Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute

The Easter Sunday bomb attacks exposed the defects and shortcomings of Sri Lanka’s security establishment.   A series of coordinated bombings on that day rocked Sri Lanka, killing at least 257 people and wounding 500 others. The attacks, carried out by two Muslim extremist groups were the deadliest the island has witnessed since the end of its civil war 10 years ago. The attacks targeted three churches as well as four hotels in the Western Province. Since 2009, Sri Lanka enjoyed a negative peace. Having ended a war that lasted close to 30 years, the bomb blasts evidently caught people by surprise. The prospect of encountering terrorism of this nature appears to have not been registered even within the security establishment of Sri Lanka. Security experts, since 2009 in particular, have focussed on the maritime security aspect of Sri Lanka’s security and as a consequence failed to notice the emergence of internal security threats. Lately, public criticism has been d...

Introduction Due to the increase in technological advancements worldwide, access to information has also increased dramatically. Details of a particular event can reach a large audience instantaneously. These changes are due to the ever increasing access to the internet and availability of smartphones; resulting in more individuals having access to information through blogs and social media platforms. This article will compare “traditional media” with “New Media” and examine why new media has become an increasingly popular source of information. Along with the advantages of new media, the article will explore the negative effects of new media in society and how civil society organizations can mitigate them whilst using new media to create a more positive impact in Asian societies. “New Media”: the new player in Asian Journalism. New media mainly refers to “computer-enabled media” such as blog sites, instant messaging applications and social media platforms. 1 In Asia, the u...