When the Sri Lanka cricket team came under attack in Lahore, Pakistan, my concerns were drawn to the matter of media responsibility after a local government television station announced the following day that investigations had proved an LTTE hand in the attack.
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| TV footage that capttured two of the attackers firing at the Lankan cricketrs convoy |
Realising the repercussions if an LTTE link was found, I referred to the international media.
Although New Delhi Television (NDTV) and Cable News Network (CNN) were giving the incident round-the clock coverage, neither said a word about a possible LTTE link. It was probably a media person in Sri Lanka TV who came up with the notion of an LTTE connection. This suspicion was probably sparked by Pakistan’s suspicions that a foreign hand was involved in the attack (fingers were later pointed at India).
There would have been serious consequences, especially for Sri Lanka cricket, if the international media had picked up on the suggestion that the LTTE might have been linked with the attack.
If indeed the Sri Lanka cricket team was being attacked by the LTTE on foreign soil, cricket-playing countries would be reluctant to extend invitations to the Sri Lanka cricket team, and foreign teams would stop touring Sri Lanka.
D. P. U.Via email |
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