In a statement, director general of the department Dr. Ranga Kalansuriya says a civilized society should not see the publicizing of such sensitive visuals, blurred or otherwise, as per international media principles.

Also, regulations governing how to report suicides too, should have been taken into consideration, he says.

He goes onto say that despite the Department’s responsibility not being to remind the media about ethics, time has come to make such reminders when considering professionalism in journalism.

The government believes that a main reason for the violation of ethics in this manner is the absence of an independent regulatory mechanism for the electronic media.

Kalansuriya requests all media institutions not to publicize such sensitive footage, and commends some of the institutions that had withdrawn the footage soon after the matter was raised with them.