By Veluppillai Thangavelu –

I am delighted over the announcement, made by Cabinet Spokesman Vijitha Herath, that the government had ordered the re-opening of seven high-profile murders that remain unresolved to this day. They include – the alleged Central Bank Bond scam of 2015, the Easter Sunday attacks in April, 2019, the kidnapping and murder of Tamil journalist Sivaram in April, 2005, the disappearance of political activists Lalith Kumar and Kugan Muruganandan in 2011, the disappearance of Vice Chancellor Sivasubramaniam Ravindranath in 2006, the alleged suicide of businessman Dinesh Schaffter in 2022, and a shooting incident outside the W15 hotel in Weligama in 2023.

Of course, there are other unsolved murders like the killing of parliamentarian and journalist Joseph Pararajasingham on Xmas Eve 24, December 2005; Rugby player Wasim Thajudeen on May 17, 2012; journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda and a few other foul and gruesome murders. Previous governments have thrown all these high-profile cases under the carpet. No serious attempts were made to bring the perpetrators of the crime before the court of justice. Let me now recapitulate the events before and after the brutal murder of Sivaram.

The abduction and brutal murder of journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram [Taraki], a senior editorial board member of TamilNet, by unidentified gunmen at Bambalapitiya took place on April 28, 2005, around 10.45 pm. Four men seized the 46-year-old journalist on 28 April as he was leaving a Colombo restaurant with friends just a few metres from the Bambalapitiya police station. Below is an eyewitness account of Sivaram’s colleague and friend Kusal Perera, a sad and frustrated who was partying with Sivaram that evening at the restaurant, who narrates the abduction scene.

‘”At around 10.20 p.m., we thought it time to call it a day and decided to leave the restaurant. Accordingly, we walked out of the place. Ravi Kumudesh and Prasantha Ratnayake wanted to get back to Borella and decided to hire a three-wheeler. Having hailed a three-wheeler, they left for Borella while Sivaram and I walked towards the bus halt intending to take a bus home.

“As we were waiting at the bus halt, I noticed Sivaram had received a telephone call and saw him walk a few yards answering the call. Meanwhile, I was concentrating on stopping a bus. As I saw a bus approaching, I looked towards where Sivaram had walked to alert him the bus was arriving. It was then I noticed two people standing close to a parked Intercooler jeep pulling and pushing Sivaram into the vehicle.

“A third person standing near the front door of the jeep. It did not take them long to bundle Siva into the vehicle as I was helplessly looking on”, a sad and frustrated Kusal Perera said relating those dreadful moments about how Sivaram was abducted.

He said the vehicle was an ash-coloured jeep and it had sped towards Wellawatte. “I realized it was difficult for me to give chase to the vehicle and decided to get back home and alert as many people as possible. I knew that standing there will not be helpful” (https://www.sundaytimes.lk/050501/news/19.html)

It was about an hour past midnight when the Talangama police station received an anonymous telephone call informing the cops that a body was lying on the bank of the Diyawanna Oya. When the police went to the spot near Kimbula-ela junction, about 500 metres behind the Sri Jayewardenepura Parliament Complex, they found a dead body lying amidst the shrubs. It was identified later by friends and family to be that of Sivaram.

Sivaram’s murder sent shockwaves throughout the length and breadth of the island and even abroad. Even though Sivaram was under severe threat for his pro-LTTE stance from the government and his detractors, no one imagined his life would be cut short so soon. On the day Dharmeratnam Sivaram (Taraki) was murdered I was blissfully ignorant of the tragedy unfolding in Colombo City till very late in the evening. On that fateful day, I was attending the International Conference hosted by Caldwell Educational Conference Organizers Inc, Toronto, Vasantham and Carleton Tamil Graduates Union, Ottawa held at Grand Hotel, Toronto. The Tsunami Disaster in Sri Lanka: Opportunities and Obstacles for Rehabilitation and Resettlement was the theme of the conference. There were panel discussions in which prominent scholars and experts spoke on diverse subjects related to Tsunami.

On reaching home, I noticed my answering machine blinking. So, even before changing clothes, I started retrieving the messages. Among several messages, there was a short message left by the editor of Muzhakkam weekly newspaper. It said that there are unconfirmed reports that Sivaram (Taraki) had been abducted by unidentified gunmen in a vehicle at Bambalapitiya at around 10.45 p.m. the same day.

A little later other wire-news started carrying the bad news. Many bizarre scenes raced through my mind. I was trying to figure out the consequences. It is a well-known fact that abductors normally don’t release their victims for fear of betraying their identities. Past midnight news agencies reported the founding of Sivaram’s body with gunshot injuries behind the Sri Lanka parliamentary complex.

