Who Is Afraid Of Lasantha?

By Raine Wickrematunge -January 8, 2014 |

Raine Wickrematunge

Today marks the fifth anniversary of Lasantha’s murder.  Five long and painful years have passed but apart from producing a few red herrings in a flurry of publicity in the first year and a half-hearted attempt at solving the murder, to date, nothing has come of it.

Following the murder, President Mahinda Rajapakse informed the country a proper and speedy investigation would be carried out on the assassination of ‘his friend.’ He personally assured me the same. “His children need to know the truth” he said at the time gesturing at Lasantha’s 10-year-old son. Five years on, no one can claim that a serious investigation was ever carried out.  It would be safe to surmise that no significant developments in the case would take place in the lifetime of the current regime. If and when those responsible for Lasantha’s cowardly murder are brought to book, it will indeed be a gold letter day in the blood soaked, tear-stained media history of Sri Lanka which has such a deplorable ranking in the World Press Freedom Index.

People talk of development in our country in the form of fine new roads and ornamental parks but these cosmetic changes mean little when you consider that in this same land human rights receive scant regard, those protesting for their rights are fired at and people live in the grip of uncertainty and fear. True development will come only when democracy operates in its purest form. That an honest and unbiased investigation will take place and justice will prevail when a crime is committed is an assurance that those who live in a free land enjoy. Unfortunately that right seems to elude those who live in a land that is democratic by name but where, if you have the right connections, you can get away with the most heinous of crimes.                                                Read More