Yesterday (07) the Opposition Party Alliance took the views of electronic media representatives on the proposed Broadcasting Authority Bill.
It was headed by the opposition leader Mr. Sajith Premadasa at the Parliament premises.
The discussion was attended by the heads of all licensed electronic media organizations and their representatives, and many representatives of media organizations and the proposed Broadcasting Authority Bill was discussed at length.
The Opposition Unity Committee has been appointed to study the proposed Broadcasting Authority Bill under the chairmanship of Professor Charitha Herath.
The opposition leader Mr. Sajith Premadasa stated in that meeting that he was against the relevant bill. Leader of the Opposition Ma explained at length about the issues arising through the Act and the impact on the independence of the media through the Act.
The opposition leader said that anything related to the media should not be brought by the government or politicians, be it media ethics or media regulatory matters, and said that such should be brought by the media itself.
Therefore, the leader of the opposition asked the relevant representatives to study the bills of the countries with advanced media traditions in the world and prepare an optimal proposal that can be accepted by all.
The leader of the opposition said that the government is trying to suppress the media through various provisions and stressed that media cannot be censored for any reason and freedom of the media is essential in a democratic society.
Professor G. L. Peiris explained at length about the eight serious problems in the proposed Broadcasting Authority Bill and said that this bill should be rejected as a whole. Professor G. L Peiris, who commented further, said that this bill even violates the Constitution.
Mr. Dallas Alahapperuma emphasized the importance of building up the professionalism of journalists.
Professor Charitha Herath said that TRC Act No. 26 of 1996 has also been included in the proposed Act and it is extremely serious.
He said that the appointment and composition of the members of the Act is extremely problematic and said that it is also an extremely serious situation.
On this occasion, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, Members of Parliament Dallas Alahapperuma, Professor GL Peers, Laxman Kiriella, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Tissa Attanayake, Imtias Bakir Marker, Gayantha Karunathileka, Dr. Harsha De Silva, Iran Wickramaratne, Nalaka Godaheva, Chandima Weerakkodi, Prof. Charita Herath, Wasantha Yapa Bandara and others were also present.
