London, July 2 (IANS) The managing director of a Sri Lankan Tamil newspaper has alleged that a “shadowy group” has ordered his employees to quit their jobs or get killed, BBC reported Thursday.
E. Saravanapavan of Uthayan newspaper said he had to rush to Jaffna in the country’s north from Colombo following the threats.

Uthayan is the largest selling Tamil daily in Jaffna, the Tamil heartland.

The group, calling itself the “Tamil Alliance to Protect the Country”, told the newspaper staff to resign or “face the capital punishment”, said the report. The staff’s reaction was not known.

The group accused the daily of being a “mouthpiece for terrorists” — a reference to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which the military crushed in May.

Most Tamil newspapers in Sri Lanka have been more critical of the military campaign against the LTTE on account of the widespread civilian casualties that accompanied the war.

Saravanapavan said President Mahinda Rajapaksa had promised safety to the newspaper employees after he was informed about the threat.