The abduction and murder of the Tamil journalist, Sivaram, was remembered today at events in Batticaloa and Jaffna, 14 years on. 

Journalists gathered to pay tribute to his work and remember his memory. 

Sivaram, popularly known under his nom-de-plume Taraki, was abducted in front of Bambalipitiya police station in Colombo on April 28, 2005. 

He 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, have never been caught.

Journalists civil society activists in Batticaloa gathered at Gandhi Park in Batticaloa today, lighting a lamp in Sivaram's memory. 

In Jaffna, the Jaffna Press Club held an event in front of a memorial built in remembrance of massacred journalists. 

Those gathered also paid tribute to the victims killed during the Easter Sunday blasts. 

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.