Tamil Nadu protesters were not professional journalists - Keheliya Rambukwella

by P. Krishnaswamy

Tamil journalists in Tamil Nadu who teamed up to demand the release of their colleague, Thamil Prabhakaran, who video filmed High Security Zones (HSZs) in Jaffna, clearly show that they are not professionals, Information and Mass Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the Sunday Observer.

The Tamil Magazine which Prabhakaran represents had fuelled communal sentiments of Tamils in Sri Lanka, he said.

The journalist in question had come on a tourist visa and was apprehended while video filming sensitive HSZs in the one time terrorist-dominated area. He is now being questioned at the Terrorist Investigation Division in Colombo. The motive of the journalist in question in video filming HSZs in Jaffna is a threat to the country’s national security and cannot be interpreted as a denial of a journalist’s rights, the Minister said.

The protesters who demanded his release should understand that the laws of a country have to be respected, be it Sri Lanka, India or any other country, the Minister said. It is obvious that they are trying to strain the relations between New Delhi and Colombo, but fortunately the Indian Union government has a clear understanding on such delicate issues, he said. Regardless of any such protests the laws of the land will safeguard national security, the Minister said.