Sri Lankan media muted by fear: media freedom hits all time low

Sri Lankan media muted by fear
Media Helping Media – London,England,UK
  <http://www.mediahelpingmedia.org/content/view/380/1/>
Tuesday, 05 May 2009

The late Lasantha Wickrematunge A Sri Lankan journalist says the country’s media is practicing an unprecedented level of self-censorship due to a climate of fear enforced by abductions, assaults and murder.
 
Sunanda Deshapriya, speaking at the South Asia World Press Freedom Day Conference, said journalism in the country has “hit an all time low” following the murder of editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, who has been posthumously awarded the UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize 2009.
 
Lasantha Wickrematunge was assassinated on 8 January on his way to the Sunday Leader offices where he was editor. The following is an shortened version of Deshapriya’s address, which has been emailed to this site.

In memory of Lasantha Wickrematunge
Lasantha is not the first journalist to be assassinated in Sri Lanka in recent times. And I am afraid that he may not be the last. But his killing sparked off a fear that no other journalist’s death generated. It was like a final warning.
 
 Death was the penalty for airing dissenting opinion.

Just two days before he was killed, a popular TV and radio station, the MTV/MBC network was set on fire. Two weeks after the killing of Lasantha an attempt was made on the editor of the Rivira newspaper, Upali Tennakoon. A month later the editor of  the SuderOli newspaper, N. Vithiyatharan was abducted and assaulted. The government later announced that he was in their custody. Five weeks later the editor of  the Vaara Ureikal M.I. Rahmahetulla was attacked with long knives and his office was destroyed.

During the same period a number of editors were summoned to police intelligence units and questioned on war related issues and demanded to reveal their sources. Suppression of media freedom and threats to journalists increased in Sri Lanka during the first three months of 2009.

Over the last three and half years, 20 journalists and media workers have been killed in Sri Lanka.

Other news and alternate points of view became rare. The official government line was repeated again, this time sternly “Criticism and dissent in times of war is treason.”

It is in this context that we must place Lasantha’s contribution to media in Sri Lanka – that is media behavior in times of war.

Of course there are many other contributions he made, such as his pioneering efforts in investigative and campaign journalism. His courageous advocacy of a negotiated political settlement to the conflict as opposed to a military option.

Sri Lankan media post Wickrematunge
To understand his contribution better, what we need to do is to look at media in Sri Lanka today, post Lasantha.

We all know that Sri Lanka is going through a humanitarian tragedy of untold proportions. The international media covering the Sri Lankan conflict does attempt to have a diverse and inclusive coverage.  It is due to their efforts that the world came to know of the suffering of our people in the Vanni in recent weeks.
 We journalists in Sri Lanka failed in the basics of journalism, we failed to do our duty by the suffering people in Vanni.  Most of us who watch BBC , Al Jazeera , CNN have seen the footage of mothers soaked with the blood of their infants, fathers who carry their dead children, and hundreds of Tamil civilians killed in the battle field.

Those are powerful images which show the horror of war that could have evoked a public response and even an outcry against the execution of a bloody war that victimizes mostly the non combatant civilians.

Tamil civilians were being killed and injured in the hundreds everyday. This is a fact of life that no one can deny.

The Sri Lankan media has hit an all time low at present. This is true of the printed word as well as the audio visual media in covering the conflict and offering diverse opinion.
 Not a single Sri Lankan newspaper or a TV station prints or telecasts the horrifying  images of the war zone today, the same we get to watch on international television coverage and in foreign newspapers.

A vast majority of Sri Lankans only hear and see war propaganda.

For example, on a day that more than a hundred civilians had died in the war zone, one newspaper carried only one news item on civilian deaths: “three children killed by Tiger fire”. 

Of course, the LTTE indiscriminately uses civilians as a human shield and there are credible reports to prove that they are shooting at people who are trying to escape. But those of us journalists who have witnessed this war for decades, know the other side does it too.
 
Government fire also kills. Bullets do not discriminate. And whoever uses more firepower kills more.

Do we have a right to report when government fire kills? Do we have a right to investigate and report when charges are leveled against the government on the use of cluster bombs?  Do we have the right to report on casualties of both sides?  Do we have a right to investigate and report when hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in a war zone without basic human needs?
 
