The Maldives Media Council MMC says the "Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation Bill" is designed to give control of the entire media to a political party with a majority in the then government and parliament.
MP for Thulhaadhoo Constituency, Abdul Hannan Abubakur, submitted the bill earlier this week, which proposes to combine the Media Council and the Broadcasting Commission to form a new entity that would regulate media practices in the country.
In a statement, MMC said that the bill is now designed to severely restrict the constitutional right to the press and other related rights.
The Media Council noted that the bill contained many provisions that undermined freedom of the press, prevented the maintenance of the basics of journalism, and restricted freedom of expression.
The new bill was designed to merge the Maldives Media Council with the Broadcasting Commission, but the rights of broadcasters/re-broadcasters and journalism rights have been mixed up, and the journalistic rights of print/online media have been overshadowed.
The Media Council has expressed concern that the bill proposes radical changes in the field of journalism without the consultation of the journalists and other stakeholders in the sector.
