Jaffna dailies face closure following slaying of Journalist

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 May 2008, 09:16 GMT]
The killing of the Jaffna correspondent of Sakthi TV Station, Paranirupasingham Thevakumar, has raised fear for their lives of the remaining journalists, the media report released Thursday by North Ceylon Journalists’ Association (NCJA) said. The dailies in Jaffna, faced with the lack of journalists and editors, are being forced to close down, the report warned.

The funeral of the slain journalist Theva will be held Thursday evening, his family members said.

The NCJA media report, while condemning the killing of Theva, offered NCJA’s heart felt condolence to his family.

The dearth of willing journalists and media personnel in Jaffna peninsula due to fear for their lives has forced Jaffna dailies to depend on Colombo sources and websites for news in the recent past.

Jaffna correspondent of Sakthi TV station, Paranirupasingam Thevakumar, 34, was abducted while he was returning to his residence in Vaddukkoaddai and hacked to death in Kaakkaitheevu, a barren land, Wednesday around 4:00 p.m

Chronology: