The Hindu : International : "3 mediapersons have LTTE links"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 08, 2007
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International

"3 mediapersons have LTTE links"

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan Government on Wednesday said three media personnel picked up by the police on Monday have confessed to having links with the Tamil Tigers. The "disappearance" of the three persons was a cause of alarm in media circles.

The police arrested two journalists and a graphic designer, all Sinhalese, on charges of helping the LTTE. "Three people including those two journalists were arrested and they have confessed that they carried out attacks'' after receiving training from the Tigers, Defence spokesman and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters at a news conference here.

The journalists, Lalith Seneviratne and Sisira Priyantha, and graphic designer Nihal Senasinghe worked at Akuna, a bimonthly newspaper.

Mr. Rambukwella said that according to their confessions, "it's very clear that these three people are directly linked [to the LTTE] and have been planning to create a massive calamity in and around Colombo''.

Military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said the suspects had admitted carrying out several recent bomb blasts on the outskirts of Colombo in which no one was injured.

Threat to Minister

Separately, National Heritage Minister Anura Bandaranaike has complained of death threats by an anonymous caller. Mr. Bandaranaike, who was shifted from the Ministry of Tourism in the recent Cabinet reshuffle, is at loggerheads with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Mr. Bandaranaike told the local media that the calls he himself answered were from the "same source" and according to the caller, he was to be hanged in Attanagalle and Minister Mangala Samaraweera in Matara.

"Neither the UNP nor the LTTE would want to kill me. I believe this is the work of the Government," Mr. Bandaranaike said.

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