Finally, when we report, as journalists do we have the right not to take a side in this war?  If you look at Sri Lanka today the answer is a big NO!
 Today, Sri Lankan media is practicing an unprecedented level of self-censorship.

This war is a war without witness. War propaganda is what is dished as news.  This is true for both sides. In suppressing media both sides have become mirror images, complementing each other.  

A culture of silence prevails when it comes to reporting the horror of war and the humanitarian tragedy. A culture of impunity prevails when it comes to crimes against media and journalists.

As journalists we are aware that we are exercising self-censorship. Those of us who believe in publishing the truth, talk about that need amongst ourselves. But who amongst us is prepared to take that risk, after Lasantha’s killing. 

His death had silenced many.  Post Lasantha, the space for alternate news and another point of view is scarce.

 When people do not have fair access to information that is relevant to their lives, such a society becomes one of blind followers airing and printing the voices of the political masters.

This is where Lasantha made his mark.  He pushed the limits set by the authorities. He dared to go beyond. He dared to challenge.

He was fearless in performing his duty as a journalist. He never gave in to the pressure of self censorship. He dared to dream.

Given the current military/political context of the country, I think Lasantha’s central contribution to media in Sri Lanka was his courage and capacity to challenge the censorship within and outside. Official and unofficial.

Under Lasantha Wickrametunge, The Sunday Leader imbibed the true spirit of journalism, covering all sides of the war and often giving expression to the civilians’ point of view.

Lasantha reported on war casualties of both sides. He covered the unfolding humanitarian tragedy. He investigated and reported on military procurements.

He challenged those in authority continuously and unrelentingly. He lived by the codes of the fourth estate and played the role of watch dog through public spirited journalism.

No doubt this is why he was killed.

 Journalism is not a mere vocation but a service.

In the name of Lasantha Wickrematunge we all need to strive for qualitative journalism, which is accurate, balanced and fair journalism.

Hopefully, this period of darkness over the media in Sri Lanka will end sooner than later allowing journalists to practice their vocation without the shackles of today. I live in hope and I live for that day.

UNICEF expresses concern over LTTE recruitment of child soldiers

News note

More children victims of the conflict, says UNICEF

COLOMBO, 17 February 2009  – With a growing number of children being recruited by the LTTE and scores of children being killed or injured in fighting, UNICEF today expressed its gravest concerns for children, as Sri Lanka’s conflict enters a new phase.

 

“We have clear indications that the LTTE has intensified forcible recruitment of civilians and that children as young as 14 years old are now being targeted,” said Mr Philippe Duamelle, UNICEF’s Representative in Sri Lanka. “These children are facing immediate danger and their lives are at great risk. Their recruitment is intolerable.”

From 2003 to the end of 2008, UNICEF has recorded more than 6000 cases of children recruited by the LTTE. “Child soldiers suffer physical abuse, traumatic events and face death. Instead of hope, fear defines their childhood,” said Duamelle.

UNICEF also said it was extremely alarmed at the high number of children being injured in the fighting in the northern area of Sri Lanka known as the Vanni. “Scores of injured children have been evacuated in the past week,” said UNICEF’s Duamelle. “Children are victims of this conflict by being killed, injured, recruited, displaced, separated and denied their every day needs due to the fighting.”

The main injuries to children have been burns, fractures, shrapnel and bullet wounds. UNICEF reiterates the call it has made time and again to Government and the LTTE – civilians, especially children, must be given every protection from the fighting.

UNICEF, together with other UN agencies and partners, is responding to the needs of 30,000 people who have been able to leave the Vanni and are now receiving humanitarian assistance away from the conflict. UNICEF’s emergency support is in water and sanitation, nutrition, protection and education. UNICEF said it is crucial all civilians in the Vanni are able to leave and reach a safe area where they can be urgently assisted.

