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Tigers
set to organise more protests over journalist's killing
As local and international organisations went ahead condemning the killing of Virakesari Batticaloa correspondent and political columnist, the LTTE went on a mourning spree bringing the entire north and east to a virtual standstill last week. The hartal was active on Wednesday in Batticaloa, Jaffna, Kalmunai, Akkaraipattu, Ampara and parts of Trincomalee. The killing of the journalist was the latest in a series of uninvestigated killings, mostly of government military intelligence officers, LTTE cadres and just a fortnight ago the assassination of academic Kumaravel Thambiah, an economics lecturer at the Eastern University. With speculation rife as to who was behind the killing, the incident remains uninvestigated to date with the LTTE limiting itself to demanding an inquiry from the government. However with regard to the assassination of Nadesan, displaying a rare gesture on honour, the LTTE chose to drape the Tiger flag over the coffin once the body was bought to the residence of the slain journalist at Lake Road, Batticaloa on Tuesday. This is the first time that the LTTE has opted to honour a civilian with a routine that is normally reserved only for LTTE cadres killed in battle. Although the honour was indeed rare, the sister of Nadesan had protested initially against the military tribute paid to Nadesan but his wife had insisted that the LTTE Tiger flag be draped over the remains of the journalist, pointing out that 'he died for the Tamil cause'. Special arrangements had been made by the military to keep the check-point open after 5 p.m. in Omanthai for the body to be taken from the Vavuniya Municipal Council hall where it had been kept for a few hours to the LTTE-controlled Kilinochchi by LTTE Deputy Political Wing Leader for Vavuniya, Thangan. On Wednesday almost the entire LTTE hierarchial members were at the funeral, including Political Wing Leader Thamilselvan and Karikalan. Nadesan who was employed in the Inland Revenue Department earlier, served as a teacher and then for a short while as the Director Media in the now defunct North-Eastern Provincial Council, administered by former Chief Minister Vartharaja Perumal. Nadesan had declined an invitation from Mr. Perumal to join him in India when he was fleeing the country, after making a unilateral declaration of independence in 1990. After being identified as a pro-EPRLF member threats loomed over him from the LTTE, but were lifted after his association with then Batticaloa Virakesari correspondent, S. Nithyanandan, who was close to LTTE military wing personalities, namely David (killed by the Indian Army) and Karuna ( dissident Eastern military leader). In 1990 Nithyanandan chose the gun over the pen, joining the LTTE political wing and was soon after killed by the Sri Lankan military in 1991 but his journalistic vacuum was filled by Nadesan in the Virakesari. At the time of his death Nadesan was also working as a local correspondent for the Paris based IBC Tamil radio service. Wanton
killing of Aiyathurai a blow to free expression, say publishers,
editors Following
is the text of the statement: The late Mr. Nadesan Batticaloa correspondent for the Virakesari, one of Sri Lanka's leading Tamil national newspapers and for several broadcast news organisations was shot dead by gunmen on the morning of May 31. He was on his way to work when he was ambushed by assailants near a Hindu Temple in Batticaloa. Mr. Nadesan who was best known to the Tamil readership by his pen name Nellai G. Nadesan was honoured at the annual Journalism Awards for Excellence programme when he shared the Best Tamil Language Journalist for the Year 2000. His murder comes at a time when internecine guerrilla warfare is taking place despite an ostensible ceasefire agreement in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. The dastardly attack on Mr. Nadesan once again highlights the difficulties and dangers posed to journalists, particularly to those serving in these troubled areas, in the conduct of their legitimate day-to-day duties of keeping the citizens informed. The Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka and The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka are outraged by this incident and notes with deep regret the inability of the law enforcement agencies, for their failure so far, in apprehending the killers. It is also deeply concerned over the stoic silence maintained by the Government and the political leadership of this country on this matter. Our associations call upon the Government to conduct a detailed investigation into the killing of Mr. Nadesan, and to ensure the right of the journalist to practice their profession in whichever part of this country. Any attack on a journalist is an attack on Freedom of Expression and on Democracy. The murder of a journalist is a death-blow to these two foundations of a free society. The perpetrators of this crime, whoever they may be, deserve the condemnation of all freedom-loving citizens of this country, and must be brought to justice at the shortest possible time. FMM
strongly condemns Nadesan's killing FMM has urged the Government to carry out an independent investigation into the killing and take appropriate legal action against those responsible. Issuing a statement the Free Media Movement has lauded Aiyathurai Nadeshan as a brave journalist who in the midst of difficult circumstances carried out his task successfully. The FMM while maintaining that although there was no direct clue as to who the killers of the journalist were, has however stated that the killing could be the result of a column that Nadesan wrote in the Veerakesari against the dissident LTTEer Karuna whom Mr. Nadesan had in his writing, accused of murdering the eastern university academic Kumaravel Thambiah. |
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