PARLIAMENT

Hon. (Prof.) Sena Nanayakkara,—To ask the Minister of Health and Mass Media,— (1)

(a) Will he inform this House of the —

(i) number of Sri Lankan television channels that are broadcast in Sri Lanka at present;

(ii) number of government television channels and the number of private television channels that are among them, separately;

(iii) names of the government and the private television channels, separately?

(b) Will he also inform this House —

(i) whether he accepts that a code of ethics should exist  for the media;

(ii) of the manner in which the aforesaid code of ethics is being enforced in respect of the Sri Lankan television channels;

(iii) of the manner in which focus has been made on the programmes  that are being  broadcast  on television channels at present ;

(iv) whether an investigative course of action is going to be implemented in respect of the  programs concerned; and

(v) if so, of the manner in which such course of action is going to be  implemented?

(c) If not, why?