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Sri Lankan journalists demand justice, “Stop violence against media”

Mon Jan 26, 4:22 AM ET

A senior journalist wears a mask and holds a placard during a joint media protest, to condemn the assault on Rivira newspaper editor Upali Thennakoon, in front of the presidential residence in Colombo January 26, 2009. Sri Lankan journalists media rights group, civil rights organizations and trade union activists attended the media protest to demand and pressure for proper investigation from the government on the killing of journalists, abductions, assaults and attacks against the media.REUTERS/Buddhika Weerasinghe(SRI LANKA)

Sri Lankan newspaper editor stabbed

Journalist attacked in Sri Lanka

The Associated Press

Friday, January 23, 2009

Fri Jan 23, 2:11 AM ET

Upali Tennakoon, editor of Sri Lankan newspaper Rivira, lies on a hospital trolley in Colombo January 23, 2009. Tennakoon and his wife Dhammika Tennakoon were assaulted by unknown people on motorcycles while driving to office, journalists at Rivira said.REUTERS/Stringer (SRI LANKA)

COLOMBO: Assailants on motorbikes attacked a Sri Lankan newspaper editor and his wife as they drove to work on Friday morning, stabbing them repeatedly, the authorities said. The couple had minor wounds, and both were expected to recover.

The assault came two weeks after Lasantha Wickrematunge, editor of a paper that is harshly critical of the government, was shot by unknown assailants on motorcycles.

His killing, just two days after gunmen with grenades shot up a private TV station, prompted a wave of international criticism against Sri Lanka over the safety of journalists. No arrests have been made in the killing.

On Friday, four people on motorbikes blocked Upali Tennakoon’s car outside of Colombo as he and his wife were heading to work at the independent Rivira weekly newspaper, said a police spokesman, Ranjith Gunasekera.

The assailants then repeatedly stabbed the couple, he said.

Prasad Ariyawansa, a doctor at Colombo National Hospital, said Tennakoon had been treated for lacerations to his hands and forehead; his wife also had some lacerations.

The government has been criticized for arresting journalists critical of its policies and its war on ethnic Tamil rebels.

On Friday, Human Rights Watch called on the government to drop charges against J.S. Tissainayagam, an ethnic Tamil journalist who was arrested in March and indicted under an anti-terrorism law for two articles he wrote about issues confronting Tamils.

CPJ calls for diplomatic pressure on Sir Lanka after gunmen assassinate editor of The Sunday Leader newspaper

Editor shot repeatedly in the head and chest on his way to work in Sri Lankan capitol Colombo

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Diplomatic pressure needed to protect journalists

New York, January 8 (CPJ)—With today’s murder of the editor-in-chief of the The Sunday Leader newspaper, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on concerned ambassadors in Colombo to weigh in forcefully and immediately with President Mahinda Rajapaksa to put an end to the attacks raining down on Sri Lanka’s media.

Editor Lasantha Wickramatunga was a prominent senior Sri Lankan journalist known for his critical reporting on the government. A source in Sri Lanka who insisted on anonymity out of fear for his safety told CPJ that Wickramatunga was shot repeatedly with an automatic pistol equipped with a silencer while driving to work in the Colombo suburb of Attidiya. His assailants bashed in

the window of the car before shooting him in the chest and head, according to colleagues and local and international news reports. He was pronounced dead shortly after 2 p.m. in Colombo, after three hours of emergency surgery.

This morning’s killing follows the January 6 early morning assault by about 15 masked gunmen on Maharaja TV (MTV) studios outside Colombo. Earlier, some state media had called the station “unpatriotic” for its coverage of the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). CPJ called for an impartial parliamentary inquiry into the attack, saying the government has been a prime suspect in attacks on journalists in the past. Rajapaksa has condemned today’s killing as well as the attack on MTV.

“The sheer brutality of the attacks in recent days is a clear indicator of how the war on the Sri Lankan media has moved far beyond the use of threats, intimidation, legal harassment, and sporadic violence to curb the media,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “The assassination of Lasantha Wickramatunga signals that the government is unable or unwilling to protect the country’s journalists who dare to report critically. The international community in Colombo must act quickly to bring pressure on President Rajapaksa to reverse this murderous trend.”

The Sunday Leader is well known for being critical of Rajapaksa’s government. In a recent editorial, the paper accused the president of stepping up the war with the secessionist LTTE in order to stay in power.

Sunday Leader Editor shot dead

By Sarath Malalasekera and Rafik Jalaldeen

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan. 8 (Daily News)—Editor of the Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickramatunga was shot dead by unknown assailants travelling on a motorcycle at Attidiya near Mt. Lavinia yesterday morning.

Wickramatunga was driving to office when the gunmen targeted him near the Bakery junction in Attidiya. The incident occurred around 10.30 am.

