January 08, 2008

Toronto

Press Release

We Condemn the Dastardly and Cowardly Murder of a Fearless and Courageous Journalist

The news of the dastardly and cowardly murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge, an outspoken critic of Mahinda Rajapakse’s government, comes as no surprise.  Journalists who were even remotely critical of  the  government have been killed at will with blanket impunity.  Since Mahinda Rajapakse came to power a total of 16 journalists (14 Thamils and 2 Sinhalese) have been assassinated by government backed death squads. Three Thamil journalists have been incarcerated for over 10 months under  emergency laws for articles critical of the  government.

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has charged that the government was behind the murder.  The claim by Cabinet Spokesman Anurapriyadarshana that his government does not kill or assault media men carries no conviction going by past history.  Nor the news that President Mahindra Rajapakse has ordered for an investigation of the murder is convinving.  This has been his favourite smokescreen in the past  to deflect criticism.

Wickrematunge’s murder comes just two days after men armed with grenades and assault rifles attacked the Thamil-owned MTV and Sirasa TV studio complex in Pannipitiya causing damage to the tune of Rs. 200 million. The attackers assaulted the staff and exploded a Claymore mine weighing 8 ½ kilograms.  Such attacks are serious indication of intolerance, discrimination, expressions of hatred and suppression of democratic dissent.

LASANTHA: FEARLESS EDITOR WHO SPOKE TRUTH TO POWER

Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge was brutally assassinated in broad daylight on a public road. He  was murdered  on January 8 by  cowardly minions for courageously speaking truth to power.

Refusing to be silenced by the powers that be, the fearless editor of “The Sunday Leader” fought  valiantly against overwhelming odds to expose corruption, nepotism, misgovernance, racism and militaristic triumphalism.

The motto of “The Sunday Leader” was “unbowed and unafraid”. Lasantha personified the motto in every way and remained to the very end, unbowed and unafraid.

FATEFUL MORNING

On that fateful morning, a domestic aide had detected signs of potential danger. Some unknown men on motor cycles were hovering around in the vicinity of Lasantha’s residence. The domestic aide warned Lasantha.

When  Sonali Samarasinghe, his wife heard about the hovering motorcyclists she  pleaded with Lasantha not to go out of the house at that time. But Lasantha refused to do so and started out in his car to office asking Sonali to come later in her car.

The motorcyclists had followed the vehicle and Lasantha had telephoned some friends on his mobile phone and told them of the suspicious activity of  the “motor cyclemen”.

Lasantha’s car was in Attidiya near the “Bakery handiya”  junction at the land side end of Templer’s road when the stalking assassins got into action. They gathered speed and converged around like predators encircling prey when the vehicle was close to the Malagalage junior school.

FOUR MOTOR CYCLES

According to some eye-witness accounts there were four motor cycles in all. Two had cut across in front of the car blocking Lasantha and forcing him to brake suddenly. Two other motor cycles moved up on either side of the car.

The assassins in black wore helmets. Like the four horsemen of the apocalypse, these messengers of death closed in on Lasantha. A steel bar wrapped in newspapers was whisked out . The windscreen was smashed.

The assassins then fired into the car and yanked the door open. Pulling out sharp instruments like unaffixed bayonets, the “black” souls began jabbing and cutting him. A few blows with the steel bar were also delivered. Then they fired at point blank range. Lasantha was hit in the chest, abdomen, ear and head.

The assassins then mounted their bikes and sped away. There was a sentry point manned by the Air Force about 100 metres away. Several onlookers saw the terrifying assault. But the assassins simple vanished.

The unconscious Lasantha was beeding profusely. He was first taken to the nearest Kalubowila hospital. An ambulance was prepared to take him from Kalubowila to the National hospital.

The doctors found his condition too critical to move him . So emergency surgery was done at Kalubowila with a team of doctors rushing to Kalubowila from Borella. The medical personnel strove hard for hours to resuscitate him. After four hours of battling for life Lasantha passed away.

