Chandrika Kumaratunga responds to Dayan Jayatilleke’s comment on the murder of Lasantha Wickremetunge

11 Jan, 2009 Colombo, Human Rights, Human Security, Lasantha Wickremetunge, Media and Communications, Politics and Governance

Through a comment emailed to the Groundviews, former President of Sri Lanka Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga reacts to the brutal murder of Lasantha Wickremetunge, Editor in Chief of the Sunday Leader a few days ago.

She responds to a comment by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Dayan Jayatilleka, who noted earlier on Groundviews that “Lasantha had guts, which is more than I can say for the cowardly barbarians who murdered this unarmed man.”

Read her pithy response, published exclusively on Groundviews here.

Read Dayan Jayatilleke’s riposte to Chandrika Kumaratunga’s comment here.  

Please follow the debate as it evolves here.

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1 Comment

  1. Ethirveerasingam
    January 12, 2009 • 2:08 am

    Lasantha's editorial an year ago gave warnings of state terror.
    http://www.thesundayleader.lk/20080113/editorial-…
    but the euphoria of the Sri Lanka political world on a military victory drummed his voice out. When he raised his voice higher, it was snuffed out. I hope Sunday Leader would collate his editorials over the years and publish it, lest we forget him and his warnings.
    End of 1999 Lasantha published Kumar Ponnambalam's open letter to Chandrika – a letter no other newspaper would publish at that time. Kumar was killed soon after in the same manner as Lasantha, on Jan 5, 2000. Eight years and the culprints are still at large. How long will it take Lasantha's killers to be brought to justice, if ever.

    Reply

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Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

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