Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

BBC crew abused at Buddhist rally

Three BBC media crew, including South Asia correspondent Charles Haviland, came under attack at a Bodu Bala Sena rally on Sunday.

Charles Haviland tweeted:

'Our 3-member BBC team + driver covering #Buddhist #BBS rally #srilanka was seriously threatened with violence by mob after filming...'

'My #srilankan colleagues were verbally abused, accused of having "foreign parents". On the mob's word, police barricaded us & stopped...'

'... stopped our car leaving until police superior came & dispersed mob & let us go without further ado. #srilanka #BBS #buddhist'

'Mob behaviour unsurprising but police conduct extremely disturbing. Luckily the superior officer good-humoured, brooked no nonsense #lka'

'& the mob were very careful to take lots of photographs of us and our car. Not sure for what purpose. #srilanka #lka #bbs #buddhist'

 

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.