The loss of Sivaram remains irreparable till now. He wielded his mighty pen to seek justice for his people. He was not a mercenary writer like some others. There was no one to replace him or take his place. He was the only Thamil journalist who wrote regularly both in English and Thamil for a very wide international reader. His articles and interviews were published and re-published in several newspapers and websites abroad. His superb in-depth analysis on defence and politics earned him respect not only locally but also from foreign diplomats, bureaucrats, journalists and educationists.  He was invited by the US State Department for briefings.  He was also invited by the Indian Foreign Ministry for similar briefings.

Sivaram took to journalism after falling out with PLOTE chief Uma Maheswaran. He was then the General Secretary of Democratic Peoples Liberation Front (DPLF), the political wing of PLOTE. In the early days he was critical of LTTE’s policies and tactics.

When in 1991, LTTE mounted a frontal attack and laid siege to Elephant Pass military base, the then National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali and army top brasses were at wits end not knowing how to rescue the forces entrapped inside. The army broke the siege finally by landing its forces at Vettilaikerni and marching towards Elephant Pass. It took a whole month to do so and the army suffered heavy casualties. It was claimed that the idea for the naval landing at Vettilaikerni came from reading Turaki’s articles.

Over time Sivaram abandoned his anti-LTTE stance when he realized that Sri Lankan governments of whatever hues are incapable of offering any reasonable solution to resolve the festering ethnic conflict. His reading of the socio-political history of Ceylon taught him a few lessons. He concluded that Sinhala polity would never agree to share political power with the Thamil people.

Sivaram figured out two important historical factors.  Firstly, he found the Sinhalese ethnic identity is an all-inclusive ethnoreligious identity, that is Sinhalese Buddhists. It is impossible to think of Sinhalese ethnic identity sans Buddhism. Secondly, the myth, artificial but deliberate, linking Vijaya’s landing with the passing of Buddha into Nibbana (death and enlightenment). Buddha just before his death was supposed to have summoned Sakka (Indra) and instructed him “Vijaya, son of Sinhabahu, is coming to Lanka ……. together with 700 followers. In Lanka, O Lord of Gods, will my religion be established, therefore, carefully protect him with his followers and Lanka.” This myth has been systematically and continuously exploited by Sinhalese politicians and Buddhist monks to promote the chauvinistic theory that Sinhalese Buddhists are the chosen people entrusted with the task of safeguarding Buddhism in the whole island.  In essence, it meant the island belonged to Sinhalese Buddhists only.

Secondly the interpretation of war between Elara and Duttugemunu as one between Tamils and Sinhalese Buddhists. As an extension the victorious Duttugemunu a great Sinhalese Buddhist national hero. This fiction is portrayed to paint the Tamils as historical enemies, non-believers, aliens and usurpers by the Sinhalese. Sivaram called this the Mahavamsa mindset! Sivaram in his writings used to quote passages from such well-known Buddhist chronicles like the Deepavamsa, Mahavamsa, Chulavamsa and Rajawalia, in that order, to reinforce his argument. He even quoted the Kandyan Convention to prove Sinhalese historical animosity towards Tamils. The Kandyan Convention signed between the British and the Kandyan chiefs consisted of 12 clauses of which the following four are significant and give an insight in to the Sinhala psyche.

1. Sri Wickrama Rajasinha, the Malabari king to forfeit all claims to the throne of Kandy.

2. The King is declared fallen and deposed and the hereditary claim of his dynasty abolished and extinguished.

3. All his male relatives are banished from the island.

4. The religion of the Buddha is declared inviolable and its rights are to be maintained and protected.

Sivaram gradually came to admire the superior fighting skills, military strategy and tactics of the LTTE in fighting the Sinhalese armed forces. Especially, LTTE leader’s far-sighted leadership by example. Sivaram, once an armed militant himself, was convinced that LTTE possessed the necessary military prowess to fight the occupying Sinhalese army and finally expelling it from the Tamil homeland. Subsequent events proved him wrong.

I met Sivaram for the first time in 1999 in Ottawa. He was one of many prominent scholars who spoke at the International Conference on Tamil Nationhood & Search for Peace in Sri Lanka. The Conference was hosted by the Academic Society of Tamil Students, Carleton University, Canada from 21-22 May, 1999. Sivaram presented a paper titled Media Bias and Censorship in Conflict Reporting in Sri Lanka. Among others who spoke at the conference were Ms. Karen Parker, V. Rudrakumaran, Dr. Wickrama bahu Karunaratne, Prof. C. Manogaran, and Margaret Trawick just to name a few. I still possess both the English and the Thamil versions of the paper he presented.

