Journalists from across the North-East gathered in Batticaloa on Saturday to participate in a demonstration calling for media freedom and demanding justice for the killings of numerous Tamil journalists.
The demonstration was held on the thirteenth anniversary of the abduction and murder of the Tamil journalist and editor of TamilNet, Dharmeratnam Sivaram.
Despite the current government's pledges to end media repression and ensure justice for past atrocities, Tamil journalists continue to face harassment by the security services.
Journalists from the Jaffna Press Club and the Eastern Province's Journalists Association also held a rememberance event that afternoon in Batticaloa town, where they were joined by local residents and community leaders in commemorating Sivaram's life and work.
Sivaram 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, remain at large.
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.
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