The BBC Sinhala Service, which has been listening to the Sri Lankan people in times of crisis, has decided to abruptly shut down from November 30. This service which listens to 833,000 listeners a week did a great service to the society of exchanging information from the people, victims during the 87-89 period of terror and the civil war in Sri Lanka. The loss of the Sandeshaya is a great loss to the people of Sri Lanka.
Even today, there are many people who use the Sandeshaya and the Sinhala web page to find out the accuracy and truth of information.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the United Kingdom says it is not appropriate for a large number of Sri Lankans to suspend the BBC Sinhala service in such a free space at a time of crisis over human rights and media freedom.
In September 2020, the BBC service planned to stop radio programs by March 2021 and switch from social media to six jobs. But all of a sudden, on November 20, the radio station announced that it would suspend broadcasting from November.
The Deputy General Secretary of the National Association of Journalists, Seamus Dooley, has objected to this and pointed out the facts.
Sandeshaya is preparing to end the program at a time when Sri Lanka needs it. This very sudden and serious decision of the BBC is causing great harm to its journalists as well as its listeners. The decision undermines the BBC’s stance on the service, and regrets not appreciating the value of that service.