I am confused by the confinement of the dates to 1915, 1948, 1972, 1979 etc. In Europe Christians used to be fed to the lians and the population enjoyed watching the spectacle. THousand years ago, Emperor Constantine came to power, who declared himself to be a Christian. Christians went on a rampage to kill and ransack multithiests. Fortunately books were saved by Librarians / rulers of Alexandria, and the feeding of other believer to lions had continues for few more centuries. THese facts most people conviniently forget and there was a edict to stop teaching history in Sri Lanka, I heard, few decades ago. One on you can remind me..

By any standards of such a state citizens can expect that the killers of Lasantha Wickrematunge be brought to trial especially as it was revealed in the press that his mobile phone had been recovered in the possession of certain suspects by the police. And it seems to have gone into cold storage (?).

Mention has been made of murders in bygone decades. Likewise, who killed Kumar Ponambalam, Leader of of the Tamil Congress? According to what one read a few years ago the related file of papers had been handed over by a SSP to the Highest Authority in the presenece of an HQI (as witness). Since then the case has gone cold!

Why have killings of people become such commonplace whether by JVP, LTTE or the State (most of all) in an independent sovereign country? Is it not time for serious introspection to discover the causes and remedy them at least for the sake of future generations ? Where lies good governance, citizen’s democracy, justice and the rule of law in all this? None of this have seemingly been aired in the context of the forthcoming election?

Continued..You make referenceto the Treaty Of Versailles,but have you posed for a moment to ponder and reflect on the fact that Germany had to be pounded into submissionbefore she was ,to all intents and purposes was virtually forced, to enter the negotiation process.What would you think is the alternative to defeating Germany militarily,to acheiving Peace?Obviously loss of more life, limb and resources for many more years to come if at all one would really consider it as an alternative.This I submit are the reasons that at this juncture the Goverment must only be subjected to pertinent and constructive criticism and scrutiny not scandal.Scandalous and egotistical journalism at a time like this would in my view only strengthen the hand of those who have throughout this conflict sought to destroy the country we areall trying to saveand those who have never and wil not ever wish us well.You have also made reference to the Bretton Woods agreement which I understan is precursor to the formationof the IMF,I didnt see the relevence to this matter.Thank you for taking the time to respond.

It is in this context that I am arguingthat a good and responsible journalist must exercise discretion,restraint,good judgement and objectivity.It is my view that any action that distracts the forces and those who command and guide them and detracts from them the confidence that they do not have the support of those they are trying to defend at the peril of their own lives.are not only unpatriotic but also dangerous to the wider community that which has ben paying the supreme price whilst waiting so longfor a viable alternative to the death and distruction.

Dear Jacob,__I am neither a historian nor a political scientist but a mere commentator on topical issues affecting our country at what I perceive to be a most critical and I have no doubt will go down in history as a momentous occasion for all Sri Lankans.The issues as I se them are "the long term greater good of the country on the one hand and on the other, individual freedoms and civil liberties of the citizens"It is accepted convention,is it not that individual freedoms would have to a take a back seat at times of war or severe national crises,for instance the Tsunami.Now is a time when the country is at war with most of us deem the most cruel enemy of the state and at a time like this should not the hands of the Government and its military forces be strenthened in every respect inclusive of with our moral support.

the irrationality of the debate here is illustrative and not unworthy of lasantha's rantings in his paper since inception; facts do not matter , ignorance is no bar to positive assertions , express prejudices as forcefully as possible. etc . for prime example of that sort of thing see indi's comments above.

why anybody wanted kill lasantha for that sort of stuff is beyond me, but then may be he was not killed for that . but then i am just being rational and that is not part of 'debate' here.

Dear Mr. Dayan your Excellency. For what reason we prithee Sir did the Govt Minister make the remarks attributed to him by the said Insidious Insurgent Indi? Do you deny he made the said remarks, along with the said Defence Secretary (god bless him) and our Excellency the Most High President? Were all those comments fabricated? How would you dear sir, respond, if an amabassadorial colleague was to ask you over some wine and cheese why your noble leaders made the said obviously justified comments? Do tell us…please. Buddy.

Answer? Predominantly, Lasantha Wickramatunge in the print media. Supported by MTV/MBC Networks in the Audio/Visual media. What better time to execute both their destructions, when people are exhillerated over the war front victories? The state media purposely created an atmosphere by tagging labels on these institutions, so as to wash their hands off the incidents, as well as blame it on others. And our ill-informed public who take things at face value as always, brought the story.

A Govt. within the Govt. is Basil. Mahinder is a puppet, and Basil is said to be have been abroad (likely Singapore) all this while… Do bells ring atleast now folks?

DOES ANYONE NEED MORE CLEAR MOTIVES? Or are you so adamantly biased to see light in ANY of the above?

And who are the ones who would dare to challenge the currupt and manipulative practices of the Basil wing? Who has exposed him up until now? Who came out IN THE MEDIA with the Nishantha Gajanayake fiasco? Who came out with the details? Who came out with the Mihin Air fiasco? Who came up with the evidence and cried foul over all currupt deals of the Govt. with details? Who IN THE MEDIA spoke of a possible secret deal between the Mahinder campaign and the LTTE during the 2005 Presidential Elections with details? Who exposed them all? Incase, who would continue to expose such practices in the future? Who would gather evidence in this regards too? Who is daring enough?

Continued….