Protesters hurl stones, injure four at Sirasa TV

Staffers at Sirasa TV confirmed media reports that about 200 people gathered outside the in-town office of the independent broadcaster and threw stones, breaking windows and injuring staffers on March 22, 2010. Some in the crowd carried posters in Sinhala and English protesting the station’s plan to broadcast a concert by pop singer Akon scheduled for April in the capital city, Colombo. One of the singer’s recent videos had included a statue of the Buddha in the background while poolside partygoers danced in the foreground. Most of Sri Lanka’s ethnic Sinhalese majority are Buddhist. Police were reportedly made a few arrests.