**Updates IFEX alert of 4 January 2000** (CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is condemning the 31 December 1999 murder of Vasthian Anthony Mariyadas, a freelance radio reporter who was on assignment for the state-run Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation when he was shot dead in the northern town of Vavuniya. The assassination took place outside St. Anthony’s Church, […]
**Updates IFEX alert of 4 January 2000**
(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is condemning the 31 December 1999 murder of Vasthian Anthony Mariyadas, a freelance radio reporter who was on assignment for the state-run Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation when he was shot dead in the northern town of Vavuniya.
The assassination took place outside St. Anthony’s Church, where Mariyadas had gone to cover the New Year’s Eve midnight mass service for a radio program broadcast in the northern region. A lone gunman shot Mariyadas in the head. The journalist died before he could be taken to the hospital, according to CPJ’s sources. Police estimated the time of death at 10:15 p.m. (local time).
CPJ is profoundly dismayed by the recent spate of killed journalists in Sri Lanka:
– 9 September: Unidentified assailants shot and killed Rohana Kumara, chief editor of the Sinhala-language tabloid newspaper “Satana” (see IFEX alerts of 10 September and 8 September 1999).
– 2 November: Unidentified gunmen assassinated Atputharajah Nadarajah, editor of the Tamil newspaper “Thinamurusu” and a member of parliament representing the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) (see IFEX alert of 16 November 1999).
– 18 December: Shrapnel from a suicide bombing, in which President Kumaratunga was seriously injured, fatally wounded Indika Pathinivasan of Sri Lanka’s privately-owned Maharaja Television Network and Anura Priyantha of the state-owned Independent Television Network, both camera assistants (see IFEX alerts of 22 December and 20 December 1999).
While Pathinivasan and Priyantha were clearly killed in the line of duty, it is not yet known whether Kumara, Nadarajah, and Mariyadas were targeted for their journalistic work.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– urging her to ensure that the journalists’ cases are investigated thoroughly, and that the results of these investigations are promptly made public
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:Her Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
President, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Presidential Secretariat
Colombo-1
Sri Lanka
Fax: +94 1 333 703
E-mail: for_min@sri.lanka.netPlease copy appeals to the source if possible.
