GUNMEN ATTACK TAMIL NEWSPAPER ON EVE OF WORLD PRESS

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000723

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR SCA/INS (CAMP, GOWER) SCA/PD (SCHWARTZ, SCENSNY,
PALLADINO)

UNCLASSIFIED

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KPAO PGOV PTER CE

SUBJECT: GUNMEN ATTACK TAMIL NEWSPAPER ON EVE OF WORLD PRESS
FREEDOM DAY

REF: Colombo 0713


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On the evening of May 2 unidentified gunmen
entered the offices of the Tamil language newspaper Uthayan in
the northern district of Jaffna and opened fire on the employees,
killing two and wounding at least three. The Minister of Mass
Media and Information condemned the attack the same evening at a
dinner of media professionals gathered for a UNESCO conference,
and President Rajapaksa has instructed the Inspector General of
Police and the security forces to investigate. Because of the
paper's pro-LTTE stance, media analysts suspect anti-LTTE
paramilitaries of being behind the attack. Despite the
President's pledge to get to the bottom of the killings and the
arrest of four suspects May 3, the recent record of investigating
and solving similar crimes is not encouraging. END SUMMARY


The Facts
--------------

2. (U) At approximately 7:30 PM local time on May 2, witnesses
reported five men in civilian clothes arrived on two motorcycles
and entered the two-story office of the pro-LTTE Tamil vernacular
newspaper Uthayan, near downtown Jaffna. There are conflicting
reports that the gunmen asked employees in the building the
whereabouts of different senior reporters and editors, but all
versions agree that, having not found their targets, the gunmen
opened fire with assault weapons. The marketing manager and a
press operator were shot dead and three others were seriously
injured. The gunmen on one escaping motorcycle dropped a T-56
Qsault rifle after a soldier at a nearby checkpoint shot at
them.


The Usual Suspects
--------------

3. (SBU) Because the Jaffna peninsula is heavily patrolled by
more than 40,000 soldiers, sailors and police, popular suspicion
immediately fell on government security forces and anti-LTTE
paramilitaries. LTTE mouthpiece Tamilnet.com accused the anti-
Tiger Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) paramilitaries of
conducting the attack. (The day before, Uthayan and its Colombo
sister publication, Sudar Oli, had published a political cartoon
lampooning EPDP leader Douglas Devananda as a shoeshine boy at
the feet of President Rajapaksa.) The Uthayan building is on a
major thoroughfare, only 150 meters from a fixed Sri Lankan Army
(SLA) checkpoint and 250 meters away from two SLA garrison
buildings. According to local residents, increased security
measures had stationed a soldier every 50 meters along main
roads. An Uthayan employee who left the building 20 minutes
before the attack said he noticed that there were no soldiers on
the street.

Government Response
--------------

4. (U) On May 3 Minister of Mass Media and Information Anura Yapa
condemned the attack as a heinous attempt by armed terrorists to
discredit the government while it hosted the UNESCO World Press
Freedom Conference. President Rajapaksa has ordered the Sri
Lanka Army and police to conduct a joint investigation and to
report to him as soon as possible. On the afternoon of May 3,
police reported arresting four suspects in the attack.

Comment
--------------

5. (SBU) The Uthayan victims are the fifth and sixth Tamil media
personnel to have met violent ends within the last 12 months.
Other recent killings of Tamils in government-controlled areas,
such as the high profile slaying a year ago of TamilNet editor
Dharmaretnam Sivaram, the December 24, 2005 killing of MP Joseph
Pararajahsingham, and the April 7 killing of MP-appointee V.
Vigneswaran, and the lack of progress in solving these crimes,
undermine Tamils' confidence in the government. Hopefully, a
fast and professional law enforcement response will reduce rather
than widen the divide between Tamils and the Sri Lankan

government. End Comment.

Lunstead