Description

Cabinet press briefing informed that the Press
Council has been identified to be “structurally
reformed as a Tribunal for journalists and media
institutions covering electronic, print and new
media.” A proposal was also made by the Minister
of Mass Media, to appoint a committee to obtain
recommendations from civil society and public for
amending the Sri Lanka Press Council Act, to suit the
present day needs. Media organizations such as Free
Media Movement (FMM) vehemently opposed this
proposal. In a letter to the Secretary of the Ministry
of Mass Media and Information, FMM said that Press
council law has been severely detrimental to media
freedom over the years, and therefore they call for
abolition of the law rather than reforming it. Media
activists believe that the media should not be
controlled by a politically appointed body, instead,
through a self-regulatory mechanism which is free
from all political interference.