SEE! HOW SINHALA POLITICIANS ATTACK SINHALA JOURNALISTS!!!

Sirasa correspondent assaulted

By Kurulu Kariyakarawana

Amidst numerous instances of journalists being assaulted by politicians, Sirasa TV’s Gampaha district correspondent cum camaraman, Tushara Saliya Ranawaka, has been beaten -- allegedly by the personal security detail of MP Wimal Weerawansa on Wednesday.

Tushara Saliya Ranawaka had reportedly gone to the Aththanagalla Magistrate’s court to report on National Freedom Front Parliamentarian Piyasiri Wijenayake who being was brought to the court on Wednesday.

NFF MP Weerawansa had also arrived at the court the same time. Mr Weerawansa’s security guards had seen the Sirasa cameraman and asked him not to video them. They had then allegedly assaulted him.

The correspondent has reportedly lodged a complaint with the Nittambuwa police under CIB 1208/97. When contacted, Police Spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekara told Daily Mirror that he was not aware of any such incident.

Meanwhile, five media organizations issued a statement condemning the incident, where media personnel were not allowed to carry out their duties unhindered.

The Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association secretary general Poddala Jayantha told Daily Mirror that MP Weerawansa had personally telephoned a private news website and threatened the staff for publishing a report about the incident.

Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders said it was concerned about the threats that had been made over the telephone by a pro government parliamentarian to reporter Santha Wijesuirya of the Lankaenews website and his editor, Bennet Rupasingha.

The MP had reportedly called Wijesuirya on his mobile phone on Wednesday evening to complain about one of his stories and threatened to teach him “a good lesson.” Wijesuirya had taken the threats seriously and alerted the police: “I fear for my life,” he told Reporters Without Borders.

The press freedom organisation urged the interior ministry to take the necessary steps to guarantee Wijesuirya’s safety. It also called for a police investigation into the threats.

DAILYMIRROR.LK