Amidst the heightened surveillance in the North-East, the violent attack against the journalist Sivagnanam Selvatheepan on Monday could not have been carried out without the Sri Lankan state being aware the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) said today.
“The army, the police and the intelligence service are involved in surveillance all over the Tamil homeland. In such circumstances, there is no way that this attack could have been carried out unknown to the state. Therefore the government must accept full responsibility for this assault,” a statement quoted party secretary, S. Kajendran as saying.
Stating that the TNPF “deeply condemned” the “cowardly” attack on the 29-year-old journalist, Mr. Kajendran said,
“We have learnt that Selvatheepan was [previously] threatened several times by groups seeking to continue repressing and strangling the voice of the Tamil people.”
Calling on the international community to act, Mr Kajendran said it must take steps to curb the oppression and attacks which the Sri Lankan government has “unleashed” on media and journalists.
Pointing to the "use of terrorism prevention laws to arrest and torture of human rights activists and Tamil people struggling for justice against government oppression, the assaults and murders of journalists seeking to expose injustices, and the burning of press offices", Mr. Kajendran said, "these things have all become commonplace throughout the Tamil homeland.”
See here for full press release (Tamil).
This latest attack comes as the US based press freedom group, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), ranked Sri Lanka 4th highest in the world on impunity over the murder of media workers, in its 'Getting away with murder' impunity index.
"Government and military officials are suspected to be behind several of the murders, including the 2009 assassination of prominent editor Lasantha Wikramatunga, known for his critical reporting, and the nearly 10-year-old shooting of Aiyathurai Nadesan, penname Nellai G. Nadesan, an award-winning journalist who was threatened before his death in response to his reporting about the army", said CPJ.