Lasantha Wickrematunge
Encyclopedia
Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge (5 April 1958 – 8 January 2009) was a prominent Sri Lankan high-profile anti-government journalist, media personality, politician
and human rights activist who was assassinated in January 2009. It has been said that he had written his last editorial a few days before he was killed, in which he blamed the Sri Lanka government for using assassination to stifle the media.
Wickrematunge was known for taking "governments of all hues to task", was a "virulent critic of the Mahinda Rajapaksa
government", and had been "locked in a legal battle with the president's brother, defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was spearheading the battle against the LTTE, a terrorist group as designated by the US State Department.
Coming after numerous killings of anti-government and other journalists – e.g. P. Devakumaran (stabbed May 2008), Sampath de Silva (shot April 2006), Taraki Sivaram (abducted near police station, 2005) – the murder of such a prominent journalist and political figure was widely condemned across the world. The Daily Mirror called it the "biggest blow" to media freedom in Sri Lanka and the Editors Guild held the government responsible for the killing as it has failed to stop attacks against media personnel. The government also expressed shock at the killing, pledging to do everything in its power to catch his killers.
Wickrematunge had been on Amnesty International
's endangered list since 1998, when anti-tank shells were fired on his house.
Despite intense media pressure, no one has been arrested as of January 2011, and Sri Lankan media speculate that the murder investigation may "end up as a cover-up", and that safeguards for an independent media appears bleak.
husband of Princess Katarina Karadjordjevic.The grandnephew of The Honourable George E De Silva. Wickrematunge is of Portuguese
Dutch descent. In his childhood Wickrematunge attended St Benedict’s College where he excelled at cricket. Wickrematunge spent his adolescence in Britain
where he graduated high school and eventually returned to Sri Lanka where he started law school. Upon graduating and receiving his law degree Wickrematunge opted out of practicing criminal law full time and found himself dabbling in politics and going on to be first a sub editor at the Sun newspaper. Wickrematunge then found himself covering crime, courts, and politics at the Island newspaper, where he eventually became news editor.
. Throughout his career Wickrematunge was an outspoken political commenter and activist, Wickrematunge was the adviser to many politicians assisting President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his early days to power and the adviser to former prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe
.
, was chairman of Leader Publications Ltd. In addition to Sunday Leader, Wickrematunge was the Editorial Board Director for the Sinhalese Sunday newspaper Irudina (launched 2004) and the Wednesday English paper Morning Leader (launched 2005). All three were severely critical towards the government.
As an editor, he was particularly noted for his unwavering personal conviction, and his role in mentoring younger colleagues. Wickrematunge was also a reporter for Time magazine and host of good morning Sri Lanka.
"F**k your mother, you son of a bloody wh**e!"
"I will finish you!"
"I treated you well all this while. Now I will destroy you. You don't know who Mahinda Rajapakse is. You watch what I will do to you!"
Uncharacteristically rattled by Rajapakse's outburst, Wickrematunge had inquired what exactly it was that Rajapakse was so upset about. The President was referring to an article about his wife first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa that simply did not exist in that day's Morning Leader.Wickrematunge had explained that such an article was a figment of the President's imagination: someone had been feeding him meat.
He had added, addressing Rajapakse by his familiar first name, "Mahinda, just because you are President, do not talk in that threatening way. We don't get intimidated by threats. Tell us what it is we are supposed to have written." According to reports Rajapaksa responded
"You are not scared!"
"I will show you what it is to be scared. I will rest only once I have destroyed you. You wait and see. You don't know who Mahinda Rajapakse is."
It was just a month later on 21 February 2006, Wickrematunge was harassed by immigration officials acting on the dictates of the government as he waited to board a plane at the airport, to attend the Geneva peace talks.
However in 2007 Wickrematunge and Rajapaksa reconciled.
received the same letter which was compared by a graphologist who confirmed the letters came from the same palm.
said that Wickrematunge had an audio recording of a confession made by one of the members of the killer squad led by the ‘Ugly American’ and a court injunction against Wickrematunge was obtained to prevent him revealing those facts. Addressing a press conference of joint opposition MP Samaraweera charged that the same persons assassinated Wickrematunge
MP Samaraweera said that in the morning he faced death, Wickrematunge had received a copy of a suspicious cabinet paper submitted by the President to the cabinet meeting. Samaraweera showed the media persons a copy of the said cabinet paper.
