Coronavirus And Invasion Of Privacy

With the number of COVID-19 patients in Sri Lanka relatively fast mounting, the behaviour of local media during the coverage of the pandemic has also increasingly drawing flack from the defence and health authorities. This media behaviour is under scrutiny again especially after hundreds of Navy personnel fell victim to coronavirus, as the media coverage of the situation has started to reflect adversely on them as well as on the activities of the armed forces who are engaged in combating the pandemic.

- M.S.M. Ayub

Three statements had been issued this week on the unethical behaviour of some media personnel and institutions that cover the COVID-19 situation and it is noteworthy that it was particularly the problems faced by the sailors and the authorities that had prompted all those statements.

The latest statement against the unethical behaviour of media has been made by Defence Secretary retired Major General Kamal Gunaratne on Wednesday. Although his statement had no direct reference to the media he was, in fact, dealing with an adverse effect on the lives of navy personnel and their families which has caused by the media.

He had made a request to the public in his statement not to stigmatise armed forces personnel, especially the sailors of the Sri Lanka Navy, who had been infected while fighting to contain the spread of the virus, and their families. “A number of sailors at the SLN Naval Base in Welisara has been contracted with the virus. They have been exposed to the virus while they were supporting the health authorities to find people, who were suspected to be infected with the virus in Suduwella, Ja-Ela. But, it is very unfortunate to see how people, whom they tried to protect, have complained against them when some sailors had gone home on leave,” he had lamented.

The extent to which the authorities have been hurt by the situation is well manifested by a remark by the Defence Secretary in his statement. He had said “these people have forgotten that the Tri-Forces personnel had saved them from terrorism, disasters like floods, landslides, tsunami and also man-made disasters risking their lives. But when they had fallen victim of this disaster people are going against them.”