The 22nd remembrance of slain senior Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan was held on Sunday at the memorial for murdered journalists in Gandhi Park, Batticaloa, with journalists, politicians and civil society representatives paying tribute and renewing calls for justice.
The commemoration, held on 31 May, was jointly organised by the Batticaloa Media house (Maddu Oodaha Maiyam), the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Association and the Eastern Lanka Journalists Association.
Participants paid floral tributes and lit memorial lamps in honour of Nadesan, who was shot dead in 2004. Among those attending were Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) Batticaloa District MP Gnanamuthu Srinesan, journalists, local government representatives and civil society activists.
Addressing the event, Srinesan accused the Rajapaksa administration of pursuing a policy aimed at destroying Tamil nationalist politics and linked the killing of Tamil journalists and political figures to that campaign.
"During the period when the Rajapaksa government was in power, they acted with the intention of destroying Tamil national politics," he said. "Agents were deployed and targets were eliminated wherever those agents pointed."
The parliamentarian cited the killings of Nadesan, Joseph Pararajasingham, academic Professor Thambiah and Chandranehru, as well as the killing of Raveendranath, alleging that those responsible operated with the backing of intelligence structures.
Srinesan further referred to recent allegations and revelations surrounding the Easter Bombings, saying that Azad Maulana has revealed that key intelligence figures had acted as masterminds behind several attacks and that former politicians were behind it as well.
Calling attention to the continued lack of accountability, he said justice had still not been delivered to Nadesan more than two decades after his murder
He also criticised successive governments for failing to prosecute perpetrators of violence against Tamil journalists, noting that dozens of media workers had been killed over the years.
“Over 43 of our media personnel have been killed. More than 27 of them were killed during Rajapaksa governance… those who were abducted are not here, those who were forcibly disappeared are not here, Justice for those who were killed is also not here.”
"The reason these assassinations continued was because criminals were protected in the past," he said. "By punishing those responsible, this government must prove that it is committed to the correct path and to justice."