‘Dinamina’, leveling dangerous allegation against Press Institute

Free Media Movement (FMM), on Friday expressed serious concern against a false story planted in the Sri Lankan state controlled newspaper, ’Dinamina’, a paper considered as one of the mouthpieces of the government, leveling dangerous allegations against Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) and a group of journalists who participated in a journalism course in Denmark. The story alleged that the SLPI had sent members connected to LTTE under Journalist label. The FMM has demanded the Sri Lankan media minister to extend a formal apology to the Sri Lankan Press Institute (SLPI) and the journalists who participated a journalism training course in Denmark.

Full text of the press statement issued by the FMM follows:

State media level dangerous allegation against Sri Lanka Press Institute

Free Media Movement expresses its serious concern that State controlled media has levelled dangerous allegations against Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) without verifying the story from SLPI.

State controlled Sinhala language newspaper ’Dinamina’ considered as one of the mouth pieces of the government said in a lead story that “the police intelligence has received information saying that a group of members connected to LTTE were sent to Norway through Denmark under the Journalist label by the Sri Lanka Press Institute. This foreign tour has taken place in the year 2007.”

In a press release issued on 26th SLPI said: “Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) strongly refutes the prominently displayed front page story on June 26, 2008 Dinamina newspaper titled: “Eight Tigers sent to Norway under journalist label” as baseless, misleading and factually incorrect.”

According to SLPI there was no training program carried out by the SLPI in Denmark in the year 2007 as reported by the said newspaper. Applications were called on 05th September 2007 for a training program in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen titled ‘Media and Democracy.’

Approximately 100 journalists from television, radio and print media had applied, out of which 20 had been selected. The 20 journalists have attended the six-week training course from the 01st of April to May 03rd 2008. All of them have returned to the country on May 04, 2008 on board the same flight.

SLPI plays an important role in bringing member of media organization together in press freedom advocacy in Sri Lanka today and in this context FMM views this cooked up story as another attempt to intimidate media and media organizations.

Further this story implies the Tamil journalists who took part in the training programme as LTTE supporters. This allegation coming form a state media today is equal to unofficial death sentence passed on those journalists. FMM holds government and the news paper responsible for the dangerous situation that has been created for these journalists by this story who ever planted it.

FMM request Media Minster to make a formal apology to the SLPI and those journalists mentioned without delay.

via M@L

Permanent Peace on Sri Lanka in Less than 7 Days without Weapons

Peace talks had their chance. Weapons had their chance. Both failed. For years. It seems fair to give a third and more profound path to peace a chance.

Sri Lanka needs a systematic method to establish a profound, unshakeable, and permanent foundation on which to build a healthy society. There is such method, a long forgotten, but proven technology of peace, in the ancient Vedic tradition of India.

The Advantages:

• No killing, no bombing
• Risk free
• Inexpensive
• Fast results
• Stable peace
• Supports talks
• Positive side effects: Economic growth and crime reduction
• Verified by 23 published research studies and 50 demonstration projects

As all Vedic techniques, it is a technology of consciousness, and it makes relevant a key belief of the UN:

“War begins in the minds of men”. UNESCO

Certainly, peace must be born in the same place. Consciousness is the basis of both peace and war, yet no leader seems to have any clue about how to make consciousness harmonious. Vedic science and technology on the other hand, has focused on this for thousands of years.

Consciousness Is Fundamental
The Vedic perspective is simple: Action is based on thought, thougth is based on consciousness. When consciousness is harmonious, action will be harmonious. The same applies to a group of people or a nation. If tension is allowed to build up in the collective consciousness, it will be expressed in the actions of this group, like the color of ocean is expressed in the waves.

Tension Accumulates
From this perspective, the problems of any government has one fundamental cause; the accumulated tension in the collective consciousness of its people. Tension accumulates when the connection between the people and the source of harmony is lost. It’s like disconnecting the light from its source of power. The whole room goes dark, and in the dark it is easy to go wrong. For lasting peace and harmony, look for a lasting source of peace.