MP Samaraweera said that the cabinet papers for procuring emergency defense and air equipment were suspicious since they had no mentioning of the facts like what to purchase, from where and what the price etc.
The suppler was mentioned as ‘single source supplier,’Samaraweera stated. He further stated that the procurement agency ‘Lanka Logistic Technology Ltd.’ director board is none other than the Rajapakse Brothers Company. He says that only the technical details of the procured items need to be secret. This kind of large procurements should not be done out of an open tender process, Samaraweera pointed out.
Wickrematunge was to expose these details. He was also to hand over a file with details of killer squads run by US citizens in Sri Lanka to the US state Secretary after President elect Barack Obama
assumed duty. Before he could proceed with them he was gunned down, said MP Mangala Samaraweera.
He said that this US citizen had killer squads in the names K-9 Group, Mahasona Group, Singha Mafia etc. Initially, they were led by a person called Gajanayaka and now they are led by one ‘Navy Sampath.’ There is a special unit under a retired person whose name begins with ‘z’ letter to spy the places the persons to be killed inhabit.
in The Canberra Times
reported that Lasanatha suspected Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president's brother's involvement in his killing"
However, in an interview for BBC, Gotabhaya, the Secretary of Defence, distanced himself from any involvement of the murder of Wickrematunge, who he identified as a "Tabloid writer".
The government has also accused the opposition of trying to gain political advantage from the assassination.
His widow, Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge, herself a journalist who worked with him, left the country a month after his assassination, and now calls herself an "editor in exile".
Silva had made this statement addressing a gathering at the opening ceremony of a outlet
The seven soldiers were separated from an original seventeen taken into police custody as evidence unfolded which may link the soldiers to the murder of Wickrematunge, detectives said.
having connections to the assassination.It was revealed by police reports that Wickrematunge's employee was working as an undercover giving traces and details of Wickrematunge's every move.
The Army Intelligence Unit Operator, and garage owner were arrested due to the connection they were alleged to have, insinuated by the telephone calls they had between themselves, leading to the suspicion they had been conspiring to assassinate Wickrematunge
said that “President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his associates and the government media are directly to blame because they incited hatred against him and allowed an outrageous level of impunity to develop as regards violence against the press" President Mahinda Rajapaksa described the assassination as an attempt to discredit the government,The opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe observed that it was part of an anti-democratic conspiracy and accused the government of attempting to silence its critics.[7]
The United National Party
, Sri Lanka's main opposition party, also staged a demonstration in the parliament on 9 January to protest his killing.[26] In a statement former president Chandrika Kumaratunga
said “Lasantha had guts, which is more than I can say for the cowardly barbarians who murdered this unarmed man.” The JVP Party also condemned the attack
The assassination was condemned by Norway
, the United States
, the European Union
and Japan
, the United Nations
strongly condemned the assassination while the World Bank
expressed its concerns over the attack.The Commonwealth Journalists' Association (CJA) also expressed its outrage at the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunge, asking for justice and the best investigation.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa told Time (magazine) about Wickrematunge: "He was a good friend of mine. He had informed somebody to inform me that he was in danger. But unfortunately, I didn't get that message. I would have told him to go to the nearest police station. No one knows what happened." Wickrematunge was honored by a Congressman on the floor of the United States House of Representatives by reading excerpts of his last editorial.
“I rise today to honor, Lasantha Wickrematunge, a brave journalist who was gunned down while driving to work in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. Threats, attacks, and murders of journalist are becoming all too common in Sri Lanka. Wickrematunge knew the dangers well, but courageously continued reporting,” he said.
Also read were excerpts of his final editorial published posthumously. Meanwhile, Britain also joined in condemning the killing of Wickrematunge.Gordon Brown
condemned the assassination whilst
British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, said in a statement and condemned the killing of Wickrematunge and said that it was the duty of the authorities to take prompt action into these incidents.
