Gazette by Elections Comm. : JHU opposed to 26th media guideline

The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) said today it was completely opposed to the 26th guideline out of the 36 gazetted by the Elections Commission to be followed by the electronic and print media saying that it was an attempt to separate politics from the cultural and religious background.

JHU National organizer Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe said his party accepted the guidelines to the media except for the 26th guideline which denotes that the use of national anthem, national flag, religious emblems, religious flags and other objects, persons with religious or national interest should not be used for promotion or demotion of candidates and advertisement comprising such objects or persons should not be telecast or broadcast.

He said they conveyed their objections regarding the 26th guideline to the Elections Commission and added that most of the past and present leaders had been working based on religious and cultural backgrounds and that the JHU was also based on religious and cultural backgrounds.

He said the Elections Commission should reconsider its decision with regard to the controversial guideline.

Mr. Warnasinghe said none of the political parties that were calling themselves to be nationalistic came forward against this decision and added that only the JHU as a political party opposed it.

Meanwhile, when asked Mr. Warnasinghe said the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) should release its report regarding the controversial Central Bank bond issue and that appointing a new Central Bank Governor alone was not enough to resolve the issue. (Ajith Siriwardana)

Video by Sanjeewa