91Èȱ¬

91Èȱ¬ World Service is suspending its FM programming to the Sri Lankan national broadcaster SLBC from Tuesday 10 February due to deliberate interference of its broadcasts by the Sri Lankan network.

91Èȱ¬ programmes and individual news reports in the English, Sinhala and Tamil languages have been blocked by SLBC and have not been broadcast to listeners in Sri Lanka.

The 91Èȱ¬ noted 17 instances of interference to 91Èȱ¬ Tamil and eight similar instances to 91Èȱ¬ Sinhala broadcasts between 27 November 2008 and early January 2009. Sometimes whole current affairs segments of 91Èȱ¬ programming were not broadcast on SLBC.

The 91Èȱ¬ expressed its concern directly to SLBC Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe in a series of letters and meetings throughout December and early January.

The 91Èȱ¬ made it clear to SLBC that such interference and blocking meant that 91Èȱ¬ programming was being editorially compromised by SLBC's actions and this was contrary to the 91Èȱ¬'s contractual agreement with SLBC.

Despite the warnings, last week there were several further instances of interference to 91Èȱ¬ programming in all three languages being broadcast on SLBC. There have been three instances of interference on 91Èȱ¬ Tamil output, one on 91Èȱ¬ Sinhala and two instances on the English language programming in the past 10 days.

91Èȱ¬ World Service Director Nigel Chapman says: "We are dismayed that the 91Èȱ¬'s programmes in the English, Sinhala and Tamil languages have been interrupted on the SLBC network. We are equally disappointed to see that our programmes continue to be interfered with even after our representations.

"We have no choice but to suspend broadcasts until such time as SLBC can guarantee our programming is transmitted without interference," he says.

"In order to cover news events in the most comprehensive and balanced way for our audiences, the 91Èȱ¬ adheres to specific editorial values that include impartiality, editorial independence and seeking a relevant range of views on any topic. In this way we can meet our audiences' high expectations and maintain our reputation as the world's most trusted international broadcaster."

He said: "The 91Èȱ¬ has had a very cordial and effective partnership with the SLBC since 1998 – part of a strong relationship with listeners in that country that goes back to the 1940s. We are keen to keep this relationship going provided that SLBC adheres to the agreements we have with it. But at the heart of these agreements is the guarantee that our programmes in English, Sinhala, and Tamil are broadcast uninterrupted. If this can not be guaranteed we can not continue our relationship.

"We are prepared to have further discussions to resolve this issue and will investigate any specific detailed complaint SLBC may have about 91Èȱ¬ output. So far, no specific complaint has been raised."

The 91Èȱ¬'s services in all three languages remain in Sri Lanka via short wave; on bbc.com/news, bbcsinhala.com and bbctamil.com via the internet; and news bulletins in English are available via the Sri Lankan commercial broadcaster MBC.

Notes to Editors

These are the short wave frequencies and timings to hear 91Èȱ¬ services in Sri Lanka –

91Èȱ¬ Tamil: 1545-1615 GMT (2115-2145 Local Time); 6135 kHz (49 mb), 7205 kHz (41 mb), 9540 kHz (31 mb)

91Èȱ¬ Sinhala: 1630-1700 GMT (2200-2230 Local Time); 7345 kHz (41 mb), 9615 kHz (31 mb)

91Èȱ¬ World Service in English: . Mainstays of the 24-hour a day coverage (but mainly daytime) are 17790 kHz (16 mb) and 15310 kHz 19 (mb). Evenings: 11915 kHz (25 mb), 9740 kHz (31 mb), 7355 kHz (41 mb), 5975 kHz (49 mb).

91Èȱ¬ World Service Press Office