“We condemn such brazen attacks. Of particular concern was the murder, on 8 January, of the Chief Editor of The Sunday Leader newspaper, Lasantha Wickrematunge. The Sri Lankan authorities have a duty to take prompt action to ensure that a thorough and independent investigation is carried out,” he said.
He also pointed out the reports of abductions and disappearances in the country.
“There continue to be reports of abductions, disappearances and acts of violence and intimidation in Sri Lanka. Without strong mechanisms for independent human rights reporting, it is difficult to assess the true scope of the problem,” he said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
in a statement ahead of World Press Freedom Day called on the government of Sri Lanka to ensure that those responsible for Lasantha Wickrematunge's murder are found and prosecuted.
Time (magazine) called his death "A personal loss to Time"
Ohad Benchetrit
of Do Make Say Think
released a tribute track titled Lasantha Wickrematunge on his album Years.
Actor Bill Nighy
read Wickrematunge's editorial for News Hour on BBC Radio
In July 2011 a play about journalists took place at the Arcola Theatre
in London which included the story of Wickrematunge and his brother Lal Wickrematunge
,. The director-general of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura
, stated:
were awarded at the National Press Club (USA) with the 2009 John Aubuchon Press Freedom Awards. The awards are bestowed on one international journalist and one American journalist who embody the principles of a free press.
Written by a man who had been facing death threats on a regular basis for many years, the editorial meditates about why he takes such risks - "After all, I too am a husband, and the father of three wonderful children.... Diplomats, recognising the risk journalists face in Sri Lanka, have offered me safe passage and the right of residence in their countries. Whatever else I may have been stuck for, I have not been stuck for choice. But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre and security. It is the call of conscience.... Our commitment is to see Sri Lanka as a transparent, secular, liberal democracy".
His statement that "Sri Lanka is the only country in the world routinely to bomb its own citizens." touched on the taboo subject of false flag
, Gladio style artificial terrorism by covert operators
.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and human rights activist who was assassinated in January 2009. It has been said that he had written his last editorial a few days before he was killed, in which he blamed the Sri Lanka government for using assassination to stifle the media.
Wickrematunge was known for taking "governments of all hues to task", was a "virulent critic of the Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Percy Mahendra "Mahinda" Rajapaksa ; ; born November 18, 1945) is the 6th and current President of Sri Lanka and Commander in Chief of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. A lawyer by profession, Rajapaksa was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1970, and served as prime minister from April 6,...
government", and had been "locked in a legal battle with the president's brother, defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was spearheading the battle against the LTTE, a terrorist group as designated by the US State Department.
Coming after numerous killings of anti-government and other journalists – e.g. P. Devakumaran (stabbed May 2008), Sampath de Silva (shot April 2006), Taraki Sivaram (abducted near police station, 2005) – the murder of such a prominent journalist and political figure was widely condemned across the world. The Daily Mirror called it the "biggest blow" to media freedom in Sri Lanka and the Editors Guild held the government responsible for the killing as it has failed to stop attacks against media personnel. The government also expressed shock at the killing, pledging to do everything in its power to catch his killers.
Wickrematunge had been on Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
's endangered list since 1998, when anti-tank shells were fired on his house.
Despite intense media pressure, no one has been arrested as of January 2011, and Sri Lankan media speculate that the murder investigation may "end up as a cover-up", and that safeguards for an independent media appears bleak.
Early life
Lasantha Wickrematunge was the youngest of six children born to a family with a background in politics. His father Harris Wickrematunge, a prominent politician, had served as a municipal councillor for 30 years, was at one time the deputy mayor, and was known for his transparency in dealing with the press, even opening confidential files for reporters. Wickrematunge was the cousin of Desmond Lorenz de SilvaDesmond Lorenz de Silva
Sir Desmond Lorenz de Silva, QC, KStJ, is a prominent British lawyer, and former United Nations Chief War Crimes Prosecutor in Sierra Leone.-Family background:...
husband of Princess Katarina Karadjordjevic.The grandnephew of The Honourable George E De Silva. Wickrematunge is of Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Dutch descent. In his childhood Wickrematunge attended St Benedict’s College where he excelled at cricket. Wickrematunge spent his adolescence in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
where he graduated high school and eventually returned to Sri Lanka where he started law school. Upon graduating and receiving his law degree Wickrematunge opted out of practicing criminal law full time and found himself dabbling in politics and going on to be first a sub editor at the Sun newspaper. Wickrematunge then found himself covering crime, courts, and politics at the Island newspaper, where he eventually became news editor.