Thus ended the saga of one of the bravest human beings I have ever known.  Thus ended the life of a fearless scribe, crusading for justice and peace.  An irredeemable loss for journalism and Sri Lanka. Cry, the beloved Country!!

PERSONAL LOSS

His death is a huge, personal loss to me.

He and I were colleagues on “The Island” in the eighties of the last century. We were also residents of Kotahena then.  Later I was for many years a columnist at “The Sunday Leader” which he edited.

But “Lassie Boy” as I called him was a friend in every sense of the word. How I shall miss him!

I have interacted with most of his family members also. My heartfelt condolences to Sonali and  Raine, his children  Avinash, Ahimsa and Aadesh, his parents Uncle Haris and Aunty Chandra, his brothers Lal and Anil, his sisters  Savitri, Rukmani and Kumudini , his brothers and sisters-in-law and all nephews and nieces.

Needless to say, Lasantha was a controversial - larger than life – character whose journalism  evoked  various  reactions in various  people. Some loved him, some hated him; Some admired him while others condemned him.

But the real Lasantha Wickrematunge was totally different to the “image” many had of him due to  negative perceptions. He was friendly and easy to get along with. What I want to do in this column is to  portray the lesser known side of Lasantha. Something close and personal.

LASSIE BOY

It was indeed my privilege and good fortune to be closely associated with him for many years. Apart from a brief period of estrangement our friendship endured the trials of time.

This temporary break came in 2007 when I broke ranks from “The Sunday Leader” and switched to “The Nation”. This rift on a personal level lasted only a few months.

He extended his hand of friendship and I grasped it firmly. Once again we were buddies! I am glad and grateful that we reconciled as his loss would have been even more unbearable had there not been rapprochement.

I used to call him “Lassie Boy”. This was because there were two guys with the name Lasantha at “The Island” editorial those days. To differentiate, I shortened his name to “lassie” which amused  many colleagues.

 He objected vehemently saying “lassie” was a girlish name. To his utter chagrin I compromised by adding “Boy’ after lassie to emphasise his masculinity.”Lassie boy” it was forever.

TEETOTALLER RARITY

Lasantha Wickrematunge joined “The Island” in 1982 shortly after the Presidential elections in  October. He had cut his journalistic teeth on the now defunct ”Sun,” but joined “The Island” because he was given a very raw deal there.

When the presidential elections got underway, Lasantha was assigned to cover Hector  Kobbekaduwe’s electoral campaign. This he did with gusto and passion thereby incurring the wrath of “Ward place” circles. There was much pressure and the management caved in. Hence, the crossover.

Our friendship began and grew while working as reporters on” The Island”. For some reason he took a liking to both Ajit Samaranayake and myself. Both of us were four years elder to him but we got on famously .We were not his mentors. He needed none.

Unlike both of us, Lasantha was a teetotaller , a rarity those days among scribes. Still that did not prevent his joining us sometimes when we quenched our thirst in waterholes. He would sip a soft drink while we imbibed the hard stuff, chatting away.

But Lasantha and I got even closer as we were reporters which Ajit was not. Also we were residents of Kotahena. I had moved from Wellawatte to Galpotha road to be within walking distance of Upali newspapers at Bloemendhall road. He was a native of Wasala road.

This enabled us to interact more closely. We were young and bachelors then. More importantly Lasantha had a car of his own. Thus we travelled about in his vehicle to many places and events having fun. I was also a frequent visitor to his home.

ALL – PARTY CONFERENCE

Among the pleasant memories of “The Island” experience was the time when the All–party conference was held in 1984. Both of us were assigned to cover it.

Unlike fellow scribes who depended only on the press conferences and press releases to write their news stories we delved deep into our sources about what really transpired in the conclave.

Our editor at that time Vijitha Yapa who was himself bold and unconventional, encouraged  our approach. We pooled our resources and because of our friendship combined to write our stories. Our coverage was the best and the official spokesperson Lalith Athulathmudali would laughingly tell us at the APC press conference “You people don’t need me”.

