Suresh Kumar and Ranjith Kumar were minority

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

s working for the ''

Uthayan ''Uthayan'' ( ta, உதயன் Utayaṉ, en, Morning) is a Tamil language Sri Lankan daily newspaper published by New Uthayan Publication (Private) Limited, part of the Uthayan Group of Newspapers. It was founded in 1985 and is published from ...

'' – a Tamil newspaper published from Jaffna. ''Uthayan'' has been specifically targeted for its independent reporting by the Sri Lankan military and the paramilitary group EPDP. They were killed on 2 May 2006 during an attack on the ''Uthayan'' office.

Background

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

– which is under Sri Lankan army control – journalists, human rights activists and civilians have lived under constant fear. These killing are part of series of killing, abduction and attacks on the Tamil Media in Sri Lanka. These killings, abductions and threats are seen as part of the dirty war launched by

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

government.

Incident and reaction

Suresh Kumar and Ranjith Kumar were killed after a ''Uthayan'' published a cartoon mocking Douglas Devananda the leader of EPDP a paramilitary group allied with the Sri Lankan Army. Armed Gunmen entered the office of ''Uthayan'' in army controlled Jaffna on 2 May 2006 and demanded to see the editor R. Kuhanathan and finding he was not there opened fire and the two employees died instantly.

References

{{Reflist

Kumar A coin, around 200 BCE, of the Yaudheyas with depiction of Kumāra Karttikeya">Yaudheyas.html" ;"title="BCE, of the Yaudheyas">BCE, of the Yaudheyas with depiction of Kumāra Karttikeya Kumar (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: wikt:कुमा ...

Deaths by firearm in Sri Lanka Assassinated Sri Lankan journalists Sri Lankan Tamil journalists Assassinated Sri Lankan activists People murdered in Sri Lanka Year of birth missing