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Â鶹Éç 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.

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

The Â鶹Éç expressed its concern directly to SLBC Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe in a series of letters and meetings throughout December and early January.

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

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

Â鶹Éç World Service Director Nigel Chapman says: "We are dismayed that the Â鶹Éç'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 Â鶹Éç 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 Â鶹Éç 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 Â鶹Éç output. So far, no specific complaint has been raised."

The Â鶹Éç'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 Â鶹Éç services in Sri Lanka –

Â鶹Éç Tamil: 1545-1615 GMT (2115-2145 Local Time); 6135 kHz (49 mb), 7205 kHz (41 mb), 9540 kHz (31 mb)

Â鶹Éç Sinhala: 1630-1700 GMT (2200-2230 Local Time); 7345 kHz (41 mb), 9615 kHz (31 mb)

Â鶹Éç 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).

Â鶹Éç World Service Press Office