Sri Lanka threatens to expel media as army closes in on rebels.

(From Guardian Unlimited)

Sri Lanka has publicly warned foreign media, western media and aid agencies that they will be expelled from the country if their reporting is deemed sympathetic to the Tamil Tiger guerrillas, who are making a last stand deep in the island's jungle.

In an interview to local media, the defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, highlighted the role of ambassadors of Switzerland and Germany, and television networks CNN, BBC and al-Jazeera in his criticism of foreigners, accusing them of being biased towards the rebels, known formerly as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

"They will be chased away [if they try] to give a second wind to the LTTE terrorists at a time the security forces, at heavy cost, are dealing them the final death blow," he said.

The blunt words underline how difficult it has become to cover one of the world's bloodiest and most under-reported conflicts. The government controls access to the war zones and international media groups complain of reporters being intimidated.

European diplomats have come under fire in Sri Lanka for their high-profile support of journalists and media freedom, particularly after the assassination of crusading editor Lasantha Wickramatunga.

Rajapaksa claimed that media reports were damaging the security forces at a time when they were "dealing the final death blow" to the Tigers. In the newspaper article, he singled out the BBC correspondent reporting from Colombo, Chris Morris, saying that "if he does not act responsibly and attempts to create panic, I will have to chase him out of the country".