SLA restricts video, camera equipment inside Weber stadium

[TamilNet, Friday, 22 August 2003, 10:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) 23-3rd brigade commander Brigadier Rajitha De Silva has barred public and journalists from taking camera and video equipment inside Weber sports stadium in Batticaloa, security sources in the east said. The Brigadier said that the order was issued due to the security sensitive nature of the location which falls within the High Security Zone (HSZ).

Journalists and press personnel have to obtain prior permission from the SLA if they are intending to take photographic equipment into the stadium, according to the Brigadier.

On the 17th of this month Tamil journalist T.Vethanayagam who went to the Weber stadium to film a soccer game was interrogated and was stopped from entering the stadium. Security sources say that the new order was issued after the above incident was publicized in the local press.

Weber stadium lies within the perimeter of the HSZ as marked by the SLA. There are a few observation posts within the stadium. The SLA ban on public entry to the Weber stadium was only removed after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the LTTE last year.