(Lanka e News – 05.June.2018, 11.00PM) The TNL television network and the broadcasting service belonging to Shan Wickremesinghe who introduced television network in Sri Lanka for the first time were banned by President Pallewatte Gamarala and those stations were sealed .
This action was taken by the Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) under Gamarala .
Already the TNL television station at Polgahawela Broadcasting center had been sealed and the Broadcasting station at Karandeniya is to follow the same fate.
The reason for this is the alleged non payment of levies due to the TRC. After obtaining an injunction order from the Polgahawela magistrate based on a unilateral petition without the other side being noticed , the stations were sealed.
TNL owner Shan Wickremesinghe responding to LeN queries in this connection said , there was no notification regarding the arrears , if any , or about a case pending. For the last over 20 years all payments have been made duly to the TRC , however later some other issues cropped up . When letters were sent to the TRC in that connection the TRC had not responded until today, he lamented.
Shan went on to explain that he does not consider non payment as the issue for this diabolic action . This is only a retaliatory action against the programs which were conducted by his channels referring to the recent outrageous contradictory statements made by the president at the death commemoration of late Ven. Sobitha Thera . Hence it constitutes a media suppression , he highlighted. In any event he will be filing a case and claiming compensation he further revealed.
Shan Wickremesinghe is the elder brother of Ranil Wickremesinghe P.M. It is to be noted , while president’s daughter Chathurika after her father became president had established not one but two advertising firms and is gobbling billions of rupees of government funds and nepotism is at its peak , Shan despite being the brother of Ranil has never gone after requesting government advertisements for his channels .
The crazy contradictory statements made by the president recently at the commemoration ceremony were highlighted not only by the TNL but even by the other channels , yet Gamarala had taken revenge only on the channel of P.M.’s brother .
Even Lanka e news was banned within SL in like manner but there ,even a court order was not obtained.
In the circumstances the grandiose announcements made by the good governance government that media freedom was restored is just to hoodwink all and sundry. By now Lanka e News which first introduced on line Sinhala media , and TNL which introduced television network for the first time in SL have been banned .
Gamarala will go down in history as the only despotic president who banned a television channel in SL .Whither media freedom ?
Might we recall Lanka e News recently revealed that president Gamarala is suffering from a mental disorder. This episode only underlines the need for the president to take immediate psychiatric treatment before he makes a muddle of everything to the detriment of the country.
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by (2018-06-05 18:30:21)
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