Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe today stated that controlling media is not the government’s duty and that the Executive has no say over it.

“As far as I know controlling the media is not the duty of the government. The executive does not have authority,” he told reporters outside the Kollupitiya Walukarama Buddhist Temple.

Wickaramasinghe today handed over the constitution proposal drafted by the UNP to the Mahanayaka of the Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Sangha Sabha Most Ven. Bellana Gnanawimala Thera.

On the code of media ethics proposed by the government, he stated that constitutional laws pertaining to the media are created after discussing it with media persons and organizations. 

Referring the President Rajapaksa’s comments that an all inclusive code-of-ethics for media should emerge from within the media industry itself, Ranil stated that the government is now saying it will give the media the authority to come up with a code-of-ethics for itself.

“How can the government provide an authority which it doesn’t have?,” he questioned while emphasizing that the executive does not have the authority to control the media.

The Parliament can construct law pertaining to the media, but as a tradition it is done by discussing with the media or by obtaining public opinions, he said. 

Reiterating that the executive has no right to control the media or to tell them they have been given the right, the UNP leader said: “media rights can be given back only if it has already been taken away.”