Comments on: Prageeth Ekneligoda: A 3 year struggle to find husband, father, cartoonist and journalist

By: Citizen

Citizen — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 06:01:20 +0000

This is a news report datelined 10 May 2010. It indicates that some efforts were onging and some suspects identified. It seems ‘orders from above’killed the investigation. Those above should take responsibility. According to Mohan Peiris it is god who is above.

‘An organized group abducted journalist of Lanka e News website, Pradeep Eknaligoda on a contract given by certain individuals, a senior police official said referring to primary police investigations.
The Colombo Crime Investigation Division has begun operations to arrest the suspects responsible for the disappearance of journalist Eknaligoda.
Three special police units are combing the Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa areas in a bid to find the abductors.
The Colombo Crime Investigations has taken over investigations on the disappearance of Pradeep Eknaligoda. A senior official at police headquarters said, Orders from above had prevented the authorities from taking the suspects into custody. We were asked to wait till the elections were over. Now we have the freedom to carry out the investigations and the story will be out soon.’

By: joke

joke — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:44:06 +0000

While I am happy that there is some support for Sandya, there was no outpouring for the family of Professor S. Raveendranath, Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka. He is not the only Tamil who was made to disappear. There were several elected MPs, prominent tamil people who were killed or disappeared in broad light in the heart of Colombo, in temples and churches. The family members did not get any support from the majority community. Being a Tamil, in addition to being a “Targetted” family by the “people in power” the family could not do much like what Sandya is doing now as they have to safeguard the rest of the family from the “predators”

If only the masses, regarded them as fellow human beings and took some action then and demanded the govt. for action and answers, Sri Lanka could not have sunk to this level!!!

By: joke

joke — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:20:26 +0000

I agree that Sandiya is a brave lady. But if Sinhala masses supported the Tamils just demands in the beginning of their struggle in the 50s, the oppressors from the majority community would not have had grown up to this level. As long as Tamils are treated as less humans than the majority community and their sufferings are ignored by the majority, no one can save Sri Lanka.

If and When Tamils talked about discrimination, or started peaceful satyagraha, they were labelled as terrorists and jailed indefinitely, tortured, killed, raped by the people who were in power!!! No support came from the Sinhalese community except for a handful. Everyone went on with their business as usual.

All the previous chief justices including Shiranee Bandaranayake kept quite and did not lift a finger when the Tamils were killed in thousands. No one joined in the protests, everyone pretended as if every thing is fine in Sri Lanka!!

Even now they keep a blind eye to all the sufferings of the Internally displaced people who are being dumped in the jungle without even proper shelter or basic amenities after loosing everything they possessed, while their farms and houses are being occupied by the uniformed thugs!!

Another example is the arrests of youngsters in Jaffna recently. They are being held without charges. What rehabilitation does this Govt. capable of giving to these students? only thing this govt. is capable of doing to these intelligent youngsters are to loose their self esteem and to become puppet to this regime!!!By now they would have broken not only their bodies, but their will as well!!!

By: Emil van der Poorten

Emil van der Poorten — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:43:12 +0000

This is an excellent account of a woman in search of her husband (and justice).
I agree wholeheartedly also with what R.M.B.Senanayake says, but, without benefit of a belief in divine intervention, do not believe that those responsible for the terrible mess that is Sri Lanka today will receive their just desserts any time soon. Pity! But that is the reality.
A while back I devoted a column in The Sunday Leader to several brave women (in Sri Lankan journalism) and Sandhya should certainly be added to that list, perhaps, filling the vacancy created by Frederica Jansz being forced to go into hiding away from the country of her birth.

By: K.Anaga

K.Anaga — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 11:43:03 +0000

Ms.Ekneligoda deserves praise for her untiring effort to know the where about of her husband. At least The chief Justice had the support of the legal fraternity and considerable publicity. If M/s Ekneligoda and others of her plight had the support like the Chief Justice, may be she would have got her husband back and M/S Shirani may have been spared from mental agony.

By: Punitham

Punitham — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:11:29 +0000

Why? Oh, why?

Why are families suffering?

Why are communities suffering?

Abductions, impeachment, drugs, militarisation, …. = systemic problem of the 65yrs we’ve been deciding what we do. We can’t blame others.

Enough is enough.

Sri Lanka Spring to install a morally upright leader = someone with a decent head AND a decent heart,
NOT someone who hides behind a thousand concrete statues of Buddha.

By: R.M.B Senanayake

R.M.B Senanayake — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 07:56:54 +0000

I salute M/s Ekneligoda for her courage and determination to search for her husband. All those intellectuals and officials who compromised their conscience and paved the way for the dictatorship of MR will have to pay the price just as Bishop Bonhoffer of Nazi Germany. Today it is Shirani Bandaranayake. Tomorrow it will be those Advisers who failed to take a stand against the 18th Amendment and hose in the Judiciary who compromised on democracy and fundamental rights.

By: A Concerned Citizen

A Concerned Citizen — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 07:35:51 +0000

If only the lists of perpetrators of disappearances of persons against whom the investigations of the first set of Presidential Commissions on Disappearances were able to diligently collect evidence, is made public, it would become clear to the victims of disappearances of today, as to who those unknown persons who are possibly being used to cause the current disappearances, are. Those who were novices then and acted with impunity, are now well protected experts in that field and are now perched in top positions in the security services and the police. They are now being used effectively to deal with dissent, to ensure that those in authority continue to be in power.

Prageeth Ekneligoda is just another in the series of such victims. His wife is just another among the thousands of other wives and mothers in similar positions suffering in silence. Many more may have to suffer the same fate as Prageeth before the tide eventually turns. And surely it will turn one day. History tells us so.

By: Citizen

Citizen — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 05:48:23 +0000

There has been no credible effort by the police, cid or the powers that be, to solve this case. Hence it is quite certain that the authorities are aware of what actually happened and who the culprits are.

They simply do not want to take any action because 1. It involves the armed forces who are portrayed as war heroes or 2. It was carried out under the orders and approval of the top. It seems the police have recived orders no to carry out investigations thus stalling the judicial process. Responsibility for this state of affairs lies with the defence secretary and commander in chief.

By: sunila Mendis

sunila Mendis — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:27:43 +0000

Though rare Sri Lanka has extraordinarily courageous women.Sandya Eknaligoda symbolises the agony of many many women in the North, South West and East whose husbands had to pay the ultimate price wth their lives for expressing their views.CJ Dr. Shirani Bandaranayaka is another courageous woman who took Idi Amin headon.Madam Chandrika Kumarathunga was the epitome of courage during the JR Regime. 2013 onwards SL will see the onward march of more and more inspired women on the streets until the demons are chased out of the country and sanity prevails.