Political career
Whilst practicing law, Wickrematunge made his way into the political scene before entering into journalism starting with the Island and Sun newspapers. In 1972 Wickrematunge contested in the elections. He was then assigned private secretary to the world's first female prime minister Sirimavo BandaranaikeSirimavo Bandaranaike
Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike was a Sri Lankan politician and the world's first female head of government...
. Throughout his career Wickrematunge was an outspoken political commenter and activist, Wickrematunge was the adviser to many politicians assisting President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his early days to power and the adviser to former prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe
Ranil Wickremasinghe
Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe , MP, is a Sri Lankan politician and current Leader of the Opposition in the Sri Lankan parliament. He was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka twice, from May 7, 1993 to August 19, 1994 and from December 9, 2001 to April 6, 2004...
.
Journalism
In 1994 Wickrematunge started the Sunday Leader. Wickrematunge led this newspaper, which emerged from the Multipacks Group of Companies founded by Haris Hulugalle, Wickrematunge's brother, Lal WickrematungeLal Wickrematunge
Lal Wickrematunge is a Sri Lankan editor in chief and CEO at The Sunday Leader. He is the brother of Lasantha Wickrematunge cousin of Desmond Lorenz de Silva and son of Harris Wickrematunge . Lal Wickrematunge's writing has also appeared in the British newspaper The Guardian. Married to Marie...
, was chairman of Leader Publications Ltd. In addition to Sunday Leader, Wickrematunge was the Editorial Board Director for the Sinhalese Sunday newspaper Irudina (launched 2004) and the Wednesday English paper Morning Leader (launched 2005). All three were severely critical towards the government.
As an editor, he was particularly noted for his unwavering personal conviction, and his role in mentoring younger colleagues. Wickrematunge was also a reporter for Time magazine and host of good morning Sri Lanka.
Feud between Wickrematunge and Rajapaksa
Wickrematunge and President Mahinda Rajapaksa had been friends for over 20 years however started a public ongoing feud when Wickrematunge received a phone call on 11 January 2006."F**k your mother, you son of a bloody wh**e!"
"I will finish you!"
"I treated you well all this while. Now I will destroy you. You don't know who Mahinda Rajapakse is. You watch what I will do to you!"
Uncharacteristically rattled by Rajapakse's outburst, Wickrematunge had inquired what exactly it was that Rajapakse was so upset about. The President was referring to an article about his wife first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa that simply did not exist in that day's Morning Leader.Wickrematunge had explained that such an article was a figment of the President's imagination: someone had been feeding him meat.
He had added, addressing Rajapakse by his familiar first name, "Mahinda, just because you are President, do not talk in that threatening way. We don't get intimidated by threats. Tell us what it is we are supposed to have written." According to reports Rajapaksa responded
"You are not scared!"
"I will show you what it is to be scared. I will rest only once I have destroyed you. You wait and see. You don't know who Mahinda Rajapakse is."
It was just a month later on 21 February 2006, Wickrematunge was harassed by immigration officials acting on the dictates of the government as he waited to board a plane at the airport, to attend the Geneva peace talks.
However in 2007 Wickrematunge and Rajapaksa reconciled.