ABIDING INTEREST

He revealed to me then his abiding interest in politics. We were alike in that respect but unlike me he wanted to be an active politician. This was due to his family background.

Lasantha’s father, Haris Wickrematunge had been a municipal councillor for three decades. He was at one time deputy mayor of Colombo. Uncle Haris had also contested Colombo North as an independent and lost in 1970.

Lasantha also wanted to engage in politics. Uncle Haris had crossed over from the UNP to SLFP with AHM Fowzie and others. This and the bitter experience he suffered at the hands of JR and cronies propelled Lasantha into the SLFP. He was also assigned to cover that party for the paper thus developing his SLFP links further.

It was this which made him contest the 1989 Parliamentary polls in the Colombo district. He didn’t make it then. Later he worked as private secretary to the then opposition leader Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

In retrospect, I am glad that he couldn’t shine in active politics. Otherwise he would not have had his “avatar” as Sunday Leader Editor. He grew into his role and was really conscious of the historic role he was playing. There was a time when he wanted to be a cabinet minister in a future UNP government.

 But when the prospect loomed large on the political horizon, Lasantha opted to remain as a journalist and editor rather than be a politico – minister. This was because he had become very fond and devoted to his editorial role. Despite the dangers he preferred that to full time law or politics.

Lasantha was not unaware of the dangers he faced. He had encountered   innumerable problems in the past. After Richard de Zoysa was killed by former President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s henchmen , Lasantha was among the journalists whose lives were threatened.

THE SUNDAY LEADER

He went to Australia where he stayed for a while. He returned after a while and in 1994 co – founded “the Sunday Leader”. The newspaper under Lasantha’s unprecedented editorial drive and direction  charted out a new course in Sri Lankan journalism. He pulled no punches in a zealous quest to cleanse the Augean stables. Lasantha was no Hercules. Yet he went about his task with indomitable courage. Like Prometheus he defied the “gods”(with clay feet)

For a decade and a half the popular Sunday paper pitched into the powers that be. In the finest embodiment of journalistic values, Lasantha Wickrematunge and his “Sunday Leader” spoke truth to power. In the process he did not merely ruffle feathers but stripped the “birdies” bald.

ONE – MAN OPPOSITION

From Chandrika Kumaratunga to Mahinda Rajapaksa, the highest in the land were all targets of his journalistic archery. He was a  virtual one – man opposition. Under his editorial leadership his staffers and colleagues worked together as a dedicated team for the common good of this country by upholding liberal democratic values.

In the process he underwent much hardship and danger. Thugs assaulted him in the presence of his wife; machine gun fire was sprayed at his house. The paper was sealed under emergency regulations; numerous court cases were filed; a blatant attempt to arrest him was made, he was the target of hatemail, abusive calls and death threats. He and his loved ones were targets of vulgar attacks in sections of the media. Still he battled on, unbowed and unafraid.

Finally the end came in a gruesome fashion. In the Sri Lanka of old the barbarians were at the gates. Now they are inside the gates occupying positions of power. Lasantha fully realised the dangers he faced.

He could have gone abroad to save his life. He was a lawyer and could have simply donned the black coat; He could have capitulated and compromised his journalistic integrity. He could have allowed himself to be bought over by  or co-opted  into the power structure. These he did not and instead opted to go along the straight but narrow path.

UNCOMMONLY BRAVE

He was uncommonly brave or foolhardy depending upon how one looks at it. The fact that he never had bodyguards or sought protection is illustrative of his defiant spirit. Except on rare “official” occasions he drove his own car. Each day he would walk 45 minutes for exercise, along the road sticking to the same routine. Even on the fateful morning he opted to go out alone regardless of consequences.

I was  always concerned about the danger to his life and caution him. I am sure many others would have done so too. But he would flippantly dismiss them. “Machang” he would joke, “there are two things where you gotta go when you have to go . One is the toilet and the other is the grave”.

