What of attacks on journalists in the North? -TNA MP

The owner of the Uthayan newspaper, Tamil National Alliance member and parliamentarian E Saravanbavan queried as to why the Government was only investigating the murder of editor Lasantha Wickrematunga and disappearance of cartoonist Pargeeth Eknaligoda and not the attacks on scribes in the North.

While addressing Parliament yesterday, he commended the Government's move to make sound progress on the two incidents but cited that there must also be a concerted effort to investigate incidents of attacks on journalists from the North and East.

He said several such incidents had taken place in the North during the former regime where there was a strong military presence.

The International Federation of Journalists last year inquired about the attack on journalist Sinnarasa Sivakumaran who was targeted at Kilinochchi in September last year. Other notable incidents include Aiyathurai Nadesan, a journalist for the Virakesari newspaper, was shot dead in Batticaloa in 2004. Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan (Sugitharajah), a journalist for the Sudar Oli newspaper, was shot dead in Trincomalee near the governor's secretariat in January 2006.

Suresh Kumar (B. G. Sahayathasan) and Ranjith Kumar, two employees of the Uthayan newspaper, were killed on May2, 2006 when armed men burst into the newspaper's offices and opened fire indiscriminately.

Chandrabose Suthaharan (Subash Chandraboas), editor of the Nilam magazine, was shot dead at his home in Thirunavatkulam near Vavuniya on April 16, 2007. Selvarajah Rajivarnam, a journalist for the Uthayan newspaper, was shot dead in Jaffna close to a military checkpoint on April 29, 2007. P. Devakumaran, a journalist for News First, was hacked to death in Navanthurai near Jaffna in May 2008. (RR)