Sri Lanka special report: Failure to investigate
[Committee to Protect Journalists]
As the Sri Lankan government steps up its war with the LTTE, assaults on
journalists are on the rise. So are suspicions that the government is
complicit in these attacks.
journalists are on the rise. So are suspicions that the government is
complicit in these attacks.
Sri Lanka’s journalists are under intensive assault. Authorities have failed to carry out effective and credible investigations into the killing of journalists who question the government’s conduct of a war against Tamil separatists or criticize the military establishment. Three attacks in January targeting the mainstream media drew the world’s attention to the problem, but top journalists have been killed, attacked, threatened, and harassed since the government began to pursue an all-out military victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in late 2006. Many local and foreign journalists and members of the diplomatic community believe the government is complicit in the attacks.