There was also another source of inner strength for this courage. Very few know about the “spiritual” side of Lasantha. Most people think of him as a hard-headed , cynically rational person. But there was a metaphysical aspect  to him .

I was surprised when he told me face to face in Canada, “Dont worry machang. Nothing will happen to me because there is a divine power watching over me. That’s my protection”. I first though he was joking but later realised he was very serious. This was due to a spiritual experience.

SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE

Lasantha’s parents and all three sisters and families reside in Canada. One of his sisters had a “ problem” of sorts , which was resolved through the prayers of an evangelical Christian mission. This made other members of the family to embrace the faith.

Lasantha himself on one of his trips to Canada underwent a spiritual experience. Thereafter he  like Saul being transformed into Paul on the road to Damascus was changed. He even introduced me to his pastor Angelo once. This spiritual experience steeped him in faith and provided strength and solace to him.

Lasantha used to visit Canada every year during late spring to see his sisters and parents. This gave me annual opportunities to meet him in person and have heart to heart conversations. He would also call me when he was abroad in other countries. We would then engage in prolonged conversations without fear of being tapped.

FOUR PHASES

Professionally, my relationship with him has been of four phases. The first was our working together at “The Island”; the second was when he started “The Sunday Leader” and I wrote for the paper from Canada.

Since I was editing my own Tamil weekly at that time I couldn’t continue for long. But it was illustrative of Lasantha’s innovative outlook and confidence in me that he thought I could write a regular column on Sri Lankan politics from Canada for a Sri Lankan newspaper.

The third phase was when I began functioning in 1997 as the “Roving correspondent” of “The Sunday Leader” writing the “searchlight” column. The fourth phase was in 1999 when I started writing under my own byline for his paper. This went on till September 2007.

The important point in writing for “Editor” Wickrematunge was the absolute freedom he allowed his columnist. He has never bluepencilled me. Except for rare requests he has never asked me what I was going to write upon. There have been only two occasions during an eight year stint that he asked me not to write on two matters. One was about a Tamil politician and the other a Sinhala Army general.

PARTICULAR  EMPATHY

What endeared him to me most was his utter lack of racist consciousness. In this he was influenced by his father and Kotahena upbringing. The ward contested by Uncle Haris is multi – ethnic. So too is Colombo north. This resulted in Haris Wickrematunge having very good rapport with the Tamil , Muslim and Burgher communities in the area

This rubbed off on Lasantha too I guess. Besides the cosmopolitian St. Benedicts College environment also was conducive.  As a result Lasantha was one who had no racist or chauvinist thinking in his psyche. He was fully aware of the problems faced by the minority ethnicities in Lanka. He had particular empathy for the Tamil predicament.

This worldview and mindset was reflected in his journalism and the general editorial thrust of his paper. The newspaper was boldly critical of majoritarian hegemony and strongly supportive of the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people.

This policy was not hypocritical based on attracting sales. It came from the heart. This naturally made him and the paper popular with readers from the minority communities who recognized a kindred soul. On the other hand racist and chauvinist elements among the majority community resented this. They hated Lasantha vehemently.

Unlike many who pursue military solutions to political problems while paying lip service to the concept of a political settlement, Lasantha genuinely believed that there is no military solution to the Tamil national question. He boldly took on those militaristic proponents thereby incurring their anger and hatred

INVESTIGATIVE SKILLS

Another facet to his journalism was his investigative skills. I am not underestimating the talents and efforts of his staffers but it was common knowledge that the pivotal force in all exposures done by the paper was Lasantha himself.

In the days of old, newspapers worked on an investigation for weeks, One good investigative feature uncovering a corruption or mismanagement came only once a month or twice. But the “Sunday Leader” broke new ground with its investigative articles. It was not merely one per week but a case of three or four in a single issue. From a journalistic perspective this was indeed fantastic.

A little – known fact about Lasantha is that he was a good cricketer like his brother Lal. Lasantha played for the under 16 at SBC and shone. Unlike Lal who was a pacey Lasantha was a left arm leg spinner. But he went off to Britain when he was sixteen. Thus he could not continue his cricket. I used to tease him frequently that he was now bowling his “googlies” and “dhoosras” in Journalism.

