The Colombo Post (now defunct) was edited by Sri Lanka’s Consul – General in Toronto. I have read several very different perspectives on the closure of the paper but what seems to stand out is that the paper was releasing information from unnamed sources that deemed to be from the diplomatic station that were not following proper lines of communication to the Government. The Consul-General is supposed to be releasing/sharing information with the government via secure transmission lines or diplomatic pouch not through the newspaper. This is especially true due to a war with a non-conventional enemy the LTTE. And priority of information should first be with the government and only after government clearance should be disseminated through the media. This is not significant of a fascist government but of a non-linear/multi-national terrorist threat. The exact location of these "leaks" is still unknown but it has been surmised to be of detriment.
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=1258452693
This item from US Ambassador Robert Blake’s office looks a bit more professional on the surface. Mr. Blake’s item appears from a business publication and Mr. Blake chairs the Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka – known as the “American Chamber of Commerce”. Usually diplomats work through a Bureau of Investment not a “Chamber of Commerce” because of the level and complexity of diplomatic dealings. In this manner, it is unusual. In Mr. Blake’s piece it is stated that Sri Lanka is considered “One of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world after Iraq” What both Sri Lanka and Iraq are learning is that threats posed against the established government include hit-and-run incidents that share a very high degree of mutual occurrence. These events include synchronized, international attacks from different terror elements in a same or sequential time frame. A recent event that comes to mind were the spate of multiple child abductions – these occurred in a period of few days in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq and one other country that is not currently coming to mind. Prior to that there was a spate of attacks on diplomatic drivers, prior to that there was a series of assassination attempts on Presidents and Prime Ministers. This is indicative of terror networks that I first noticed the existence of in 2006. I have not only reported these events to my government, but also to yours, to Europol and the British Home Office. Whenever I see another sequence-I report it. It has become standard procedure in places such as the Middle East, Israel, Iraq and Sri Lanka to recuse press coverage and NGO/INGO interaction with terrorist elements or within high security threat areas because press/NGO security cannot be guaranteed in a non-linear, multi-national, synchronized threat environments. The press wants autonomy of movement without consultation of military or government but at the same time wants the government to instantaneously act/react when an incident is perpetrated against that body. There is an ongoing investigation Mr. Blake to ascertain what and who caused the attacks at Sirasa studios. My question is as follows: are Shakthi and Sirasa both housed at the same location or at different locations and is there more than one studio?
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2009/01/post_251.html
This piece also does not have a by-line. It is also in no way representative of unbiased journalism or even professional journalism as it has spelling and contextual errors as well as lack of journalistic style that would leave it to be categorized as a propaganda piece. Being propaganda, displayed as journalism, the first question that comes to mind is who does it benefit and where did it originate? “Most of the terror squad were wearing trousers, tee- shirts and boots. They were young and physically fit and were close – cropped and clean – shaven. I THOUGHT THEY WERE MASKED GUNMEN
According to a statement made to the Police by employees the attackers were very atheletic and conducted themselves like the “hamudawe” (military).”
It is well known that not only does the government have military so does the militant terrorist organization LTTE. And though the LTTE recruits may be thin, malnourished and non-professional, the command and supervisory forces are well built, well fed, clean cut and well organized. They are known to drive about in “white vans” which they have received from several sources including NGOs.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE5052Q620090106?sp=true
This piece does have a by-line; the information from the very first sentence differs from the previous piece that in great detail describes physical features. “Masked gunmen threw grenades and destroyed the main studio of Sri Lanka’s largest private broadcaster Tuesday, days after state media criticised it for coverage of a Tamil Tiger suicide blast.”
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2009/01/post_250.html
This piece mostly includes a press release – in
This is what I mean about non-conventional, symetrical attacks
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_tv_attack;_ylt=Ak5_kL0bNvRAeDwfgFy.8jm3IxIF
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