22 August 2006
JOURNALIST MURDERED AS ATTACKS ON MEDIA INCREASE
Attacks on journalists and media outlets appear to be increasing in Sri Lanka's Jaffna peninsula amidst heavy fighting between security forces and the separatist Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels. In the past two months, two journalists have been killed, two newspaper distributors murdered, and the warehouse of a newspaper burned down, report Free Media Movement (FMM), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
On 20 August 2006, Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah was shot dead in his home near the northern city of Jaffna. Sivamaharajah, 68, was the managing director of "Namathu Eelanadu" ("Our Eelam Nation"), a Tamil-language daily newspaper. Sivamaharajah was also a member of the Tamil National Alliance, a pro-LTTE political party. His newspaper is thought to be sympathetic to the LTTE cause, according to CPJ.
Sivamaharajah is the second journalist killed this year. On 2 July, unidentified gunmen shot and killed freelance journalist Sampath Lakmal de Silva after abducting him from his parents' home in Borallasgamuwa.
A newspaper vendor and a newspaper distributor have also been killed in recent weeks. Sathasivam Baskaran was shot dead in Jaffna on 15 August after delivering that day's copies of "Uthayan", a daily Tamil-language newspaper, reported FMM. Newspaper vendor Mariathas Manojanraj was killed by a mine on 27 July while going to pick up copies of the Tamil-language daily "Thinakkural" in Jaffna, reported RSF.
Two other media personnel have been killed this year. On 2 May, gunmen burst into the offices of "Uthayan" and killed marketing manager Suresh Kumar and Ranjith Kumar.
Meanwhile, two warehouses belonging to the Jaffna-based "Uthayan" were burned down by unidentified assailants on 18 August, reported FMM. Newsprint and electronic equipment worth 3 million Sri Lankan rupees (approx. US$28,850) were destroyed. "Uthayan" is the best selling and oldest newspaper in the Jaffna peninsula, FMM notes. It has been the main provider of daily information in the absence of local television or radio stations. Four "Uthayan" employees have been killed in the past few months.
Distributors of "Thinakkural" and another Tamil-language newspaper, "Sudar Oli" in the eastern districts of Batticaloa and Amparai received threatening phone calls in late July, forcing them to stop distributing in the area, notes the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Visit these links:
- FMM: http://www.freemediasrilanka.org
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18618
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/asia/sri21aug06na.html
- IFJ: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=4139&Language=EN
- Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/08/21/slanka14056.htm
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