» 08/03/2011 12:58 SRI LANKA The central government charged with attack on Tamil journalist by Melani Manel Perera Protests over beating of Ganasundaram hospitalized in a serious condition, but also an invitation to Rajapaksa government to respect the Tamil victory in recent elections. The harsh accusations of participants.
Colombo (AsiaNews) - A protest rally was held in Colombo yesterday noon to condemn the serious assault of Tamil journalist Ganasundaram Kuhanathan, hospitalized in a serious condition. About 250 people, including journalists, opposition politicians, human rights activists, priests and representatives of social organizations, have urged the authorities to arrest those responsible, and shouted slogans like: "Truth assaulted," "Attacked because you lost elections "," Stop the repression of the media ", with signs written in 3 languages.
Last noon 5 media organizations also protested at the Lipton Circus in Colombo and asked the government to accept the victory of the Tamil party in the north.
On 29 July the journalist Ganasundaram was attacked and beaten on the head with an iron bar in Jaffna, 390 km north of Colombo, as he left the offices of the popular daily Uthayan.
During the protest the left-wing politician Vickremabahu Karunaratne said that the attack shows that the "war is not over, the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa tramples the rights and freedoms of the Tamil people. The government has worked hard and used all its power to win the local elections, but the Tamil people and the media did not bend and have told the truth and defeated this government. Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabhaya [his brother the president and Secretary of Defense] can not tolerate this and attacked a journalist with an iron bar who tells the truth to try to kill him. "
Although the government has condemned the attack, he noted that "they have ensured that there was a massive security clampdown in the Jaffna peninsula, and not even a mouse could get through. So how can a stranger have entered and attacked a journalist? ". "It 'clear and simple – he answered - that the government, with this attack, has tried to turn the victory of the Tamil people into a funeral."
Also Fr. Terrence Fernando, chaplain for Human Rights in the Archdiocese of Colombo, has expressed a firm "condemnation for such an assault on the rights of the Tamil" and against a journalist who tells the truth.
"Kuhanathan - Mano Ganeshan, Tamil opposition politician told AsiaNews - is a truly independent person, and told me that he feared [attacks] because he and the Uthayan newspaper work for truth and for the Tamil people. Jaffna is under total military control. This attack hits all the Tamil, their sentiment and national ideals. " "We urge the government to take full responsibility for the attack."
According to press reports, the Uthayan has undergone more than 10 attacks since 2000; at least 6 collaborators have been killed, including 2 journalists; its printing machines were set on fire. From 1987 to 1990 the newspaper has operated from a bunker to avoid bombing. At that time it was printed on cardboard, because of a lack of paper.
Its owner E. Sarawanapawan is a parliamentary in the opposition party Tamil National Alliance, which won a majority in local elections on the Jaffna peninsula 23 July, defeating the ruling party led by President Rajapaksa.
Ganasiri Koththigoda, active president of the Association of Journalists Working in Sri Lanka, speaking to AsiaNews has also accused the government of "trying to destroy the Tamil people's victory in elections in the north."
President Rajapaksa has ordered an investigation, but the media in the country have noted that there have been frequent attacks and killings of journalists and that such investigations often do not have any results.
