“Violence and threats against such privately-owned media outlets and journalists trying to impartially report on the conflict must stop,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “The government must quickly find and punish those responsible for this latest attack and see the network is compensated.
“The attack seems to be because its coverage was not ‘patriotic’ enough. The network is one of the country’s few, and very popular, independent news sources. The incident recalls the November 2007 attack on the Leader Publication printing works, for which nobody has been punished.”
Today’s attackers threw grenades, set fire to the main control room and then left. Susil Kindelpitiya, news editor of Sirasa TV, which is part of the network, said some staff were roughed up.
The network has been criticised for not giving enough air-time to recent government victories over the rebels, with state-run media outlets accusing it of reporting a suicide attack in Colombo on 2 January, the day the army captured the rebel capital of Kilinochchi, in northern Sri Lanka. A bomb was thrown at the network’s offices just after news of the government victory was broadcast.The state-owned media has recently attacked MTV/MBC for supposedly being “unpatriotic,” which has forced some of its journalists to censor themselves or flee the country.
Media Activists Fight against Sirasa Attack
Media activists, journalists and various civil movement members launched a massive demonstration yesterday condemning the brutal attack on Sirasa/MTV main studios at Pannipitiya on Monday night. The protestors demanded the authorities to hold an immediate impartial investigation into the matter and bring the culprits to book unless the government is ready to take the responsibility of the blatant attack. Picture by Daminda Harsha Perera
Private TV station attacked in Sri Lanka: police
COLOMBO (AFP) — Attackers torched a private TV station in Sri Lanka Tuesday after it was labelled “unpatriotic” for its coverage of the war against Tamil rebels, police and media activists said.
The studios and control room of the Maharaja TV network just outside Colombo were smashed and set alight in a pre-dawn attack, police said.
Media rights activists said the station had been accused by sections of the state media of “unpatriotic” coverage and criticised for reporting a suicide bombing in Colombo on Friday, the day troops took the rebel political capital of Kilinochchi.
“We strongly condemned the attack on the MTV offices and we urge the authorities to speedily investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice,” said the president of the Working Journalists’ Association, Sanath Balasuriya.
The US embassy in Colombo also condemned what it said was the “latest in a series of criminal attacks on the independent media in Sri Lanka.”
Media rights activist Poddala Jayantha said the attack followed a smear campaign against the television network by a section of the state media.
An MTV spokesman said men in a van without number plates had carried out the attack, which came two days after the station was hit with a petrol bomb. There were no casualties, but the station was severely damaged.
The government condemned the attack, and said President Mahinda Rajapakse had “asked the inspector general of police to launch an investigation immediately and bring the perpetrators before justice.”
Journalists, newspapers and even newspaper delivery boys in Sri Lanka have come under attack as part of the bitter ethnic war between Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lankan security forces.
Several journalists — some Tamils and others from the majority Sinhalese community — have been killed, but no one has been held responsible despite government promises to investigate.
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