Assassination of slain journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga: Journalist outfits condemn AG's move to acquit key suspects

At a commemorative event held at the Kanatte cemetery in Colombo where slain journalist and editor of Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunga was buried. Pix:online

Leading journalist outfits condemned the recent move by the Attorney General (AG) to acquit three key suspects including a military personnel attached to Military Intelligence from the assassination of slain journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga citing lack of evidence to proceed with prosecutions. 

Condemning the move, the Free Media Movement (FMM) said that allowing the release of suspects in this case would be a blatant betrayal of the President’s pledge and the assurance of the Media Ministry.

“While judicial amnesty does not legally extend to criminals in Sri Lanka, decisions like this create a dangerous precedent, emboldening impunity and undermining the rule of law,” the statement notes.

“We demand that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his government act immediately and decisively to rectify this injustice. Failure to do so will galvanize all those who seek justice into unified resistance against the government’s actions. The President and his administration must remember that the people entrusted them with power to uphold integrity, not to betray it, it adds.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA) expressed its ‘disgust and opposition’ on the latest move by AG saying that AG’s directive has given rise to suspicion among the public about whether the AG department is implementing the president’s recommendation following request by the ex-servicemen and ex-policemen that supported AKD in his Presidential election.

“Is the attorney general’s department implementing a directive from the president following a demand by retired security force members who backed the president to be elected to office?” SLWJA has questioned in a media release issued today the 5th of February.

Today’s secretary to the Ministry of Public Security is Senior Deputy Inspector General Ravi Seneviratne who spearheaded the ex-policemen’s organisation. Both these outfits played a decisive role in the unprecedented electoral victory of AKD and his National Peoples Power (NPP) government, the statement stressed. 

SLWJA have strongly criticized the acquittal and release of the former security services personnel accused of various crimes committed in the country.

“If unlawfulness continues to exist even under a government that received the majority of the public mandate to ensure the rule of the law in a society where unlawfulness once prevailed, it would be an unfortunate situation,” SLWJA said. (Northeastern Monitor/ February 5/2025)