He was rushed to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital with severe gun shot wounds and was immediately put under surgery.

According to Director Colombo South Teaching Hospital Dr. Anil Jasinghe, the victim was brought in a critical condition with brain injuries due to gun shot wounds. Two specialist teams of Neuro Surgeons were dispatched to the Hospital to assist but by then it was too late.

Police Spokesman Senior SP Ranjith Gunasekera said special police teams from the Mt. Lavinia Police were conducting investigations to trace the motorcycle and the gunmen.

Wickramatunga (50) who is also an attorney-at-law had earlier worked at the Island and Sun Newspapers before taking over his present assignment.

An old boy of St. Benedict’s College, Kotahena he was also a good sportsman while at school.

President condemns killing of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramatunga

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday condemned the murder of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickramatunga.

The President in his statement said: “My Government and I most vehemently and unequivocally condemn the murder of Lasantha Wickramatunga, Editor of The Sunday Leader, which took place yesterday.”

“I am both grieved and shocked by his tragic death as Mr. Wickramatunga was a close friend of mine who I have known for many years as a courageous journalist.” “This heinous crime points to the grave dangers faced by the democratic social order of our country, and the existence of forces that will go to the furthest extremes in using terror and criminality to damage our social fabric and bring disrepute to the country.

It is significant that such an attack was carried out at a time when the country is gaining repeated victories over the forces of terrorism, in our efforts to establish freedom and democracy throughout the country.”

“I have directed the Police to conduct the most thorough investigation to bring to book any and all persons responsible for this act of brutality, with maximum speed.”

“On this sad occasion I extend my deepest sympathies to the members of the family of the late Mr. Wickramatunga, to all his colleagues in The Sunday Leader and associated newspapers, and in the profession of journalism.”

Despite grave threats of this nature, my Government reiterates its commitment to upholding the principles of Media Freedom and Freedom of Expression, even under the most trying circumstances, as we have witnessed today.”

EU condemns assassination of Sri Lankan journalist in Colombo

BRUSSELS, Jan. 8 (Xinhua)—The European Commission condemned the assassination of the chief editor of the Sri Lankan Sunday Leader newspaper, Lasantha Wickrematunga, who was shot Thursday morning near Colombo and has subsequently passed away, and urged the Sri Lankan authorities to take measures to ensure safety of journalists in the country.

“I was deeply shocked to learn about today’s assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunga, the chief editor of Sri Lanka’s Sunday Leader newspaper. This attack comes just two days after a privately-owned television station was attacked and set on fire and follows several incidents of harassment and threats of journalists in Sri Lanka that have occurred over recent months,” said European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner in a statement.

“Our concerns about the freedom of the media, already under severe pressure from assaults and intimidation, have been exacerbated by the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunga,” she said.

Meanwhile, she called on the Sri Lankan government to put in place protection mechanisms to ensure safety of journalists in Sri Lanka. “I urge the Sri Lankan authorities to take all necessary steps to bring the perpetrators to justice, as there can be no impunity for these terrible crimes,” she added.

Unidentified gunmen shot and injured Wickramatunga at about 10:30 a.m. (0500 GMT) in Attidiya, a suburb area south of Colombo, and died later in hospital due to injuries. The incident came only two days after MTV and Sirasa TV studio complex in the Colombo suburb of Pannipitiya was destroyed by an armed gang.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has ordered the police to carry out an investigation into the attack on the studio, but so far nobody has been arrested. Earlier, the Sirasa TV was criticized by some sections for not patriotic in covering the current military conflict between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels.

Al-Masakin News Agency
http://almasakinnewsagency.wordpress.com

Attack on Sri Lankan MTV/MBC may have been the work of a pro-government group

SRI LANKA: ‘Attacks on Media Will Continue’
By Feizal Samath

COLOMBO, Jan 7 (IPS) – It was typical of what Sri Lankan media has been facing over the years: a pre-dawn raid on a media house, employees beaten up and costly equipment destroyed. Maharaja TV, the latest victim, was also promised the routine, impartial inquiry by the government.

‘I would be happy and pleasantly surprised if anything comes out [of the government investigation],” Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, political analyst and executive director at the local think tank Centre for Policy Alternatives, told IPS. “The culture of impunity will continue.”

The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), expressing shock over the incident, commented: “The only difference this time is the massive extent of the attack.”

