry officials participated in the occasion.