Committee to Protect Journalists [CPJ] report comments on Sri Lanka.

The report comments on three deaths of journalists in Sri Lanka in the past year. The CPJ focuses on the ongoing violence in the East after the departure of Karuna faction from the LTTE.

“Throughout 2004, both sides feuded bitterly among themselves, sometimes putting journalists in the middle. Two Tamil journalists were gunned down in retaliation for their work this year—the first killed in the line of duty in Sri Lanka since 2000, according to CPJ research. A third journalist died in a December grenade attack at a controversial music concert.”

The CPJ say the main area of concern is in the East of Sri Lanka. “On May 31, unidentified assailants ambushed, shot, and killed veteran Tamil journalist Aiyuthurai Nadesan in Batticaloa District, on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka, while he was on his way to work. Nadesan, an award-winning reporter who worked for the Tamil-language daily Virakesari for 20 years, was sympathetic to the LTTE, according to local journalists."

Nearly ten months later, no one has been arrested for killing Nadesan.

The report also expresses concern about the investigation in to the killing of Nadesan. "In 2001, government security forces harassed and threatened him because of his critical reporting, according to CPJ research. The LTTE blamed Nadesan's murder on the Sri Lankan army and members of the Karuna faction. At year's end, no arrests had been made, adding to the fears of local journalists, exiled sources told CPJ.”

The violent acts are carried out by all sides in the conflict says the CPJ. “Bala Nadarajah Iyer, a veteran EPDP activist, writer, and editor, was shot dead outside his house in Colombo just weeks later, according to international reports and local sources."

"Iyer was a media officer and senior member of the EPDP who worked on the editorial board of the Tamil-language weekly Thinamurasu and wrote a political column for the state-run Tamil daily Thinakaran. The EPDP's official news Web site reported that the LTTE had threatened Iyer before his murder. No arrests in the killing had been reported by year's end.”

CPJ expresses concern about the situation of Sri Lankan journalists working in Sri Lanka and abroad. Threats against journalists working at the Tamil Broadcasting Corporation [TBC] and the Uthayam newspaper in Australia after publishing material against the LTTE, are some of the incidents reported in the CPJ annual document.

The report also comments on the behaviour of local media during the election campaign.

State media used in election propganda says the CPJ

“Opposition parties and local press freedom advocates accused the state media of acting as a propaganda organ for the president and her ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in 2004, particularly during the election campaign in the spring."

"UPFA leaders countered with accusations that private media slanted their election coverage in favour of opposition politicians and parties.”

Away from the battle grounds in the East, one more journlist was killed in a seperate incident. "In December, photographer Lanka Jayasundara was killed when a grenade exploded at a Colombo music concert. No group took responsibility, but angry demonstrators had protested that the event coincided with the anniversary of a Buddhist cleric's death.