Verité Media

March 11 – March 17, 2024 | Vol.14, #11

IMF Tracker

Sri Lanka failed to verifiably meet 33 percent of the commitments due by end-February in its IMF programme, the bulk of which were designed to improve governance, according to the February update of Verité Research’s IMF Tracker.

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Ethics Eye

How did Canadian media and Sinhala media report on the recent mass killing of a Sri Lankan family in Ottawa, Canada?

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This week in The Media Analysis...

01. Gota’s conspiracy: Comedy, criticism and credibility
02. The Language Divide
03. The TV coverage of the issues
04. This week’s cartoons
05. This week’s memes
06. Other topics covered in reportage

Past issues can be viewed here

Disclaimer: This week’s TMA is focusing on the launch of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s book titled ‘The conspiracy to oust me from the presidency’.

01. Gota’s conspiracy: Comedy, criticism and credibility

Event: On March 7, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa launched a book titled ‘The conspiracy to oust me from the presidency’.[1][2]

Analysis

Over the past week, the launch of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s book, which details the series of events leading to a ‘conspiracy’ to oust him from the presidency, did not receive wide coverage in the Sinhala mainstream media (TV news bulletins and print media) and social media commentary.[1] The limited coverage that did appear was overwhelmingly critical of both the book and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Within the social media commentary on the launch, Gotabaya was subjected to rejection and ridicule. As it was with the social media commentary on Sanath Nishantha, Keheliya Rambukwella and Basil Rajapaksa, the hashtag niwan suwa (similar to Rest-In-Peace) appeared in the comments section on Gotabaya. As indicated in past issues of TMA, in Sinhala usage, this is a form of blessing when directed at those who have passed away but a form of curse when directed at those who are living.[2]

This week’s TMA unpacks two framings discerned from the Sinhala media coverage afforded to Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s book as briefly discussed below.

Frame 1: Criticism of the ‘conspiracy’ and character of Gotabaya Rajapaksa

In the past, during the 2019 Presidential Election campaign, Gotabaya was portrayed as a decisive ‘doer’ and strict ‘disciplinarian’, framing him as the most capable and results-driven candidate for presidency.[3] However, this positive image began to wane following the COVID-19 pandemic and the onset of a rapidly worsening economy. Gotabaya faced sharp criticism for his inability to effectively manage the public health crisis and for his economic policies which came to be seen as severely misguided and shortsighted.[4] This shift in perception reached amidst the aragalaya (name given to nationwide social protests) in 2022 resulted in the call for his resignation. During this period,Gotabaya was increasingly seen as an utterly incompetent leader who feared the protesting masses.[5] In the protest slogans used in the aragalaya he was referred to as Gota gobbaya (trans. Gota the nincompoop)[6] – associating him with incompetence and poor judgement. The Sinhala term gobbaya used in slogans in the aragalaya had been previously used in a song featured in a popular comedy video released in 2020.[7]

In last week’s media discourse, critics of Gotabaya and his book were featured in the print media, including but not limited to Sunday Lankadeepa and Anidda. They framed his conspiracy claims as comical and lacking credibility. They depicted him as incompetent and inefficient – a portrayal that resonates with the ridicule and rejection associated with him both prior to and during the aragalaya. Consequently, Gotabaya’s book was met with a similar reaction – critical, comical and questioning both the credibility of his character and the content of the book (please see memes published in this issue of TMA).

Frame 2: Credibility for the conspiracy

Last week’s media coverage of Gotabaya’s book also featured marginal views that attached credibility to his claims of a conspiracy. Sinhala media voices including the privately-owned Divaina, MPs Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and Pavithra Wanniarachchi echoed Gotabaya’s claim that the conspiracy to oust him was led by Western powers and the LTTE diaspora. The currency for this narrative of a ‘West-led conspiracy’ draws from the longstanding suspicion and apprehension within segments of the Sinhala psyche of Western powers overinfluencing domestic politics.[8] Although the release of the book appears to have failed to revive Gotabaya as a credible figure, it may have reinforced the narrative of “Western conspiracy” against certain political groups in Sri Lanka while favouring others, building on the existing mistrust within certain segments of the Sinhala population towards Western nations in particular, and international actors in general.

Overall, there was a noticeable absence of defence of the aragalaya in last week’s Sinhala media discourse though the subject for ‘conspiracy’ in the book was related to the aragalaya. This lack of defence may be attributed to the diminishing presence of the aragalaya in the public consciousness, a change driven by two main factors. First, the movement became fragmented after the ousting of Gotabaya, lacking a unifying vision or a clear directive for future action, in contrast to its previously focused demand for his resignation.[9] Second, the momentum and ideals of the aragalaya appear to have significantly coalesced with the activities and ethos of the NPP. This in turn has occurred due to two factors: (a) the NPP advocates for a system change[10] – a key demand that emerged from the aragalaya. The NPP champions drastic changes in every sector in the country including education and economy; (b) the NPP is untainted by corruption related allegations that has allowed it to speak against corruption – corruption being an issue that the polity in Sri Lanka has always been angry about.[11] A frequent hashtag that appears in the social media commentary, together with the hashtag niwan suwa mocking Gotabaya, Sanath Nishantha, Basil Rajapaksa and Keheliya Rambukwella, is malimawata jaya (trans. victory to the compass – the symbol of the NPP). The energies and expectations once directed at Gotabaya for political novelty and system change appear to now be directed at Anura Kumara Dissanayaka and the NPP. As such, a segment of the aragalaya seems to be in support of Anura Kumara Dissanayaka and the NPP for representing a few key demands that emerged from the aragalaya.
[1] In accordance with TMA’s methodology to monitor social media, the TMA  team filtered the five posts with the highest interactions on Facebook in Sinhala for the names Rajapaksa, Gotabaya and the term conspiracy using CrowdTangle, from March 7 to 15.
[2] See, TMA Vol.14, #04, Vol.14 #06 and Vol.14, #10.
[3] See, TMA Vol.09, #39 & 40.
[4] See, TMA Vol.11, #24 and Vol.12, #11.
[5] See, TMA Vol.12, #13 and Vol.12, #14.

[8] See, TMA Vol.09, #42, Vol.09, #45, Vol.10, #27 and Vol.13, #22.

[9] See, TMA Vol.12, #18, Vol.12, #42 & 43, Vol.13, #20 and Vol.13, #28.
[10] See, TMA Vol.12, #15 & 16, Vol.13, #18 & 19 and Vol.13, #20.
[11] See, TMA Vol.12, #27, Vol.13, #07 and Vol.14, #02 & 03.
02. The Language Divide

Signposts the differences and nuances in reporting between Sinhala and Tamil language newspapers

Last week’s Sinhala and Tamil press converged in relation to four main stories. The four stories were on: (i) the launch of the book titled ‘The conspiracy to oust me from the presidency’ by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa; (ii) the increase in alleged criminal activity in the Southern part of the country; (iii) preparations of political parties in anticipation of an election; (iv) open dialogue between government and opposition MPs on the proposals of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Sinhala press exclusively featured the increase in the wages of Central Bank employees and the ongoing effects of the economic crisis and the increase in taxes. The Tamil press exclusively featured the arrest of eight individuals at a Shivarathri pooja at Vedukkunaari Hill Athi Sivan Kovil.

Do you want to see the divided priorities on a daily basis? Check out FrontPage. It captures the day’s headlines and features succinct summaries of the political news reported in the most widely read Sinhala and Tamil newspapers.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry accepts the demand for federalism and devolution of powers

On March 6, Minister Ali Sabry made the following statement in parliament: “The devolution of powers will not lead to the country being divided.” On March 7, he made the following statement in parliament: “The Tamil people have the right to demand federalism; no future without resolving the ethnic crisis.”

Over the two days, Tamil newspapers Virakesari, Thinakkural, Thinakaran and Tamil Mirror reported the news. However, none of the Sinhala newspapers reported the news.

03. The TV coverage of the issue

The data on television coverage is based on the monitoring of the primetime news telecasts of selected Sinhala language TV channels uploaded to YouTube. The news item was not featured in headlines from March 11 – 15.

04. This week’s cartoons

Courtesy of Lankadeepa, Mar.15, 2024

Courtesy of Virakesari, Mar.14, 2024

Courtesy of Tamil Mirror, Mar.14, 2024

05. This week’s memes

We who are waiting in a queue to get sir’s book

Context: The images of queues are in reference to fuel queues that were formed during the economic crisis in 2022.

At the Oscars held on March 11, 2024, wrestler and actor John Cena attempted to recreate the moment when a streaker ran nude during the 1974 Academy Awards. John Cena presented the award for best costume design.

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Side paragraph: How Rome was challenged and dishonoured by the use of international potions to bring about a system change

Book title: The conspiracy that failed to conquer Pappagama (Gaul)

Author: Julius Caesar

Context: Uses the storyline of the popular comic Asterix to ridicule Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s book. In the Sinhala dubbed Asterix cartoon, Gaul is referred to as Pappagama.

“How do you make a country bankrupt in two years?”

Just buy and read my new book as you eat, drink and make merry (chuckles).

Sri Lankans: Why did you reduce the price of kerosene? Is it to set ablaze and die?

06. Other topics covered in reportage
  1. Basil Rajapaksa’s return to Sri Lanka
  2. Imprisonment of former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella
  3. Privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)
  4. The reported increase in traffic accidents
  5. The United National Party’s (UNP) election related campaign activities

To view this week’s news summaries, please click here