DONT CRY FOR ME

Lasantha was born on April 5th 1958. He had lived for only fifty years and eight months on this planet. Yet , he achieved  many, many things in that short life-span. He changed single – handedly the state of journalism in this country. His name will be remembered when the history of journalism in Sri Lanka is written.

One of Lasantha’s favourite songs was “Dont Cry for me Argentina”.from the musical “Evita” by Andrew Lloyd – Webber. This was before Madonna singing in the movie “Evita” in 1997.

He would often bawl out the line “Don’t cry for me Argentina” in a not so musical voice.

After his demise old memories come back and that line echoes again and again.

I can hear Lasantha singing out there “Dont cry for me Argentina  ...  but Argentina is now replaced by Sri Lanka.

Farewell  Lassie Boy, I salute you  my friend , I salute you, Lassie.

By Sumaiya Rizvi

“I’ll come back to you after six issues of the newspaper” those were the exact words Lasantha Wicramatunge said to Attorney-at-Law Ranjith Abeysuriya PC. Lasantha was junior counsel to Abeysuriya when he made that statement at the time of launching the ‘The Sunday Leader’ in 1994.  Abeysuriya is now a self-confessed ardent reader of the publication.

A close confidante observed the ‘Sunday Leader was Lasantha and Lasantha was the Sunday Leader, his undying smile’ was his signature characteristic. Lasantha, a fierce critique of politics and governance successfully pioneered investigative journalism in the country and took it to new heights.

His endeavour in the field of journalism was deeply appreciated and he won the coveted ‘Integrity Award’, awarded by the Transparency International in recognition of his prowess in investigative journalism dedicated to exposing corruption in all branches of government.

It is indeed  ironical to note that here was a man who set out to give a voice to the people but untimely met with death in broad daylight on the streets of Attidiya.

A journalist working for The Sunday Leader, Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema said “I was returning from an assignment when I noticed Lasantha’s car was causing the traffic block”. By that time people in the vicinity had already taken him to hospital. He was barely five minutes away from the office she noted.

His brother and business partner Lal stressed that Lasantha loved children and it was this love  that made him strive  toward building a world of opportunities free of corruption and  mismanagement of public resources.

Lasantha who was effectively the life and soul of the Sunday Leader, had in one way or another affected the lives of all the employees of the Leader family from journalists to minor employees. According to his colleagues, he was not swollen headed and was open to their personal problems.

 “It was his nature to investigate into issues. A particular incident etched in my mind is of Lasantha and JVP comrade Wijedasa Liyanarachchi who was working as juniors for me. Liyanarachchi was mysteriously abducted and killed. Lasantha was determined to find the perpetrators of the crime and used his analytical mind to track the killers”, reminisced Attorney-at-Law Gomin Dayasiri with whom Lasantha worked for some time.  

Lawyer Abeysuriya remembered Lasantha’s nature as being shrewd and focused during his early career as a lawyer. He recalled that during the early days of The Sunday Leader he had advised Lasantha to have his facts 100% accurate to which the listener readily agreed.

Teary-eyed fellow journalists at The Sunday Leader recalled that as editor-in-chief of the newspaper he came under attack on several occasions, which he knew would keep increasing with time, but undeterred by these threats he moved on.

Lasantha leaves three children,. He married senior investigative journalist Sonali Samarasighe last week. Lasantha had three children, a son is Avinash his eldest a son,  a daughter Ahinsa who lived with him and his youngest son Aadesh.

Lasantha himself was the youngest in a family of six, with three sisters and two brothers. His father Harris Wicramatunge was a well-known politician from the Colombo north. Due to security concerns and threats, his parents, five of his siblings and two sons live overseas.

Lal Wickramatunge the Chairman of Leader Publications is the only sibling resident in Sri Lanka. According to Lal, Lasantha enjoyed movies and used to often watch movies with his friend Anura Bandaranaike. According to him Lasantha was a voracious reader who favoured reading autobiographies and was awfully fond of dogs.

