The failure of the media, civil society and the

moderates
Ph
oto by AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena via The Star
by Hejaaz Hizbullah
- on 05/09/2014
SC [FR] 97/2014 is a Fundamental Rights application
currently pending before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. FH the Petitioner is an 11
year old Muslim girl who has named amongst others her school Principal as a
Respondent for violating her Fundamental Rights by preventing her from attending
school attired in a punjabi kit. Long before the war, in 1980 Mr M D D Peiris the then
Secretary to the Ministry of Education issued a circular permitting Muslim girls to
attend school attired in this way. As a school uniform the punjabi dress comprises of a
white frock, a white trouser and a cloth shawl pinned on either side onto the lapels. It
is considered traditional attire for Muslim girls.
FH is my client and I act as her Counsel.
Five years after the war this is the second case before the Supreme Court on the
right to go to school in this attire. As a non-Muslim Bishopian commented, her Muslim
friends came to school attired in the punjabi even in the 1960s.
My first case on the Punjabi attire which ended with the acceptance by the
Respondents and the court of the Muslim childs right to attend school attired in this
way received moderate publicity mainly in the Tamil Muslim oriented media.
But now things have changed. FHs case has received wide media attention. By May
4th, 2014 there have been five feature/opinion pieces published. Four in the Sinhala
press and one in The Sunday Leader. There have also been 17 news reports, with 3
reports in the Tamil press, 9 in English and the Sinhala papers carrying the remaining
5. Why? What caused this?
With four opinion pieces the Sinhala press has certainly been interested in the story.
However there are some interesting aspects of the Sinhala media coverage of an
issue affecting Sinhalese and Muslims.
1. The incidents relating to FHs case took place on March 3rd, 2014. By March 12th,
2014 the issue had received coverage in only two news reports in The Sunday
Leader and The Ceylon Today. However on March 12th, 2014 the Bodu Bala Sena
had a press conference on this issue which as usual made front page news.
2.
2. The BBS really inspired the Sinhala media to cover the story. The reporters spoke to a
lot of people. They gave voice and created a platform for the BBS to tell its views, for
the School Principal to put her side of the story, then the non-Muslim parents of the
School also had their say. However to-date not a single reporter from the Sinhala
media or even those who wrote the opinion pieces contacted FH or her parents to get
their views or comments.
3.
3. Despite failing to talk to the other side they still make the allegation that behind this
issue are Islamic extremists.
4.
4. Being one sided these articles are replete with inaccuracies and incorrect information
and fail to mention the Ministry of Education circular issued in 1980 which allows for
this attire.
5.
Five years after the war the media coverage on FHs case is reflective of how we have
crumbled as a society.
On April 20th, 2012 the Masjidual Hairiya Jumma Mosque in Dambulla was attacked
on a Friday minutes before the congregational jummah service was to begin. It was an
act of serious provocation by Buddhist priests. It occurred whilst the Police watched
and the entry into the mosque was with Police permission. To avoid a confrontation the
Muslims were asked to leave. When the Muslims returned, the mosque had been
damaged, copies of the Holy Quran torn apart and signs of someone having urinated
inside. Two years from the incident not a single arrest despite enough video footage
of the offence and the culprits.
However it has not been just one mosque. The hate has spread like wild fire. On
Facebook, a person proudly claiming to be a Royalist called for the killing machine to
commence just like 83, a Muslim owned driving school near the Sabaragamuwa
University was forced to close down for being Muslim owned, countless Muslim
owned businesses attacked and harassed with the attack on Fashion Bug in
Pepiliyana making the headlines, pregnant Muslim mothers refused treatment
because they were in hijab and abaya in Deltota, Muslim visitors who went to see
patients at several hospitals refused entry because they covered their head and a
Muslim doctor had her hijab ripped off by a patient at the Colombo South Teaching
Hospital. This is leaving out the big ones like the attack in Grandpass. All of these are
cases of ordinary people doing things to ordinary people.
There is so much hate that there is a prediction that the 1915 anti-Muslim riots will
receive a bloody commemoration in 2015.
But how did we disintegrate?
Institutionally we have collapsed. Institutions that would act to keep out viruses from
spreading and arrest the bacteria have failed in their tasks or rather have abdicated
their responsibilities. Despite the Religious Police the main culprit roams and spews
hate freely, openly and shamelessly. But it is not just the Police, the Civil Service, the
Parliament or the Opposition that have failed. The Media, Civil Society and the
Moderates have also failed.
The media reports on FHs case is full of comments and opinions of the hate mongers
such as the BBS and the Sihala Ravaya. Not a single comment from a moderate. Did
any moderate make a comment? I dont know I did not hear of it.