COLOMBO: A dozen men armed with assault rifles and petrol bombs attacked the offices Friday of a media company whose owners had supported the opposition in the last presidential election.
The men entered the premises of Voice of Asia Network in the Sri Lankan capital around 1:30 a.m. Friday and assaulted a security guard before setting the buildings on fire with petrol bombs, said Jimmy Deen, a spokesman for the company, which runs a private television station and three radio stations. The security guard and another employee were injured.
The blaze gutted the building housing the company's television channel Siyatha TV and damaged the station's control room, studio and library, Deen said. The TV station had to be shut down, but the radio stations were still broadcasting.
Police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody confirmed the attack, but said authorities needed more time to confirm the details.
Deen said he couldn't think of any reason for the attack, since the stations were mainly focused on entertainment and education. It was widely known, however, that the company's owners backed the main opposition candidate, ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka, in January's presidential election.
Fonseka lost, and he and many of his supporters were arrested after the vote. Fonseka faces a court-martial for allegedly planning his political career while in the army.
Fonseka's supporters say President Mahinda Rajapaksa is punishing the general for daring to challenge him.
Media rights groups say Sri Lanka is among the most dangerous places for dissenting journalists. Amnesty International says at least 14 Sri Lankan media workers have been killed since the beginning of 2006.
Friday's assault was the first attack and torching of a private television station since last year's high profile attack on Sirasa — a private television channel. No one has been arrested for that attack.
Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association — a local media rights group — condemned Friday's attack and demanded that authorities bring the culprits before the law.
"We think this is a well-planned attack to disrupt the broadcast of Siyatha TV and this shows that the suppression of media is still continuing," network president Gnanasiri Kottigoda said.
He accused the government of failing to arrest those responsible for previous attacks on media.
"If the government does not arrest those culprits, we are compelled to believe that the government is either directly or indirectly responsible for such attacks," he said.
The government officials could not be reached for comments, but its official web site stated that the government has ordered the police chief to conduct a special investigation into the Friday's attack.
