Nothing to ban, says Minister

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

There is a Censor Board for television and it censors imported films, teledramas and advertisements, Cabinet Spokesman and Information and Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said.

Addressing the weekly Cabinet press briefing held at the Government Information Department Auditorium yesterday, Minister Yapa said television comes under the subject of `Information and Media' and not Cultural Affairs.

"Therefore ethically the Cultural Affairs Ministry should consult the Media Ministry when implementing anything related to media. But it did not happen.

This fact will be brought to the notice of President Mahinda Rajapaksa," he said.

The cultural foundation of a country should be well protected and there is no argument about it.

But advertisements that requires screening such as visuals of consuming alcohol and smoking have already been banned in the media.

"Even visuals in classical Sinhala movies have already been banned.

Therefore there is nothing more to ban," he said