VZCZCXYZ0008
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLM #0723/01 1231246
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031246Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3290
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 9158
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6048
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 4083
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 2986
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 9585
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 3073
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2145
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000723 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/INS (CAMP, GOWER) SCA/PD (SCHWARTZ, SCENSNY, 
PALLADINO) 
 
UNCLASSIFIED 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, SIPDIS 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KPAO PGOV PTER CE
 
SUBJECT: GUNMEN ATTACK TAMIL NEWSPAPER ON EVE OF WORLD PRESS 
FREEDOM DAY 
 
REF: Colombo 0713 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  On the evening of May 2 unidentified gunmen 
entered the offices of the Tamil language newspaper Uthayan in 
the northern district of Jaffna and opened fire on the employees, 
killing two and wounding at least three.  The Minister of Mass 
Media and Information condemned the attack the same evening at a 
dinner of media professionals gathered for a UNESCO conference, 
and President Rajapaksa has instructed the Inspector General of 
Police and the security forces to investigate.  Because of the 
paper's pro-LTTE stance, media analysts suspect anti-LTTE 
paramilitaries of being behind the attack.  Despite the 
President's pledge to get to the bottom of the killings and the 
arrest of four suspects May 3, the recent record of investigating 
and solving similar crimes is not encouraging. END SUMMARY 
 
 
The Facts 
--------- 
¶2. (U) At approximately 7:30 PM local time on May 2, witnesses 
reported five men in civilian clothes arrived on two motorcycles 
and entered the two-story office of the pro-LTTE Tamil vernacular 
newspaper Uthayan, near downtown Jaffna.  There are conflicting 
reports that the gunmen asked employees in the building the 
whereabouts of different senior reporters and editors, but all 
versions agree that, having not found their targets, the gunmen 
opened fire with assault weapons.  The marketing manager and a 
press operator were shot dead and three others were seriously 
injured. The gunmen on one escaping motorcycle dropped a T-56 
Qsault rifle after a soldier at a nearby checkpoint shot at 
them. 
 
 
The Usual Suspects 
------------------ 
¶3. (SBU) Because the Jaffna peninsula is heavily patrolled by 
more than 40,000 soldiers, sailors and police, popular suspicion 
immediately fell on government security forces and anti-LTTE 
paramilitaries. LTTE mouthpiece Tamilnet.com accused the anti- 
Tiger Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) paramilitaries of 
conducting the attack.  (The day before, Uthayan and its Colombo 
sister publication, Sudar Oli, had published a political cartoon 
lampooning EPDP leader Douglas Devananda as a shoeshine boy at 
the feet of President Rajapaksa.)  The Uthayan building is on a 
major thoroughfare, only 150 meters from a fixed Sri Lankan Army 
(SLA) checkpoint and 250 meters away from two SLA garrison 
buildings.  According to local residents, increased security 
measures had stationed a soldier every 50 meters along main 
roads.  An Uthayan employee who left the building 20 minutes 
before the attack said he noticed that there were no soldiers on 
the street. 
 
Government Response 
--------------------- 
¶4. (U) On May 3 Minister of Mass Media and Information Anura Yapa 
condemned the attack as a heinous attempt by armed terrorists to 
discredit the government while it hosted the UNESCO World Press 
Freedom Conference.  President Rajapaksa has ordered the Sri 
Lanka Army and police to conduct a joint investigation and to 
report to him as soon as possible.  On the afternoon of May 3, 
police reported arresting four suspects in the attack. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶5. (SBU) The Uthayan victims are the fifth and sixth Tamil media 
personnel to have met violent ends within the last 12 months. 
Other recent killings of Tamils in government-controlled areas, 
such as the high profile slaying a year ago of TamilNet editor 
Dharmaretnam Sivaram, the December 24, 2005 killing of MP Joseph 
Pararajahsingham, and the April 7 killing of MP-appointee V. 
Vigneswaran, and the lack of progress in solving these crimes, 
undermine Tamils' confidence in the government.  Hopefully, a 
fast and professional law enforcement response will reduce rather 
than widen the divide between Tamils and the Sri Lankan 
 
government.  End Comment. 
 
Lunstead