Physical assault
Wickrematunge was under threat almost on a daily basis, being constantly followed, having his phones tapped and being stalked. His family was in constant danger. In 1995, Wickrematunge and his then wife were pulled from their moving car in a quiet residential street by a gang of hit men and beaten with metal poles pierced with nails. Wickrematunge reported in his editorial in the following week that his then wife jumped over his body to shield and protect him and was also attacked.Resident attack
In the second week of June 1998, Wickrematunge began to notice that his house was under surveillance. A mysterious white van with tinted windows was regularly parked outside the residence. Wickrematunge, his wife, children, and domestic aides dived for cover as their house was bombarded by heavily penetration ammunition from weapons of war, shattering windows, chiselling at the walls, and effortlessly cutting through the garage gate to severely damage the two vehicles parked inside the residence.The family chauffeur nearly lost his life as he ducked behind a jeep in the garage, bullets whizzing bare inches from his neck.Sunday Leader shut down
On 22 May 2000 the Sunday Leader was ordered to be shut down by the then government. However the court ordered the government to pay the pro-opposition Sunday Leader in compensation. The Supreme Court had ruled the government acted illegally in imposing media censorship in response to the war in the north.Arrests
Wickematunge was threatened to be sentenced to prison numerous times. In September 2000 Wickrematunge was sentenced to two years simple imprisonment by the High Court in a criminal defamation case. The Colombo High Court Judge informed Wickrematunge that the jail sentence had been suspended for a period of five years. In 2006 Wickrematunge was threatened to be sentenced to prison again, however due to a mass protest outside Wickrematunge's office, police officers were asked to turn back. In 2007 While Wickrematunge was returning from overseas from a peace talk, the CID were said to wait for him and take him into custody.Sunday Leader printing press burnt
The printing press of the Leader Publication was destroyed in 2007 by an armed gang who stormed the building on the outskirts of Colombo and set the machines on fire, police said. At least 12 masked men carrying T-56 automatic weapons threatened the staff at the building and set it on fire.Attempted bombing
In late 2006 it was reported that a bomb was planted outside the MTV/Sirasa studios where Wickrematunge worked, intended to explode at the exit Wickrematunge took, however it had been defused.Detained
In 2006 Wickrematunge arrived at the airport and presented his passport to emigration officials who held him up and questioned him for over half an hour. It was only when Wickrematunge broadcast his plight on Sirasa Radio via his mobile phone that authorities received a hasty message from Colombo to let him through, a mere five minutes before his flight was to depart. It was later revealed by the Immigration and Emigration Chief that the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) had issued orders to prevent one "Wickrematunge" from leaving the country, thus the holdup.Trial
Wickrematunge was locked in an ongoing legal battle with Gotabaya Rajapaksa where Wickrematunge's business was being sued for Rs 2 billion. The Sunday Leader is still set to take prominence with a hearing held where Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa is suing the Leader Publications.Letters
A week ago before the assassination Wickrematunge received a letter across that in red paint, the written words read: (If writing continued, you will be sliced up). Wickrematunge instructed his secretary to trash it but it was filed away. In October 2009 Frederica JanszFrederica Jansz
Frederica Jansz is the Sri Lankan Editor of the Sunday Leader. She became Editor after the assassination of Editor in Chief Lasantha Wickrematunge. She has been under threat due to her work. Jansz is the cousin of Jacqueline Fernandez-References:...
received the same letter which was compared by a graphologist who confirmed the letters came from the same palm.
Wickrematunge to have reported to Obama
Sri Lanka Freedom Party People’s Wing leader and former Minister Mangala SamaraweeraMangala Samaraweera
Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera MP is a Sri Lankan politician and current member of parliament who served as the Cabinet Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2007...
said that Wickrematunge had an audio recording of a confession made by one of the members of the killer squad led by the ‘Ugly American’ and a court injunction against Wickrematunge was obtained to prevent him revealing those facts. Addressing a press conference of joint opposition MP Samaraweera charged that the same persons assassinated Wickrematunge
MP Samaraweera said that in the morning he faced death, Wickrematunge had received a copy of a suspicious cabinet paper submitted by the President to the cabinet meeting. Samaraweera showed the media persons a copy of the said cabinet paper.
MP Samaraweera said that the cabinet papers for procuring emergency defense and air equipment were suspicious since they had no mentioning of the facts like what to purchase, from where and what the price etc.
The suppler was mentioned as ‘single source supplier,’Samaraweera stated. He further stated that the procurement agency ‘Lanka Logistic Technology Ltd.’ director board is none other than the Rajapakse Brothers Company. He says that only the technical details of the procured items need to be secret. This kind of large procurements should not be done out of an open tender process, Samaraweera pointed out.