A fellow journalist observed Lasantha was a firm believer of the adage “what you see is what you get” 

Born on the 5th of April, 1958, Lasantha was an old boy of St. Benedicts Kotahena. In 1977 while studying for his postgraduate law degree he joined the Sun newspaper. In 1980 he took oaths as an Attorney-at-Law and in 1983 joined ‘The Island’ newspaper as a deputy news editor. In 1986 he became the private secretary to the then leader of the Opposition Ms. Sirimavo Bandaranaike.  Following his father’s footsteps he contested the general elections from the Colombo north on the SLFP ticket. In 1988 to 1993 he wrote to The Sunday Times under the pseudonym ‘Suranimala’ and continued using this pseudonym when he launched his own newspaper ‘The Sunday Leader’ of which he became the founding editor.

Together with brother Lal he set up the newspaper publishing company as a collaborative venture and decided on the name  ‘Leader’ indicating the paper would lead newspaper culture and since it was to be a weekly it was named “The Sunday Leader”.Lasantha initially schooled at St. Benedicts. He left for England when he was 14 and returned after successfully completing a degree course. On his return he followed the LLB course at the Colombo University recalled an emotional Lal Wickramathunga.

“From then on it was journalsim” said   Wickrematunge explaining his brother’s growing passion towards Journalism and making it the ideal tool to practice the freedom of expression and speech.

According to Gomin Dayasiri if Lasantha had to be given a different name it would be ‘Courage’ as he displayed extreme courageousness in times of difficulty never fleeing the country. Despite the threats he received, he chose to remain in the country and carry out his war against suppression of freedom of expression and speech.

“He brought me into Journalism and if it’s not for him I won’t be where I am” Acknowledged the Defence Columnist of The Sunday Leader Amantha Perera. Young and old fellow journalists at the Leader share this mutual feeling and are vowing to carry forward the work their editor set out to achieve.

A significant feature about Lasantha’s journalistic style was that he always wanted to hear what the accused had to say in their defence even if they said no comment he included that Gomin Dayasiri stated. “Lasantha put to good use his legal knowledge and thus avoided  being caught up in the Law of Defamation” Dayasiri said

Lasantha as the Editor-in-Chief of The Sunday Leader was prosecuted for criminal libel under President Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2000, but was not found guilty.

The Leader recently exposed high-level corruption in an arms procurement deal with Russia  which alleged that government ministers were receiving financial benefits.

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the president's brother, is currently suing the paper for defamation.

Expressing disgust at the killing an employee who wished to remain anonymous said if government wanted to be cleared of the crime that it should speedily conclude the investigation and bring the perpetrators to book.

Lasantha Wickrematunge was shot in his head and chest, which proved fatal. It mockingly symbolizes the destruction of his heart in pursuing a career in journalism and killing his mind that made him confront injustice and corruption.

These sentimental are shared by numerous individuals and “Who will be the next?” is the question on everyone mind.

Lawyers and civil society reps to join funeral procession

UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake said the UNP yesterday decided to organize fitting funeral arrangements for the slain editor of The Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge who was killed by an unidentified gunman on Thursday.

Mr. Karunanayake said lawyers, media organizations and other civil society organizations would join the funeral procession near the Church at Kirimandala Mawatha, Narahenpita, on Monday.

He added funeral arrangements had been made in consultation with the members of the family of the slain editor.

Law Association condemns killing

The Colombo Law Society unreservedly, unequivocally and vehemently condemned the brutal assassination of Mr. Lasantha Wickrematunge, Attorney- at-Law and Editor of the Sunday Leader Newspaper. 

The association called upon His Excellency, the President and the Government of the Republic of Sri Lanka to forthwith take all necessary steps to bring the assassins to justice.

The Colombo Law Society also expressed its deepest sympathy to the widow, children and other members of the family of the late Mr. Wickrematunge.