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, masked gunmen stormed the premises of the MTV/MBC broadcasting station at Pannipitiya, south of Colombo and a few kilometres from Parliament building. Holding staff at gunpoint they proceeded to destroy the main control room.

Chevaan Daniel, channel head of Maharaja TV (MTV), part of Sri Lanka’s giant Maharaja Organisation, told IPS that the gunmen, dressed in black, used explosives to systematically destroy every piece of equipment on the premises.

“It was a sight of utter and total devastation,” Daniel said. Empty bullet shells were strewn on the floor of the premises of MTV/MBC, which runs the most popular radio and TV stations in Sri Lanka.

While no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, security experts say the fact that the gunmen were armed with T-56 assault rifles, pistols and hand grenades and came in an unmarked (no number plates) vehicle and went about their job with military precision, points to the involvement of a pro-government group.

Sections of the state media had accused MTV/MBC of being ’unpatriotic’ in its coverage of the fall of the Tamil separatist rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi on Jan. 2 and other victories of the Sri Lankan army in the north of the island.

MTV (which stands for Maharaja TV and is unconnected to the U.S. channel) denied the allegations and said it devoted more than 20 minutes — much more than other channels — of its 30-minute newscast on the fall of Kilinochchi and showed footage of the celebrations by residents in Colombo.

Soon after the attack, President Mahinda Rajapakse condemned the incident and ordered a full probe while several members of his cabinet visited the broadcasting station and expressed concern.

But suspicion quickly fell on the government or its agencies and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) was among groups that called for an independent parliamentary investigation.

“Even with its condemnations, the government can no longer be trusted to act with impartiality when it comes to those who want to silence Sri Lanka’s media,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia coordinator. “Far too often, the government or its unofficial allies have been prime suspects behind attacks on journalists and media organisations.’’

“Violence and threats against such privately owned media outlets and journalists trying to impartially report on the conflict must stop,” the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.

Most independent observers were agreed that the intimidation of media will continue and that the investigation ordered by the government will take a familiar route and lead nowhere.

Jehan Perera, columnist and executive director at the National Peace Council (NPC), linked the attack to the government’s determination to hold on to power by silencing or eliminating the opposition.

He said the government would do anything to get away from human rights violations and increasing concerns of the international community.

U.S. ambassador Robert O’ Blake and Canadian high commissioner Angela Bogdan led those who condemned the attack in press statements. MTV’s Daniel said envoys from many countries had expressed concern and called for an impartial investigation.

Despite a proliferation of media rights groups emerging in the past decade in Sri Lanka, journalists have never felt as threatened as they do now.

Fifteen journalists and media industry workers have been killed since 2006 while another 15 have been abducted or arrested by police. At least two newspaper offices have been ransacked and equipment destroyed. No one has been arrested, detained or blamed by the government in a single case despite ‘extensive investigations’ by state agencies.

In 2008, a particularly difficult year for the media, the government introduced new rules controlling TV broadcasting and new media which journalists say were ‘’draconian and repressive’’ and amounted to censorship.

The new rules control content and restrict TV licences to just one year against five to seven years earlier. They also seek to control content on MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), a popular form of news dissemination in this war-torn country.

Daniel said he has had little time to recover from Tuesday’s attack as “I had to get the ‘troops’ together and continue broadcasting under difficult odds’’. He said the attack was a slap on the face of freedom of expression of every single Sri Lankan. “People should not only have the right to expression but also the right to listen.”

Media analysts said the broadcaster’s Sinhala-language SIRASA TV channel was the most popular TV channel on the war-torn island. NPC’s Perera said SIRASA was very positive to views articulated by peace-promoting organisations ‘just like mine’.

Perera said for the last two decades society has been led to believe that the main issues in Sri Lanka were the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), terrorism and protection of the motherland. “People think these are the root cause of all sufferings in Sri Lanka and nothing else matters,’’ he commented.

LTTE rebels are now defending just a few areas under their control in the northern region which the government says will fall any moment now. There was no word on the movements of the group’s elusive rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran or whether he was still in northern Sri Lanka.

Saravanamuttu said there was no demonstrable commitment by the government to properly investigate crimes against the media. “The regime is using the war to consolidate its hold on power.”

