දේශපාලන අර්බුදය, මහජන අරගලය සහ විරෝධතා

Abstract

Mirihana protest: During the month of April 2022, the protest which occurred in front of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence was covered in newspapers as follows; on April 1, 2022, Lankadeepa, Divaina, Mawbima, Aruna, Ada, Daily Mirror, The Island, Ceylon Today and The Morning reported it, while Dinamina and Daily News did not report on the protest.

Protest by University of Peradeniya Students: On April 03, 2022, while Sirasa, Hiru, Swarnavahini and Derana covered the protest in their headlines in a way that shows the gravity of it, headline of ITN implied that the university students protested for fun, while Rupavahini did not have a headline on it.

Protest in front of parliament: On April 6, 2022 Divaina, Aruna and Mawbima reported on the army motorbikes that came in the middle of a protest that was held in front of parliament from different angles. While Divaina highlighted that the combat riders were opposed by the police, Aruna highlighted that there would be investigations on the police officers who opposed the riders. Mawbima reported the news with ambiguity that unknown bikers without number plates caused tensions at the protest.

During the month of April 2022, Sunday Aruna, Silumina and Divaina criticised the protesters engaged in protests against government, claiming that they are English-speaking Colombo-based crowds, not the actual people affected by the economic crisis.

Chilaw protest: When two concurrent protests occurred in Chilaw, one in support of the government and one against the government, Derana, ITN, Hiru and Swarnavahini reported on both the protests. Rupavahini only covered the one that was in support of the government. Sirasa did not feature either in their 7 pm primetime news telecast.

Rambukkana protest and shooting: On April 20, 2022 Lankadeepa, Aruna, Divaina, Mawbima, Ada, Virakesari, Thinakkural, Thamilan, Daily Mirror, The Morning, Ceylon Today and The Island reported on the police opening fire on protesters at Rambukkana as the main headline on front page. Dinamina and Thinakaran did not report on the shooting or the death that occurred subsequently on that day. While it was not their lead news on front page, Daily News reported on the shooting and the death. On April 21, 2022, Dinamina and Aruna editorials discussed the Rambukkana incident, where Dinamina spoke in favour of the government by condemning the protest, calling protesters 'rioters', Aruna condemned the violence and identified the victims as 'protesters'. On April 21, 2022, Derana, Hiru, Swarnavahini, and Sirasa revealed the identity of the witnesses who testified in the shooting. Rupavahini and ITN did not feature any statement from the witnesses.

Using spike barriers to stop protesters: Sirasa, Derana and Hiru reported that barriers with spikes had been used to stop protesters in Colombo, while Rupavahini, ITN and Swarnavahini did not report on it.

Teachers-Principals strike: When reporting on the strike by the teachers and principals in headlines, Rupavahini and ITN condemned the teachers and principals for going on strike, while Derana, Swarnavahini, Hiru, Sirasa and Siyatha tried to give a full picture while being unbiased.

Islandwide labour unions' protest: Derana, Swarnavahini, Hiru and Siyatha covered the islandwide strike scheduled for April 28 in their headlines on April 27, 2022. Sirasa and Rupavahini did not have headlines on it. ITN did not report the news. Front page headlines on the union actions of Dinamina sought to highlight the public inconvenience caused by it, while Lankadeepa, Divaina, Mawbima, Aruna and Ada reported in neutrally. On April 28, Sirasa, Derana, Swarnavahini, Hiru and Siyatha headlines spoke in support of the strike, ITN and Rupavahini highlighted that a number of government institutions did not join the protest and the essential services did not stop.