Wickrematunge was to expose these details. He was also to hand over a file with details of killer squads run by US citizens in Sri Lanka to the US state Secretary after President elect Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
assumed duty. Before he could proceed with them he was gunned down, said MP Mangala Samaraweera.
He said that this US citizen had killer squads in the names K-9 Group, Mahasona Group, Singha Mafia etc. Initially, they were led by a person called Gajanayaka and now they are led by one ‘Navy Sampath.’ There is a special unit under a retired person whose name begins with ‘z’ letter to spy the places the persons to be killed inhabit.
Death
Wickrematunge was shot while he was on his way to work around 10:30 a.m. on 8 January 2009. Four armed assassins riding motorcycles blocked Wickrematunge's vehicle before breaking open his window and shooting him. He was taken to the Colombo South General Hospital (Kalubowila). It was initially planned with a helicopter on standby to transfer him to the Colombo National Hospital. A specialist team of 20 of medical personnel were called in for the surgery. Despite surgery lasting nearly three hours, Wickrematunge died from his head wounds.Reference to assassin
Gwynne DyerGwynne Dyer
Gwynne Dyer, OC is a London-based independent Canadian journalist, syndicated columnist and military historian.Dyer was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and joined the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve at the age of sixteen...
in The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times newspaper was founded in 1926 in Canberra, Australia by Arthur Shakespeare.It was the second paper to be printed in the city, the first being The Federal Capital Pioneer. The paper was sold to the Fairfax group in the 1960s by Arthur Shakespeare on the condition that it continue...
reported that Lasanatha suspected Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president's brother's involvement in his killing"
However, in an interview for BBC, Gotabhaya, the Secretary of Defence, distanced himself from any involvement of the murder of Wickrematunge, who he identified as a "Tabloid writer".
The government has also accused the opposition of trying to gain political advantage from the assassination.
His widow, Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge, herself a journalist who worked with him, left the country a month after his assassination, and now calls herself an "editor in exile".
Mervyn Silva publicly admits to killing Wickrematunge
In July 2009 Mervyn Silva held a meeting where he publicly stated “Lasantha from the Leader paper went overboard. I took care of him. Poddala agitated and his leg was broken. Now a fellow in my electorate is trying to stand against me. I now tell him in his own hometown, I will give him only seven more days. If he does not resign as chairman of the Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha, don’t blame me later on. You’ll don’t find fault with me. If this fellow goes against what I say, I will send him to the place where I sent Lasantha,”Silva had made this statement addressing a gathering at the opening ceremony of a outlet
Soldiers arrested
Seven soldiers belonging to the Sri Lanka Army’s Military Intelligence Unit were detained as investigations continued into the murder of Wickrematunge. The seven suspects were being held for further questioning by the Terrorist Investigations Department and the Criminal Investigations Department.The seven soldiers were separated from an original seventeen taken into police custody as evidence unfolded which may link the soldiers to the murder of Wickrematunge, detectives said.
Employee arrested
In 2009 early days into the investigation the family's chauffeur was arrested and taken into custody for reportedlyhaving connections to the assassination.It was revealed by police reports that Wickrematunge's employee was working as an undercover giving traces and details of Wickrematunge's every move.
Rajapaksa implicates Fonseka
When the Straits Times asked if Fonseka knew of the murder, Gotabaya said "Yes, of course. We know there was no other person: In fact, I know for sure. He was definitely responsible for five or six cases (of disappearances) where media people were involved. Now I am going after the people who did the executions. The truth will come out very soon, then the people will know."Two suspects remanded
When the operator of the Army Intelligence Unit and a Tamil Garage Owner who were taken into custody in connection with the assassination of Wickrematunge they were produced before the Chief Magistrate, they were ordered to be held further in remand till 19 November 2010.The Army Intelligence Unit Operator, and garage owner were arrested due to the connection they were alleged to have, insinuated by the telephone calls they had between themselves, leading to the suspicion they had been conspiring to assassinate Wickrematunge
Wickrematunge case taken up for thirty-eighth time
Submitting a report,The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) told the court that the case pertaining to the assassination of veteran Lasantha, had been handed over to the Terrorist Investigation Division(TID).International reaction
Wickrematunge's assassination caused an international outcry. Reporters Without BordersReporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
said that “President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his associates and the government media are directly to blame because they incited hatred against him and allowed an outrageous level of impunity to develop as regards violence against the press" President Mahinda Rajapaksa described the assassination as an attempt to discredit the government,The opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe observed that it was part of an anti-democratic conspiracy and accused the government of attempting to silence its critics.[7]
The United National Party
United National Party
The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...
