President urge electronic media to be ethical and professional

President Maithripala Sirisena emphasized that it is the responsibility of all electronic media institutions of the country to provide accurate information to the public for their benefit.

“It is problematic how far the media institutions in the country act in an ethical and professional manner within the Government policy on media freedom and it is the duty of these institutions to use the given media freedom in a professional manner”, he said.

He pointed out that it will be a key responsibility of these institutions because the frequencies given to the electronic media institutions by the Government are assets of the Government and the public.

He made these remarks during a meeting with the officials of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission and the heads of the electronic media institutions, held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.

President Sirisena also said that some media institutions violate the rules and regulations in the licenses issued to them and some of them even misuse the frequencies allotted to them under these licenses.

During the meeting, the Telecommunications Regulatory Bill and the activities of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission were discussed in detail. "The Government will take steps to make amendments to rectify the existing loopholes in the Telecommunications Regulatory Act and will take steps to appraise the judicial sector in a comprehensive manner."

President Sirisena also said that he had received information regarding the fraud and corruptions occurred in the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission and he further said that steps will be taken regarding these issues in accordance with the Government’s policy of eliminating fraud and corruption from the country.