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Sunday, April 30, 2017
'Where else should I die but here?'
Today marks the twelfth anniversary since the abduction and murder of Tamil journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram.
.
29Apr 2017
Sivaram, popularly known under his nom-de-plume Taraki, was abducted in
front of Bambalipitiya police station in Colombo on April 28 and was
found dead several hours later in a high security zone in Sri Lanka's
capital, which at the time had a heavy police and military presence due
to the ongoing conflict. His killers, highly suspected to be linked to
the government of then-president Chandrika Kumaratunga, were never
caught.
Tamil journalists terrorised
2005 not only saw the murder of Sivaram, but also of two other Tamil
media workers, Mr S Suhirtharajan, Trincomalee correspondent for Sudar
Oli, a Tamil daily and Ms Relanki Selvarajah, Tamil broadcaster.
The anniversary of his death became a macabre display of impunity, with
government-linked hit men using the day to terrorise Tamil journalists,
murdering more media personnel around the same day over the next two
years.
Two Uthayan staffers were killed a
few days after the paper marked Sivaram's death anniversary in 2006. On
29 April 2007, the Uthayan's Selvarajah Rajivarman, 25, was shot and killed by a lone gunman riding a motorbike in Jaffna.
None of the killers were ever caught.
'Shameful crime'
Sivaram was the editor of TamilNet and contributed to a number of other
publications throughout his career, including the Daily Mirror, the
Sunday Times, the Island and the Virakesari, and was also closely
involved with the Tamil Guardian and the development of its staff.
His views and analysis on the Tamil national struggle and military
strategy were in regular demand from the diplomatic community and NGOs,
and his death was widely condemned, including by the LTTE, Reporters Sans Frontiers and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Several Sinhala journalists, many of whom had worked with Sivaram also paid tribute to his work. UNESCO's director general called the murder a "shameful crime", in a statement marking World Press Freedom Day.
Fearless
Sivaram faced threats to his life throughout his career, but when urged
by friends to leave the island, he often said "Where else should I die
but here?".
The Uthayan in an editorial marking
his death said he "lived in the Sinhala chauvinists’ den and fearlessly
exposed to the world the Sri Lankan state’s false propaganda and
repression of the Tamil people."
“Sivaram didn’t raise his voice for Tamil nationalism while living in
the safety of a foreign country or away from government controlled areas
of this island. His pen started to undermine the Sinhala chauvinists’
ambitions just as the armed fighters did on the battlefield. That is why
government terror was unleashed upon him," the Uthayan said.
The LTTE conferred the "Maamanithar" title upon the journalist, the highest civilian honour of the movement.
"Tamil people have lost today a highly principled man who deeply loved
them and the Tamil Nation. A voice that echoed the freedom of the Tamil
people and their homeland, Tamil Eelam had been silenced today. An
eminent Tamil journalist had fallen victim to the enemy’s act of
cowardice," LTTE leader V Prabhakaran said in a statement at the time.
Below is an excerpt from a speech delivered
by former Tamil Guardian editor Vino Kanapathipillai in London in 2010,
at an event marking the fifth anniversary of the death of Sivaram.
"The Tamil Guardian has had a relation with Sivaram almost since it
began. He was instructor and mentor to the longer-serving volunteers on
the paper. He taught us not only how to write, but how to think through
the complexities of politics; to go beyond a surface analysis of a
problem and explore the underlying structural movements. For this we are
grateful.
"As long as the oppression of Tamils continues, so too must the struggle
for Tamil rights. Most of us knew Sivaram through our engagement in
this struggle. I think it behoves us all to continue to remain
committed, in whatever field we are in, to continue his resistance."
Dharmeratnam 'Taraki' Sivaram
11 August 1959 - 28 April 2005
Murdered editor champion of Tamil cause - BBC (29 Apr 2005)
FCA condemns Sivaram slaying -TamilNet (29 Apr 2005)
'Sivaram was a terrorist journalist' - JHU - TamilNet (03 May 2005)
Marking or silencing the enemy? (31 Aug 2005)
2005 ‘black year’ for Tamil scribes (22 Mar 2006)
Tamil media caught in ‘hellish cycle of violence’ (23 Aug 2006)
Waiting for justice, indefinitely (05 Jan 2012)
10 years on the situation for Tamil journalists in the North-East is yet to see much change.
See also:
Uthayan journalists do not feel free – Editor (10 Apr 2015)
Tamil journalists threatened by police in Jaffna (08 Apr 2015)
Today marks the twelfth anniversary since the abduction and murder of Tamil journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram.
