Sri Lanka’s military air strike on the rebel Voice of Tiger radio station in the island’s north that killed 11 people violated international law, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said today. Sri Lankan warplanes yesterday dropped 12 bombs and virtually flattened the radio station, killing 11 and injuring 15, just moments before it was due to broadcast rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran’s annual address.
“Voice of Tigers is a propaganda radio operated by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), but the rules of war are clear - military bombardment and bombing must be limited to strictly military targets,” the Paris-based media rights organisation said in a statement.
LTTE spokesman Rasiah Ilantheriyan told AFP that the rebels managed to broadcast the pre-recorded speech to the north and to Tamils overseas - who are a key funding source - using “alternative arrangements.”
Government officials declined to comment on the RSF statement. International media rights activists have described Sri Lanka as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to work due to a worsening climate of violence and censorship.
(Source: AFP/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)