3RD LEAD
The sequence of attacks on Uthayan
began with a series of targeted assaults on its staff disseminating the
Paper in Jaffna, Mullaiththeevu, Vavuniyaa and Ki'linochchi districts.
The attackers burnt the copies of Uthayan paper each time. Then, the attacks escalated on its offices and staff.
“Now, the the terror has finally reached the stage of committing an act of arson on the press machinery itself,” said a media worker, who was chased away at gunpoint by the squad that stormed the office.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF) politicians, who visited the Uthayan office have condemned in the strongest terms the arson attack on Uthayan daily.
Uthayan's personnel were getting ready for the day’s distribution, at the main office, when the attack took place.
The editorial staff had already left the office concluding their work.
The squad that stormed the office opened fire at the air to chase away the media workers.
Then, the attackers, who had brought petrol with them, poured it on to the machinery, setting the machines ablaze.
Bursts of gun fire have also been directed by the attackers at the press machinery.
Colombo is seeking to completely curb the operation of the paper, which has become the most targeted newspaper ever in the occupied country of Eezham Tamils.
Chronology:
Armed squad attacks Tamil paper office in Jaffna setting ablaze press machines
[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 April 2013, 07:03 GMT]
An armed squad, allegedly operated by the Sri Lankan military
intelligence, stormed the main office of the Uthayan Tamil daily in the
city of Jaffna in the early hours of Saturday, setting ablaze the press
machines and the copies of printed papers that were ready for
distribution. The squad chased media workers away at gun point and
poured petrol on the papers and machinery in the fourth attack to be
reported on the popular Tamil daily since January this year. The
pre-dawn attack, carried out Saturday at 4:45 a.m., comes 10 days after a
similar attack on its Ki'linochchi office this month. Colombo's
systematic attack on the Tamil daily, owned by Tamil National Alliance
(TNA) parliamentarian E. Saravanapavan, seeks to destabilize the
operation and dissemination of the paper in the occupied country of
Eezham Tamils, especially before conducting elections to Northern
Provincial Council.
The attackers burnt the copies of Uthayan paper each time. Then, the attacks escalated on its offices and staff.
“Now, the the terror has finally reached the stage of committing an act of arson on the press machinery itself,” said a media worker, who was chased away at gunpoint by the squad that stormed the office.
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF) politicians, who visited the Uthayan office have condemned in the strongest terms the arson attack on Uthayan daily.
Uthayan's personnel were getting ready for the day’s distribution, at the main office, when the attack took place.
The editorial staff had already left the office concluding their work.
The squad that stormed the office opened fire at the air to chase away the media workers.
Then, the attackers, who had brought petrol with them, poured it on to the machinery, setting the machines ablaze.
Bursts of gun fire have also been directed by the attackers at the press machinery.
Colombo is seeking to completely curb the operation of the paper, which has become the most targeted newspaper ever in the occupied country of Eezham Tamils.
Chronology:
