| Description | Track 1: silence
Interview with an unidentified man who is a broadcaster at a radio station in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He talks about the difficulty of broadcasting during the insurgency and gives an outline of the events of the insurgency in different areas of the island and the work that the radio station did in preventing rumours from spreading that the insurgents had taken power in Colombo due to the lack of communication. He describes how he and his hand-picked colleagues kept the radio station going twenty four hours a day for fifteen days, living at the station in a state of virtual siege because of the curfew, and the physical danger that those working at radio stations were in. He goes on to discuss the relationship between broadcasters and the government in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and his own political views, and considers the changes in communication and social attitudes that the introduction of television would bring to the country, particularly in more remote areas. He discusses the extent to which the recent disturbances were influenced by unemployment and agrarian reform and previous government policies relating to land reform which established armed groups, some of whom became involved in the insurgency. He talks about infiltration of the radio station by people transmitting coded messages through obituary notices containing details about attacks, the dismissal of some staff members under suspicion of insurgent activities, and his own experience of having his car attacked by insurgents. He explains how people were unprepared for the events that took place, and the psychological effects of the insurgency on people in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) which has changed people's beliefs that the country was essentially a peace loving place (tracks 2-15).
Track 16: undated news report on the activities of Front de libération du Québec (Québec Liberation Front), for the International Service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 1.47 mins
Total: 27.23 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF565D0362980 |