{"id":75803,"date":"2013-03-04T08:07:59","date_gmt":"2013-03-04T08:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=75803"},"modified":"2013-03-12T11:58:16","modified_gmt":"2013-03-12T11:58:16","slug":"bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC Says Applying For GSL Interest Free Loan Is Violation Of Its Code, Sinhala Service Corrupt Journalists To Be Re-Trained On Ethics"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Colombo Telegraph<\/a><\/span> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

The BBC World Service accepts that some of its Sinhala Section journalists have\u00a0breached journalistic ethics and violated BBC’s code of conduct by applying for interest free vehicle loans offered by the Sri Lankan Government. The BBC has also stated that the staff in breach of the code would be sent for retraining.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Colombo Telegraph exposed the applications made by two BBC World Service journalists to the Sri Lankan government to obtain\u00a0interest-free loans. After a series of exposures\u00a0about the serious conflict of interest issues and violations of\u00a0standard journalistic ethics, a public-spirited individual made a\u00a0complaint to the BBC. The BBC initially responded with a rejection of an inquiry on the basis that their employees had not in fact accepted the loans. This ridiculous response was quite rightly\u00a0appealed, and last week the BBC has accepted that the complaint in fact\u00a0raised a serious breach by its staff of the BBC code of conduct for\u00a0its employees.<\/p>\n

Two of its journalists, BBC World Service producer Chandana Keerthi Bandara<\/a><\/span> and the Colombo Reporter Elmo Fernando<\/a><\/span>, applied Rs. 1,200,000\/-each by way of interest free loans from the state banks to purchase cars or vans, where the interest will be paid by the Treasury using tax payer money.<\/p>\n

In a letter dated February 25, 2013 the BBC says; \u201cThe applications for the loans were reviewed and it was made clear to staff that it was not appropriate to have applied for them. All staff in question have been reminded of the BBC Conflict of Interest Guidelines and are re-doing the BBC\u2019s training course on this subject.\u201d ( Read letter below)<\/p>\n

Responding to the complainant, British journalist, Dushy Ranetunge<\/a><\/span>, on\u00a0February 11, 2013, BBC forwarded a letter by\u00a0its Sinhala Service\u00a0Editor\u00a0Priyath Liyanage<\/a><\/span>, which says, “BBC Sinhala member of staff Chandana Bandara was one of the hundreds who applied. From what he had told me, that his application had been successful… However, after careful consideration, the employee had decided not to go through with the application and accept the loan…Under these circumstances, I do not see the need for an investigation at present.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Forwarding Liyange\u2019s letter Dejan Calovski, BBC World Service, Audience Relations said, \u2018I hope the above allays the concerns you have raised and thank you for taking the time, and making the effort, to write.\u2019<\/p>\n

Responding to the above letter the complainant said; \u201cI wish to refer my complaint to stage 2, as I feel that your response does not address my concerns, especially when Mr Priyath Liyanage himself, who has responded to my complaint has been involved in this process, by issuing letters in support of these applications to secure the inducements\/bribes. ..There is no such thing called an interest free loan. The Sri Lankan tax payers have to subsidise these inducements, which the government of Sri Lankan is offering to Journalists, clearly with the motive of influencing them. These loans have to be approved and it is unlikely that they will be approved for journalists who are critical of the regime.\u2019<\/p>\n

According\u00a0to the Colombo Telegraph sources the\u00a0inquiry\u00a0has not yet been concluded.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Related posts;<\/p>\n

Interest Free Loan Scandal: BBC\u2019s \u00a341,000 Annual Salary Employee Was Favored By Sri Lankan Govt<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Exclusive: BBC\u2019s Londoner Who Applied GoSL\u2019s Interest Free Loan Receives RS 8.5 Million Annual Salary!<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Expose: BBC Sinhala Head \u2018Knowingly Mislead\u2019 The Public<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

BBC Editor Uses BBC Resources To Cover Up Personal Misconduct<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

No More Dr. Vickramabahu\u2019s Columns<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Left-Right Collusion: Socialist Bahu Called Capitalist Ranil And Urged Not To Expose BBC Misconduct<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

BBC Pussyfooting On \u201cTakes\u201d From SL Govt\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018BBC World Service Journalist\u2019s Interest-Free Loan Application \u2018On The Waiting List\u2019 Says Sri Lankan Government<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Applying And Receiving An Interest-Free Motor Vehicle Loan Will Damage BBC\u2019s Credibility Says The Former Head<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018It Is A Shame And Very Disappointing, BBC Should Investigate Its Journalists\u2019 \u2013 Says Dr Saravanamuttu<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Exclusive: Investigate Your Journalists! \u2013 Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe To BBC\u2019s Lord Chris Patten<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":75823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2187,1,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-most-popular","category-news","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nBBC Says Applying For GSL Interest Free Loan Is Violation Of Its Code, Sinhala Service Corrupt Journalists To Be Re-Trained On Ethics - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BBC Says Applying For GSL Interest Free Loan Is Violation Of Its Code, Sinhala Service Corrupt Journalists To Be Re-Trained On Ethics - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-03-04T08:07:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-03-12T11:58:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/BBC-Sinhala.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"375\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/\",\"name\":\"BBC Says Applying For GSL Interest Free Loan Is Violation Of Its Code, Sinhala Service Corrupt Journalists To Be Re-Trained On Ethics - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/BBC-Sinhala.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-03-04T08:07:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-03-12T11:58:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/BBC-Sinhala.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/BBC-Sinhala.jpg\",\"width\":\"375\",\"height\":\"300\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BBC Says Applying For GSL Interest Free Loan Is Violation Of Its Code, Sinhala Service Corrupt Journalists To Be Re-Trained On Ethics\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\",\"name\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BBC Says Applying For GSL Interest Free Loan Is Violation Of Its Code, Sinhala Service Corrupt Journalists To Be Re-Trained On Ethics - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BBC Says Applying For GSL Interest Free Loan Is Violation Of Its Code, Sinhala Service Corrupt Journalists To Be Re-Trained On Ethics - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2013-03-04T08:07:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-03-12T11:58:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":375,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/BBC-Sinhala.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/","name":"BBC Says Applying For GSL Interest Free Loan Is Violation Of Its Code, Sinhala Service Corrupt Journalists To Be Re-Trained On Ethics - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/BBC-Sinhala.jpg","datePublished":"2013-03-04T08:07:59+00:00","dateModified":"2013-03-12T11:58:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/BBC-Sinhala.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/BBC-Sinhala.jpg","width":"375","height":"300"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/bbc-says-applying-for-gsl-interest-free-loan-is-violation-of-its-code-sinhala-service-corrupt-journalists-to-be-re-trained-on-ethics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BBC Says Applying For GSL Interest Free Loan Is Violation Of Its Code, Sinhala Service Corrupt Journalists To Be Re-Trained On Ethics"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3","name":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/BBC-Sinhala.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75803"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75855,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75803\/revisions\/75855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}