‘’It is time to raise the antennas to issue early warning signals, locally and internationally, about the situation of democratic freedoms and human rights which have become unmanageable disasters in Sri Lanka,’’ the AHRC commented.

(END/2009)

Committee to Protect Journalists calls for inquiry into attack on Sri Lankan Maharaja Television (MTV)

 

Attack on broadcaster needs independent inquiry

New York, January 6, 2009–Following today’s early morning assault by about 15 masked gunmen on Maharaja TV’s (MTV) studios outside the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, the Committee to Protect Journalists called for an independent, nonpartisan parliamentary board of inquiry to investigate. 

Attackers shot at and destroyed broadcast equipment, held staff at gunpoint, and attempted to burn down the station’s facilities, according to local and international news reports. Three TV channels and four radio stations of MTV’s parent company, MBC, were off the air for several hours. MTV’s Web site is still unable to transmit due to the attack. On Sunday, the station was hit with a gasoline bomb, but there was little damage.

In a statement today, Mass Media and Information Minister Anura Yapa condemned the attack and President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered a full investigation.

“Even with its condemnations, the government can longer be trusted to act with impartiality when it comes to those who want to silence Sri Lanka’s media,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “Far too often the government or its unofficial allies have been prime suspects behind attacks on journalists and media organizations, and this latest outrage must be fully and clearly explained in an impartial and transparent parliamentary investigation.”

In recent days, government-controlled media had accused the station of “unpatriotic” coverage concerning the military’s reported advances against the secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the north of the country. The LTTE’s de facto capital of Kilinochchi fell last Friday. Government troops have been reported to be advancing on the strategic Elephant Pass that links the mainland to the Jaffna peninsula, the LTTE’s stronghold.

Government run-media had specifically criticized MTV for giving too much coverage to a suicide bombing in Colombo on Friday, undermining a victory speech by Rajapaksa after government troops took Kilinochchi, local and international media reported.

January 6, 2009 3:56 PM ET | Permalink

 

Sri Lanka: Journalists protest attack on TV station

Tue Jan 6, 9:04 AM ET

Activists for free media demonstrate against the attack on a Sri Lankan television station, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. Armed men attacked a private Sri Lankan television station early Tuesday, tossing hand grenades, spraying the building with gunfire and sparking a blaze that caused heavy damage, witnesses and police said.

(AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Gunmen raid Sri Lanka TV station

Gunmen armed with grenades have ransacked offices of the largest private TV broadcaster in Sri Lanka.

The attack near Colombo followed some criticism in state media of the MBC group’s coverage of recent army gains against Tamil Tiger rebels.

More than a dozen intruders held guards at gunpoint and shot up equipment, causing extensive damage.

The media minister condemned the attack and said the president had ordered a full investigation.

Journalists in Sri Lanka have suffered a string of recent attacks and media freedom groups say intimidation and violence make it one of the most difficult countries in the world in which to report.

The latest attack follows army gains against the Tamil Tiger rebels in the north of the country.

The rebels’ de facto capital of Kilinochchi fell last Friday and troops are on the outskirts of the strategic Elephant Pass that links the mainland to the Jaffna peninsula.

US condemnation

The attack on the MTV studios, run by the MBC group, took place in the early hours of Tuesday.

 

Guards were forced to take the attackers to the main control room, where equipment was destroyed with gunfire.

Police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara said the attackers were unknown but there would be a thorough investigation.

Rights activists said there had been criticism of the way the organisation’s three television stations and four radio channels had covered the recent army victories.

Some state media at the weekend said it gave too much coverage of a Tamil Tiger suicide attack that followed the fall of Kilinochchi.

Nationalist politicians in the past have accused the group of sympathising with the rebels.

When asked who carried out the attack, MTV head Chevaan Daniel told Reuters news agency: “It’s either that the citizens of Sri Lanka are able to drive around attacking institutions armed with weapons and grenades, or there is a hand behind it.”

Susil Kindelpitiya, a news director on one of MTV’s channels, said the attack was due to “our unbiased reporting”.

The US embassy said in a statement that it “deplores this latest in a series of criminal attacks on the independent media in Sri Lanka”.

Amnesty International said in November that at least 10 media employees had been killed in Sri Lanka since 2006.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/7813043.stm

Published: 2009/01/06 10:31:31 GMT