The Source of Peace
Anyone who has seen tall buildings in construction knows that the project starts by making a deep, unshakeable foundation. Nothing is more lasting, and nothing more unshakeable than existence, the state of Being. Nothing exists outside. It unites all diversity on the deepest, most silent, and least excited state of nature. It is absolute peace, unshakeable and eternal. It is the simplest form of awareness, known in East and West as the Self, the essence of the mind. And yet it is outside the daily experience of most people.

The Mechanics of Peace
In their meditation, experts on the TM-Sidhi program of his holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi allow their minds to settle down and experience pure Being. Acting from this most powerful level of nature, they stir the field of peace and generate waves of harmony into the surroundings.

The Field Effect
When dropping a pebble on a quiet surface of water, rings will spread to every corner. Like that the harmonizing effect of the TM-Sidhi Program spreads through the most silent, least excited level of nature to every corner of the collective consciousness. When consciousness becomes more harmonious, actions become more harmonious, including actions of a nation. It’s like changing the color of the ocean; spontaneously the waves will change color.

Proven, Fast Results
The TM-Sidhi program is a thoroughly tested technology of consciousness. The results of large groups of experts practicing this technology has been measured by social indicators and published in leading scientific journals, like the Journal of Conflict Resolution: Bomb shelling, war deaths and casualties decrease, crime decrease, and economic indicators turn positive. The results start appearing in statistics hours after reaching the magic number of experts.

Peace Is Inexpensive
Only 1000 experts the TM-Sidhi program are needed to create a permanent influence of harmony in the collective consciousness of Sri Lanka. It will cost 1 million dollars a month. Next year, Sri Lanka is to spend more than 100 million dollars per month on defence (1.4 billion in 2007 according to BBC News).

The Spiral of Violence
The greatest military power in the world has proven thoroughly that bombs and bullets do not solve the underlying problem. Iraq is costing the US 11 millions dollars per hour. It was supposed to be a short war. Look what they got: They create more terrorists than they are able to kill and more enemies and hatred than they are able to remove.

Weapons Don’t Grant Safety
Tense people with weapon in hand, don’t need more reasons to hate. They need peace, within. Weapons cannot create this peace. Consciousness CANNOT be managed with weapons. Consciousness is managed with technology of consciousness. This is why any type of military defence systems only give illusory safety. Unlike military defence, Vedic technology has a basis in reality, in Being. Sri Lanka can have permanent peace for only 1% of their defence buget. Prevention is always cheaper than cure.

Wise Tradition
Sri Lanka has a long tradition of looking within for wisdom. This is a chance to demonstrate that Sri Lanka has a deeper and wiser mind than the US, and that it does not have follow the superficial way of the west, a way disconnected from Being, disconnected from the underlying field of eternal peace and harmony. No wonder talks are fruitless.

Water the Root

Sri Lanka is better off enlivening peace in the collective consciousness and in every individual, like a gardener who enlivens the sap in every part of the tree by watering the root. Talks can only be successful AFTER peace is created in consciousness, for speech is based on consciousness. The sequence is critical: FIRST create harmony in the collective consciousness, THEN talk. Water the root, to enjoy the fruit. Talks will carry fruits within 7 days of establishing 1000 peace experts in Sri Lanka. Darkness backs off quickly when the sun rises, and when in peace mood, people change their mind even faster.

Prevent the Danger Now!
It is up to the wise and wealthy people of Sri Lanka to make the first move, for the government will only express the collective consciousness. When tension is high, leaders may not have the clarity and depth of mind to act on this offer of permanent peace. And when the leaders fail to do their duty, protect yourself: Give yourself an armor of peace by investing in Vedic peace technology, for your personal safety. Action equals reaction: An action creating peace gives a reaction of peace, it’s a risk free investment. Preventing the danger that has not yet come, is the way of the wise. Now is the time to speak up!

What You Can Do.

• Comit to funding peace experts, each $1000 per month
• Tell your politician, now!
• Write to the President of Sri Lanka

Wishing permanent peace and prosperity to Sri Lanka,

Christer Olsen
Peace Technologist
Norway

http://www.invinciblepeace.org