.29Apr 2017
29Apr 2017
Sivaram, popularly known under his nom-de-plume Taraki, was abducted in
front of Bambalipitiya police station in Colombo on April 28 and was
found dead several hours later in a high security zone in Sri Lanka's
capital, which at the time had a heavy police and military presence due
to the ongoing conflict. His killers, highly suspected to be linked to
the government of then-president Chandrika Kumaratunga, were never
caught.
Tamil journalists terrorised
2005 not only saw the murder of Sivaram, but also of two other Tamil
media workers, Mr S Suhirtharajan, Trincomalee correspondent for Sudar
Oli, a Tamil daily and Ms Relanki Selvarajah, Tamil broadcaster.
The anniversary of his death became a macabre display of impunity, with
government-linked hit men using the day to terrorise Tamil journalists,
murdering more media personnel around the same day over the next two
years.
Two Uthayan staffers were killed a
few days after the paper marked Sivaram's death anniversary in 2006. On
29 April 2007, the Uthayan's Selvarajah Rajivarman, 25, was shot and killed by a lone gunman riding a motorbike in Jaffna.
None of the killers were ever caught.
'Shameful crime'
Sivaram was the editor of TamilNet and contributed to a number of other
publications throughout his career, including the Daily Mirror, the
Sunday Times, the Island and the Virakesari, and was also closely
involved with the Tamil Guardian and the development of its staff.
His views and analysis on the Tamil national struggle and military
strategy were in regular demand from the diplomatic community and NGOs,
and his death was widely condemned, including by the LTTE, Reporters Sans Frontiers and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Several Sinhala journalists, many of whom had worked with Sivaram also paid tribute to his work. UNESCO's director general called the murder a "shameful crime", in a statement marking World Press Freedom Day.
Fearless
Sivaram faced threats to his life throughout his career, but when urged
by friends to leave the island, he often said "Where else should I die
but here?".
The Uthayan in an editorial marking
his death said he "lived in the Sinhala chauvinists’ den and fearlessly
exposed to the world the Sri Lankan state’s false propaganda and
repression of the Tamil people."
“Sivaram didn’t raise his voice for Tamil nationalism while living in
the safety of a foreign country or away from government controlled areas
of this island. His pen started to undermine the Sinhala chauvinists’
ambitions just as the armed fighters did on the battlefield. That is why
government terror was unleashed upon him," the Uthayan said.
The LTTE conferred the "Maamanithar" title upon the journalist, the highest civilian honour of the movement.
"Tamil people have lost today a highly principled man who deeply loved
them and the Tamil Nation. A voice that echoed the freedom of the Tamil
people and their homeland, Tamil Eelam had been silenced today. An
eminent Tamil journalist had fallen victim to the enemy’s act of
cowardice," LTTE leader V Prabhakaran said in a statement at the time.
Below is an excerpt from a speech delivered
by former Tamil Guardian editor Vino Kanapathipillai in London in 2010,
at an event marking the fifth anniversary of the death of Sivaram.
"The Tamil Guardian has had a relation with Sivaram almost since it
began. He was instructor and mentor to the longer-serving volunteers on
the paper. He taught us not only how to write, but how to think through
the complexities of politics; to go beyond a surface analysis of a
problem and explore the underlying structural movements. For this we are
grateful.
"As long as the oppression of Tamils continues, so too must the struggle
for Tamil rights. Most of us knew Sivaram through our engagement in
this struggle. I think it behoves us all to continue to remain
committed, in whatever field we are in, to continue his resistance."
Dharmeratnam 'Taraki' Sivaram
11 August 1959 - 28 April 2005
Murdered editor champion of Tamil cause - BBC (29 Apr 2005)
FCA condemns Sivaram slaying -TamilNet (29 Apr 2005)
'Sivaram was a terrorist journalist' - JHU - TamilNet (03 May 2005)
Marking or silencing the enemy? (31 Aug 2005)
2005 ‘black year’ for Tamil scribes (22 Mar 2006)
Tamil media caught in ‘hellish cycle of violence’ (23 Aug 2006)
Waiting for justice, indefinitely (05 Jan 2012)
10 years on the situation for Tamil journalists in the North-East is yet to see much change.
See also:
Uthayan journalists do not feel free – Editor (10 Apr 2015)
Tamil journalists threatened by police in Jaffna (08 Apr 2015)
