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Gunmen damage studios of Sri Lankan broadcaster
Intruders beat up a security guard and held others at gunpoint.
- AP
- Published: 09:51 January 6, 2009
Colombo: Armed men attacked a private Sri Lankan television station early on Tuesday, tossing hand grenades, spraying the building with gunfire and sparking a blaze that caused heavy damage, witnesses and police said.
Police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara said authorities did not know who the attackers were or what their motive may have been, but promised a full investigation.
Insufficient coverage
However, rights activists said the assault may have stemmed from recent accusations that the Maharajah Organisation and its three television stations and four radio channels have not given sufficient coverage to the government's victories over ethnic Tamil rebels.
The attack was the latest in a string of recent assaults against journalists. Some reporters have sought asylum abroad, while others have resorted to self-censorship to deflect accusations they might be unpatriotic.
More than a dozen heavily armed intruders overwhelmed the security guards outside the company's studio and transmission compound near the capital, Colombo, at about 2am, badly beating one man and holding the others at gunpoint, several guards said.
The attackers ordered a guard to bring them to the main control room, where they shot out television screens, glass doors and editing equipment, the guards said, refusing to give their names because of fear of reprisals.
Several employees were assaulted, but no one was hospitalised, said Susil Kindelpitiya, news director of Sirasa TV, one of Maharaja's channels.
The attack caused extensive damage to the network's broadcasting facilities, he said.
Throughout the morning, the television stations broadcast live reports from the building, showing footage of burnt equipment and other destruction.
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