Attacks on media organisations, particularly the Tamil media and intimidation and harassment of journalists continue in Sri Lanka irrespective of assurance given by the police to find and punish perpetrators.
The attack on the Uthayan newspaper office is the fifth attack on the media in the north, since January and the second after the United Nations passed a resolution on March 21 calling on the government to address human rights violations.
Armed men stormed the Uthayan Tamil newspaper office in Kasthuriyar road in Jaffna, yesterday at around 4.45am and set fire to printing machines and newspapers ready for distribution. This is the second attack on the paper this month. Few weeks ago an unidentified group attacked the Kilinochchi office of the Uthayan newspapers injuring at least three persons and damaging a van. In January, a man delivering Uthayan newspapers in Jaffna was attacked and his motorbike was set on fire. In July 2011, Uthayan’s news editor Gnanasundaram Kuhanathan (59) was beaten up using iron bars by unidentified men, and in May 2011, S. Kavitharan, a reporter, was also attacked.
Proprietor of the newspaper Saravanapavan said three men with guns entered the press room and threatened and chased away workers and delivery men. The staff was preparing to distribute the newspapers when the gang entered the premises. They then shot at a control panel and then poured petrol and set fire to the machines, newspapers and newsprint. He said the estimated loss was around Rs 2million.
Saravanapavan said either the military or a paramilitary group supporting the government could be behind the attack because the paper had recently reported extensively on the military taking over private land in northern Sri Lanka, where majority are Tamils.
The government, however, has responded by saying the attack was orchestrated by the newspaper itself to embarrass the government.
Lakshman Hulugalle, director general at the Media Centre for National Security, part of the defence ministry, said initial investigations indicated the attack was an "inside job to tarnish the image of the government."
There was hardly any progress in the investigation of attacks on Uthayan, said Mr. Saravanapavan. “Our office was once attacked in May 2006. The investigation is still going on. We have not seen any development in the investigations into the other attacks either,” he said. The lack of adequate progress in the attacks against Uthayan has troubled others as well. Last week, when US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Michelle J. Sison addressing the Foreign Correspondents Association, urged the Sri Lankan authorities to fully investigate the Uthayan attack [on April 3] and hold the perpetrators accountable.