, Sri Lanka's main opposition party, also staged a demonstration in the parliament on 9 January to protest his killing.[26] In a statement former president Chandrika Kumaratunga
Chandrika Kumaratunga
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga born June 29, 1945) was the 4th Executive president of Sri Lanka, serving from November 12, 1994 to November 19, 2005. The daughter of two former Prime Ministers, she was also the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party until end of 2005...
said “Lasantha had guts, which is more than I can say for the cowardly barbarians who murdered this unarmed man.” The JVP Party also condemned the attack
The assassination was condemned by Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
strongly condemned the assassination while the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
expressed its concerns over the attack.The Commonwealth Journalists' Association (CJA) also expressed its outrage at the killing of Lasantha Wickrematunge, asking for justice and the best investigation.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa told Time (magazine) about Wickrematunge: "He was a good friend of mine. He had informed somebody to inform me that he was in danger. But unfortunately, I didn't get that message. I would have told him to go to the nearest police station. No one knows what happened." Wickrematunge was honored by a Congressman on the floor of the United States House of Representatives by reading excerpts of his last editorial.
“I rise today to honor, Lasantha Wickrematunge, a brave journalist who was gunned down while driving to work in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. Threats, attacks, and murders of journalist are becoming all too common in Sri Lanka. Wickrematunge knew the dangers well, but courageously continued reporting,” he said.
Also read were excerpts of his final editorial published posthumously. Meanwhile, Britain also joined in condemning the killing of Wickrematunge.Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
condemned the assassination whilst
British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, said in a statement and condemned the killing of Wickrematunge and said that it was the duty of the authorities to take prompt action into these incidents.
“We condemn such brazen attacks. Of particular concern was the murder, on 8 January, of the Chief Editor of The Sunday Leader newspaper, Lasantha Wickrematunge. The Sri Lankan authorities have a duty to take prompt action to ensure that a thorough and independent investigation is carried out,” he said.
He also pointed out the reports of abductions and disappearances in the country.
“There continue to be reports of abductions, disappearances and acts of violence and intimidation in Sri Lanka. Without strong mechanisms for independent human rights reporting, it is difficult to assess the true scope of the problem,” he said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
in a statement ahead of World Press Freedom Day called on the government of Sri Lanka to ensure that those responsible for Lasantha Wickrematunge's murder are found and prosecuted.
Time (magazine) called his death "A personal loss to Time"
Ohad Benchetrit
Ohad Benchetrit
Ohad Benchetrit is a Canadian musician. He plays guitar, bass, saxophone and flute for the post-rock band Do Make Say Think, and has also contributed to albums by Broken Social Scene, Feist, The Hidden Cameras and Charles Spearin....
of Do Make Say Think
Do Make Say Think
Do Make Say Think is a Canadian instrumental post-rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Their music combines jazz style drums, distorted guitars and wind instruments, as well as a prominent use of the bass guitar.-Biography:...
released a tribute track titled Lasantha Wickrematunge on his album Years.
Actor Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
read Wickrematunge's editorial for News Hour on BBC Radio
In July 2011 a play about journalists took place at the Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre is a studio theatre in Dalston, in the London Borough of Hackney. The theatre's ambition is to create and present high-quality theatre with a social and political relevance to its multicultural local community as well as a wider audience....
in London which included the story of Wickrematunge and his brother Lal Wickrematunge
Lal Wickrematunge
Lal Wickrematunge is a Sri Lankan editor in chief and CEO at The Sunday Leader. He is the brother of Lasantha Wickrematunge cousin of Desmond Lorenz de Silva and son of Harris Wickrematunge . Lal Wickrematunge's writing has also appeared in the British newspaper The Guardian. Married to Marie...
