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Death threats to Sri Lanka paper

by senthil5000 | July 1, 2009 at 01:05 pm

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The popular Tamil newspaper from Sri Lanka, Uthayan is under serious threat. A group linked to government issued a 'final warning' to employees and newsagents of the newspaper to resign their job before June 30 or get killed.

The boss of a Sri Lankan newspaper has told the BBC he is very worried about his staff after a shadowy group ordered them to quit their jobs or be killed.

The Tamil-language newspaper, Uthayan, is the biggest seller in the northern district of Jaffna.

The paper's Managing Director, E Saravanapavan, rushed from Colombo to Jaffna in the north after a hitherto unknown group made the threats.

The Sri Lankan civil war ended in May with the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels.

The threats against Uthayan came from a group called the Tamil Alliance to Protect the Country.

It told all the paper's employees and all newsagents selling the paper to resign by 30 June or "face capital punishment".

In its statement, delivered by men in helmets on a motorbike, it accused Uthayan of being a "mouthpiece for terrorists" and of aiming to destroy peace.

The security forces have laid on extra protection but Mr Saravanapavan said he was especially worried about the ordinary workers and newsagents who, he said, should be able to operate without fear.

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senthil5000

at 18:12 on July 1st, 2009

It is not the issue between Tamils or Sinhalese. It is between the sri lankan government and the media. The sri lankan government and the government backed groups are threatening / killing media people irrespective of Tamils or Sinhalese.

sudharaka

at 18:29 on July 1st, 2009

There is not a single mention of the group who made the threats having links with the government, in the original story, contrary to the “made-up“ piece written by the author.

senthil5000

at 19:25 on July 1st, 2009

More details on that group:

A group calling itself ‘Tamil Front Protecting the Country’ allegedly linked to a paramilitary group operating with Colombo issued Saturday a notice titled ‘Final Warning’ to Uthayan Tamil daily office in Jaffna warning that Uthayan staffers will be killed if they do not officially relinquish their posts with effect from 30 June 2009, sources in Jaffna said. Thursday, all the local newspapers of Jaffna that defied publishing an anonymous and defiling notice against Liberation Tigers came under attack by an armed group in which thousands of copies of the local newspapers, Valampuri, Uthayan and Thinakkural (Jaffna edition) were burnt.