New head calls for report on BBC deal
By Shelani Perera
The new chairman of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Hudson Samarasinghe, has called for a full report on the alleged move to hand over the English Service to the BBC.

Under the previous chairman the SLBC had drawn up an agreement with the BBC but trade unions had seen it as a move to hand over the English Service to the BBC. After protests the authorities had discussed the draft agreement with them.

The former chairman had given details of the agreement to the trade unions. Although the agreement is yet to be signed the unions were informed of some details. However with the change of chairman the agreement has come to a standstill.

According to the agreement the BBC will be given 18 hours of air time and the English Service two hours - to broadcast news, announcements and obituaries. The service would be leased out for US$ 75,000 per year to which the unions had objected, stating that the sum was too low.

Convenor of the Joint Trade Unions Kavi Keshwara told The Sunday Times the unions informed the management that they need to study the agreement. The unions were promised a copy of the agreement but they have not received it yet.

Meanwhile the new chairman said he had already appointed an officer to study the agreement. "Once the report is submitted I will take a decision as to whether to proceed with the matter," he said.

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