The declaration made by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake that his Government will reopen all cases of murders of journalists that have hitherto gone unresolved, is a matter for gratification. This will gladden the hearts of not just the journalistic fraternity in the country but also of all citizens who are thirsting for justice and fair play. “Killing the messenger” had been quite a common practice in other countries too, even in advanced Western democracies.
Sri Lanka too appears to have caught on, given the number of journalists killed over the past few decades. These were mostly journalists who exposed the corrupt deals and other misdemeanors, including acts of murder and abductions committed, allegedly, at the behest of the country’s past rulers or their minions. These scribes were killed in cold blood by hit squads.
A standout victim in this connection was Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunga who took on the Government of the day and their rulers with boldness and with no let or hindrance. Needless to say, the accusing finger for the cold-blooded broad daylight murder was pointed directly at the top echelons of the ruling party at the time.
However, after the initial brouhaha and agitations by local and international journalists’ bodies and the public to bring to book the person or persons responsible, the matter eventually petered out tamely and without a whimper. At one time, several men were arrested and then released without any explanation. For all intents and purposes, Lasantha remains a forgotten person today. Only the members of his extended family and close journalistic colleagues may be feeling the loss. Even to this day Ahimsa, the daughter of Wickrematunga who lives in Australia has been appealing to all Governments to ascertain the truth behind the murder of her father, and, more importantly, who was really behind the killing.
The same fate befell well-known columnist Sivaram a.k.a. Taraki who was abducted while having dinner at a hotel in Bambalapitiya and whose body was found in the vicinity of Parliament in Kotte, the following day. The disappearance of political cartoonist and journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda on the eve of the 2010 Presidential Election still remains a mystery.
There are several journalists belonging to Tamil publications in the North including Nirmalarajan of the Uthayan who suffered the same fate, after expsosing the doings of a well-known Northern politician. All political leaders who were elected as the President since, have offered to probe the killings of journalists but hardly any headway was made which, no doubt, buttressed the claims of the involvement of politicians.
No doubt, President Dissanayake will want to be different. He should leave no stone unturned to find out who the perpetrators were and dispense justice against them. After all, he received a lot of support from the journalist fraternity on the road to his election to the highest office in the land. This, no doubt, should give him that added impetus to do justice by the slain journalists. President Dissanayake also mentioned that he would also launch a probe into rugby star Wasim Thajudeen’s murder which had all the hallmarks of a political killing.
He should also ascertain the course the Police investigations took into these murders and if there was any indifference or foot dragging on the part of any officers, and ascertain at whose behest. If so, action should also be taken against all such officers for attempting to stifle the cause of justice so that this would send a clear message to all those men in khaki who have been working to the dictates of politicians all this while.
The President should also ensure openness and transparency in all Police investigations that are being conducted under his watch. The general public has lost all trust and confidence in the Police who are widely seen as doing the bidding of politicians, or bought over by interested parties. He should do everything in his power to repose the public faith and trust in the country’s premier law enforcement agency. It is only through this means that public cooperation will be forthcoming to Police that would make its job easier.
The decision taken by the President to re-open all the bribery cases that were closed is also another move in the right direction. All cases involving mostly politicians and those with political links were inexplicably suspended even while they were being argued in the Courts or rejected on flimsy technical grounds. Needless to say, the Attorney General’s Department which is an arm of the Government with all its officers receiving their salaries from the Government did not exactly put its heart and soul in effectively prosecuting the culprits , thus allowing them to creep through the loopholes that were more or less deliberately created.
Hence, it is only right that the President revisits all such cases and take a fresh look at all these cases and do the needful where necessary. After all, the Bribery Commission is maintained with public funds and ought to function effectively to justify this expense. It should be made to function effectively rather than simply exist in name only.
