'Independent media prerequisite for law and order'

[icernet-admin at listserv.cddc.vt.edu]

Of course the media need to be free from political, commercial and other 
pressures to carry out their responsibilities without fear or favour. 
Freedom of information and freedom of speech are the guarantors of good 
governance. There is vast body of evidence and analysis - with examples 
drawn from across the political spectrum- to show that the suppression or 
denial of these two basic freedoms can reverse gains made in social, 
economic or cultural terms, Sir Clarke said.

The 1959-61 Great Famine of China is one extreme example. It killed upto 40 
million people. yet, while starvation and death stalked the land, 
information about it was completely suppressed. Instead, manipulated 
harvest figures were given out to mislead the Chinese people and the rest 
of the world. The true extent of that horror only emerged in dribs and 
drabs decades later, he said.

In his lengthy evidence Sir Clarke said that Indian economist Amartya Sen, 
winner of the 1998 Noble Prize for economics, was the first to argue in the 
early 1980s that the tragedy was exacerbated by the suppression of 
information. Censorship contributes to famine, he wrote, concluding that it 
is much more difficult for famines to occur in countries with a free press. 
The creation of Good Society requires not only media freedom but also media 
responsibility. Many years ago, a British Prime Minister accused newspaper 
magnates of enjoying the privilege of the harlot throughout the ages - 
power without responsibility.

Today the TV screen is more powerful than newsprint and whatever the bean-
counters might say, responsibility should always be the bottomline, he 
added. 

Source:
http://www.dailynews.lk/2003/11/25/new25.html