Colombo: Three armed men set fire to the printing machine of a Tamil-language newspaper that is critical of the Sri Lankan government, forcing the paper to halt printing, the editor said on Saturday. The attack on the Uthayan newspaper office is the fifth attack on the media since January in Sri Lanka's former war zone in the north, and the second after the United Nations passed a resolution on March 21 calling on the government to address human rights violations.
"Three men wearing helmets threatened my staff at the printing section and set fire to the main printing machine," Thevanayagam Premananth, the editor of the Uthayan said. Uthayan is the leading newspaper in the island nation's northern peninsula of Jaffna. It has been critical of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government, and the military. Last week, an unidentified group of people attacked another Uthayan office, leaving five workers injured.
E. Saravanapavan, a lawmaker with the Tamil National Alliance party, which was linked to the former ethnic Tamil separatist rebels, said the government's failure to take action after previous attacks has encouraged violence against newspapers in the north. Provincial council polls are due in that region later this year. Police spokesman Buddhika Siriwardena said an investigation is underway.
Lakshman Hulugalla, director general at the Media Centre for National Security, part of the defence ministry, said initial investigations indicated the attack was an "inside job to tarnish the image of the government." No arrests have been made in connection with the
10:36 AM, Apr 13, 2013
Colombo: A Sri Lankan presidential commission will be appointed to investigate a mass grave where more than 150 skulls and bones, most likely of Marxist rebels killed decades ago, were found last year, a government spokesman said on Monday. President Mahinda Rajapaksa had decided to appoint the commission to investigate into the mass grave found at a state-run hospital in the central region of the country, said Lakshman Hulugalle, head...
11:28 PM, Apr 08, 2013
Colombo: A local employee of an international de-mining outfit was killed in an accidental explosion in the north Sri Lankan town of Jaffna, police said on Monday. The victim, a resident of the district of Kilinochchi working for the UK-based HALO Trust, was clearing mines in Muhamalai in Jaffna when the explosion took place. Between 2002 and October 2012, HALO Sri Lanka had cleared over 650 hectares (1,607 acres) of...
05:05 PM, Apr 08, 2013
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not only to ask for shifting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) from Colombo this November but also boycott the meet and the leaders' retreat. ...
06:11 PM, Mar 25, 2013
Sri Lankan government has advised its citizens to refrain from visiting Tamil Nadu when travelling to India and requested them to travel with caution. "The defence ministry informs people that when travelling to India on pilgrimage or for other purposes to avoid Tamil Nadu. This is in view of the recent incidents of violence faced by Sri Lankan nationals in Tamil Nadu," military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya said. ...
11:52 PM, Mar 20, 2013
Sinhala Ravaya, a Sinhalese Buddhist pressure group, on Tuesday staged a march to the Indian High Commission here to protest the repeated attacks against Buddhist monks in Tamil Nadu. Several dozens of monks and laymen handed over a petition to the Indian mission seeking Indian government's intervention to prevent the attacks. ...
04:56 PM, Mar 19, 2013
The Colombo track will hopefully have more in it for the bowlers after the run feast in first Test. ...
05:49 PM, Mar 15, 2013
The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday summoned the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner over the spate of arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. According to a PTI report, the total number of fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka in the past 24 hours has gone up to 53, after 34 more were arrested on Thursday. ...
04:51 PM, Mar 14, 2013
Days before a US-sponsored resolution will be taken up against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, Colombo accused Washington of committing human rights abuses. ...
03:50 PM, Mar 11, 2013
Facing a shortage of labourers, Sri Lanka plans to grant work visas to Indians to harvest paddy in the country's north and east, a media report said on Sunday. "The government is helpless as our people are leaving the country to work as labourers in West Asia, Singapore, South Korea and Italy," Lankan Agricultural Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena was quoted as saying in the Sunday Times. ...
04:46 PM, Feb 24, 2013
Former Sri Lanka captain has been ruled out of the forthcoming home series against Bangladesh because of a finger injury. ...
11:38 AM, Feb 19, 2013
A mass grave unearthed in Sri Lanka has stirred memories of the country's bloody insurgencies. ...
03:51 PM, Dec 19, 2012
New Zealand's new-ball pair took out Sri Lanka's top four wickets inside 14 overs to give the visitors a big chance of leveling the series on day five. ...
10:16 AM, Nov 28, 2012
After a long day in the field, Sri Lanka lost Dilshan, Sangakkara and Jayawardene to slump to 43 for 3 by stumps on day two. ...
09:51 AM, Nov 26, 2012
Taylor scored an unbeaten century, while Williamson was unbeaten on 95 as New Zealand reached 223 for 2 at stumps on day one against Sri Lanka. ...
10:25 AM, Nov 25, 2012
Colombo will host the next two one-dayers of the five-match series on November 4 and 6 and Hambantota the last two on November 10 and 12. ...
06:08 PM, Nov 01, 2012
The Kiwi team leaves for Colombo on Thursday. They will play one Twenty20, five one day internationals and two Tests. ...
01:57 PM, Oct 24, 2012
In pursuit of 140, Pakistan could only go as far as 123 for 7 in 20 overs. ...
06:07 PM, Oct 04, 2012
The left-arm spinner bowled superbly to restrict the Lankans to 100 for 8, which India chased down in 14.4 overs. With the play-off win they also qualified for the 2014 event. ...
01:37 PM, Oct 03, 2012
While South Africa can't afford to lose, a win for Australia will earn them a place in the semi-finals. ...
03:17 PM, Sep 29, 2012