UN award
Wickrematunge was awarded the 2009 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom PrizeUNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize
The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, created in 1997, honours a person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger.The...
,. The director-general of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura
Koichiro Matsuura
is a Japanese diplomat. He is the former Director-General of UNESCO. He was first elected in 1999 to a six-year term and reelected on 12 October 2005 for four years, following a reform instituted by the 29th session of the General Conference...
, stated:
- In awarding the 2009 World Press Freedom Prize to a committed journalist who opposed war, UNESCO, along with media professionals from all over the world, recognizes the important role that freedom of expression can play in fostering mutual understanding and reconciliation, the theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day celebration."
Harvard award
On 17 November 2009 Wickrematunge was awarded the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard presented by the Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism to slain Sri Lankan newspaper editor Lasantha Wickrematunge and the journalists of Afghanistan.National Press Club Press Freedom Award
Wickrematunge and David S. RohdeDavid S. Rohde
David Stephenson Rohde is an American author and investigative journalist for Thomson Reuters. While a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, he won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1996 for his coverage of the Srebrenica massacre. From July 2002 until December 2004, he was...
were awarded at the National Press Club (USA) with the 2009 John Aubuchon Press Freedom Awards. The awards are bestowed on one international journalist and one American journalist who embody the principles of a free press.
Asia Media Award
Wickrematunge was awarded the 1st Asia Media Award for Press Freedom: In Memory of WickrematungeIPI World Press Freedom Hero
In 2010 Wickrematunge has been posthumously declared an IPI World Press Freedom Hero.International Inaugural Integrity Award
In 2000, the global anti-corruption community recognized Lasantha Wickrematunga’s fearless pursuit of the truth and the years he spent exposing corruption in Sri Lankan politics by granting him Transparency International's very first Integrity Award.Posthumous editorial
Following his death, the Sunday Leader carried a posthumous editorial by Wickrematunge, in which he blames the Government directly for assassinating journalist as its "primary tool" for controlling the media. In a brooding testimonial to personal courage, he writes:- "No other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism.... Electronic and print-media institutions have been burnt, bombed, sealed and coerced. Countless journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honour to belong to all those categories and now especially the last."
Written by a man who had been facing death threats on a regular basis for many years, the editorial meditates about why he takes such risks - "After all, I too am a husband, and the father of three wonderful children.... Diplomats, recognising the risk journalists face in Sri Lanka, have offered me safe passage and the right of residence in their countries. Whatever else I may have been stuck for, I have not been stuck for choice. But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre and security. It is the call of conscience.... Our commitment is to see Sri Lanka as a transparent, secular, liberal democracy".
His statement that "Sri Lanka is the only country in the world routinely to bomb its own citizens." touched on the taboo subject of false flag
False flag
False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
, Gladio style artificial terrorism by covert operators
Covert operation
A covert operation is a military, intelligence or law enforcement operation that is carried clandestinely and, often, outside of official channels. Covert operations aim to fulfill their mission objectives without any parties knowing who sponsored or carried out the operation...
.
See also
- J. S. TissainayagamJ. S. TissainayagamJayaprakash Sittampalam Tissainayagam is a Sri Lankan journalist...
- Daniel PearlDaniel PearlDaniel Pearl was an American journalist who was kidnapped and killed by Al-Qaeda.At the time of his kidnapping, Pearl served as the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, and was based in Mumbai, India. He went to Pakistan as part of an investigation into the alleged links between...
- Anna PolitkovskayaAnna PolitkovskayaAnna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist, author, and human rights activist known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and then-President of Russia Vladimir Putin...
- Ranil Wickramasinghe
External links
- Goodbye Lasantha : Memorials by his wife, brother and other Sunday Leader staff
- Remembering “Lassie Boy” on his 51st birthday: by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
- "A year goes by...& we're lost without you..." by Sunalie Ratnayake, a colleague journalist at Sunday Leader(photo collections)
- Lasantha: Two years after the assassination by Basil Fernando , Hong Kong , SAR, CNINA
- Memories of Lasantha Wickrematunga by Pearl Thevanayagam , London, UK