3 June 2005

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has grave concerns over Sri Lankan journalists' safety following a bomb attack on a TV station in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka.

Unidentified attackers lobbed a hand grenade in the early morning of 2 June, damaging a section of a re-broadcast TV transmission station in the northern Sri Lankan town of Vavuniya.

Some transmitting equipment and about 15 computer terminals were destroyed but fortunately no casualties were reported at the centre run by a Tamil organisation.

"The safety of media practitioners in Sri Lanka is deteriorating by the day as they find themselves caught in the cross-fire," said IFJ President Christopher Warren.

Vavuniya is a government-held town on the edge of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-dominated territory. Investigations are still underway, and the motive behind the attack is not immediately clear.

The bomb attack follows the murder of leading Tamil journalist, Sivaram Dharmeratnam on April 22 and death threats received by two well-known Sri Lankan journalists in a letter on May 10.

"The incidents of the past month are forming a dangerous pattern of violence and intimidation against journalists in Sri Lanka, " said Warren.

"It is the responsibility of the Sri Lankan authorities to step up security measures to ensure that all journalists and media professionals are able to conduct their work free from fear," said Warren.

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