JUNE 8, 2006
Posted: June 30, 2006
TBC Radio Station
ATTACKED, THREATENED
Journalists at the London-based Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) received death threats from members of the Sri Lankan separatist movement Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). A group of five men attempted to break into the studio while it aired a political discussion program, according to international news reports.
LTTE supporters blocked the entrance of the TBC office and continued to threaten staff members and panelists through the entry phone. The station had to stop the broadcast of its
live radio program.
They asked the radio station to hand over the panelist A. K. Vivekananthan for his critical comments about the LTTE. Program presenters Sivajini Ramaraj and Visvalingam Sivalingam also received death threats for airing comments about the political situation of Sri Lanka.
British police took three of the gangs at the scene into custody.
TBC journalists have received numerous threats since they began broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka in March 2004.