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UPC post-polls violence targets area journalists
At least three area journalists were targeted for attack inside 48 hours at the start of this week, in separate incidents that took place in the post-
The injured Sirasa journalist in hospital. Pix by Palitha Ariyawansa
polls Uva Province and in Kilinochchi in the north, prompting media rights groups to urge the Government to provide more protection for media personnel.
In Badulla, the private vehicle belonging to Lankadeepa regional correspondent Palitha Ariyawansa was damaged by a frenzied mob suspected to be pro-government supporters, although the journalist escaped unharmed.
The incident occurred on Monday, a day after the final election results were announced, when it was known that several sitting Government members of the UPC had failed to get re-elected.
Mr. Ariyawansa later told police he was returning with his two sisters in his private
Shattered windscreen glass in the vehicle of our Badulla correspondent
vehicle, after attending an almsgiving in Nuwara-Eliya, when he was attacked by a stone-throwing mob close to a police checkpoint at Haliella.
He said a single stone hurled by the mob, struck the front windscreen of his vehicle causing extensive damage.
“At this point I got off from the vehicle despite protests from my family members, and started filming the mob, who then began to disperse.
“ I also witnessed Sirasa provincial correspondent Chandana Kuruppuaarachichi filming the mob that had apparently been hurling rocks and other missiles at the police checkpoint,” he told the Sunday Times.
Following the incident, eight persons including the Deputy Chairman of the Haliella Pradeshiya Sabha and three Government members from the same council were arrested, later produced in courts and remanded.
Meanwhile, the Sirasa correspondent who sustained serious injuries in the attack, was rushed to the Badulla hospital and later transferred to the National Hospital Colombo, after his condition deteriorated.
Media organisations held protests islandwide following the attacks. Here Dambulla journalists holding a protest in town.
Hospital officials said that the correspondent will have to be hospitalised for at least another three months.
In another incident, shortly after dusk on Tuesday, a Tamil freelance journalist was attacked by three people while he was returning home in Paranthan, in the Kilinochchi District. S. Sivendran, a stringer for the Tamil language publications Uthayan and Thinakkural, later told police that his attackers who were highly intoxicated, had blocked his path while on his bicycle and began to abuse him.
This led to a heated argument between the journalist and the trio, resulting in the assault, a spokesperson for Uthayan told the Sunday Times.
He said the journalist had immediately informed the newspaper of the attack, before making a complaint to the area police.
The attackers who spoke fluent Tamil, had also identified themselves as State intelligence operatives. A senior official of the Kilinochchi Police said that such utterances are known to be made by various individuals involved in such activities adding that the matter was being investigated.
Meanwhile, the Free Media Movement (FMM), together with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), vehemently condemned the attacks on the media workers and requested the authorities to take necessary steps to ensure the safety of journalists without any further delay, and identify the perpetrators as soon as possible.
In a joint statement, the FMM and the IFJ said: “These incidents clearly indicate that the Government of Sri Lanka is still not able to create an environment for journalists to engage in their duties without fear and doubt.
The Government is not concerned on ensuring the safety of journalists, and reinstating media freedom in Sri Lanka. The IFJ and the FMM urges the Government to arrest the perpetrators of these assaults and take necessary legal action without delay.”