However, my statement was intended to highlight the increasingly intolerant regimes to which all Sri Lankans seem to have been subject to; where harassment and assassinations of journalists who do not adhere to the ruling elite’s dictates seem to have become the norm.

To use Dr Jayatilleka’s own colourful phrase of “not confusing a cancer in the gut for a tumour in the brain”, what I was highlighting was the fact that an environment has been created where both cancers and tumours seem to be thriving in Sri Lanka.

That if Sri Lanka’s ruling elite ignores or encourages the current state of anarchy and lawlessness, either directly or indirectly, the probability of many more cancers and tumours erupting everywhere cannot be ruled out.

This unequivocally points to the fact that it is extremely important to replace the barren ground of injustice, discrimination and inequity with a fertile field where the diverse people of Sri Lanka can fulfil their aspirations with respect, dignity, fairness, justice, and equity of opportunity within a united country.