Friday, 26 October 2007

Minister of Mass Media and Information Anura Priyadarshana Yapa at a media briefing this morning in Colombo stated that the Government was compelled to unwillingly recall the license of Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt.) Ltd. )(ABC network) for its news broadcast 24th night which created a big commotion following the news item that the LTTE had entered Ranminithanna, a village in Tissamaharamaya close to the sacred city of Katharagama.

The army and the police were engaged in laying away the fears of the panicked public which otherwise might have turned in to a situation of communal chaos. On the 25th on receiving the above information, Minister said that he ordered an inquiry on the matter and directed to look in to it and verify the facts and make suitable recommendations. Accordingly, the Secretary to the Ministry looked in to the matter and reported of the falsehood in the news item.

The minister said that news casting must be done in a responsible way. The action of ABC network amounted to a gross violation of expression of media freedom. Therefore in the interest of the public, he was compelled to withdraw the temporary license that had been issued to the above company.