After 1999, Sivaram visited Canada a few times. His close relatives from his wife’s side lived in Canada. Whenever he came, he made it a point to see me but scrupulously avoided public appearances.

Sivaram was planning to spend at least 2 weeks in Canada last December 2004. He was invited as a guest speaker for a seminar in New Jersey organized by the World Thamil Organization Inc. So, he planned to come to Canada before going to the US. However, his plan came to nought when the Canadian High Commission in Colombo refused him a visa without even the courtesy of an interview. He was very disappointed since he had no difficulty visiting Canada before. As for the US, he already had multiple entry visas.

I met him in New Jersey on December 11 and spoke to him before and after the seminar. When asked to pose for photographs, he remarked whether they were meant for use after his demise!  None of us took his remarks seriously and no one thought he had any premonition that death was lurking in the dark. This despite the fact he remained a target of the Sri Lankan army intelligence and pro-government para-military groups. Extreme Sinhalese elements, notably the JVP and Hela Urumaya, published his photos and branded him as an LTTE ‘terrorist.’

In 2001 Sivaram had a close shave with death. He was brutally attacked by a group of persons armed with clubs and batons inside the Thinakathir newspaper office in Batticaloa town. Apparently, this group had close connections with the security forces.  Sivaram suffered extensive head injuries and was hospitalized.  He required 5 stitches.

Attack and intimidation of Tamil media persons by security forces have become a routine affair for a considerable period. Freedom of the press and the independence of journalists in Sri Lanka is a huge joke. More so for Tamil journalists. Sivaram’s relatives and friends say the instigators and perpetrators could be linked to Tamil paramilitary groups, as Sivaram supported the Tamil nationalists and was outspoken in his criticism of abuses by the security forces and paramilitaries.

Whenever his safety was broached Sivaram brushed it aside saying if anyone is determined to kill him nothing could stop it. He also brushed aside the suggestion that he stays abroad for some time till the security situation in Sri Lanka improves.

While he was in the US, some of Sivaram’s close friends thought he should be provided with some monetary help as a show of affection rather than to ease his stay. But he did not like the idea. Typical of the man he told me over the phone in colloquial Thamil “Enakku kasu thevai illai. Nan Mandayai poddal enathu pensathy pillaikku uthavi seyunko!” (I don’t need any money! If I die help my wife and children!)

After returning to Sri Lanka, Sivaram constantly contacted me by phone and email. The last message he sent me was the tidings that Vanni has decided to create a separate department to promote rationalism and science on an institutional basis. Also, the publication of books on science and rationalism to educate the people.  He told me he had read most of the articles I wrote in Muzhakkam and re-published them on the Tamil Natham website. Especially the series that debunked belief in Astrology. He thought by writing on social and religious issues, I was doing a great service in weaning people from superstitious beliefs that have become the curse of Tamil society.

Even after the lapse of 11 days since the gruesome murder of Sivaram, the Police said there has been no breakthrough in apprehending the murderers. Even the vehicle used by the assassins was not traced.

At that time, Sivaram’s senseless murder was condemned by prominent people around the world.  UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura denounced the murder describing it as a “shameful crime” and his death “a great loss for Sri Lankan journalism and for UNESCO.”

“Man, who Knew Too Much Dead,” wrote Prof. Tom Plate, Director of Asia Pacific Media Network, in an article published in Korean Times.

Director Ann Cooper of The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the murder saying “This audacious and brutal crime is an attack on free speech in Sri Lanka.”

The Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Sri Lanka condemned the killing saying “To gun down an unarmed man is pure cowardice; to gun down a journalist is to attack freedom of speech.”

Reporters Sans Frontières (Reporters Without Borders) said “It was revolted at the brutal killing of a well-known journalist and the premeditated murder of one of the most renowned Tamil journalists is a huge loss for Sri Lanka’s press.”

Prof. Plate, who is with the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote “The abduction and murder last Thursday of political columnist and military analyst, Dharmeratnam Sivaram by suspected Sri Lankan state agents “will hinder peace and promote war” in Sri Lanka, writes Prof. Tom Plate, Director of Asia Pacific Media Network, in an op-ed published Thursday in the Korean Times. “The anguish felt worldwide perhaps surprised the morally suspect government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga.”

After 19 years after his murder, I still feel less sad and angry that the killers stilled his voice so brazenly and in the most vicious fashion.

After dragging its feet for more than a month and a half, the police appeared to have made some progress in their investigation into the abduction and murder of D. Sivaram by arresting a man found with the chip from the journalist’s mobile phone.

Reporters Without Borders welcomed the arrest of a suspect in the murder of Dharmeratnam Sivaram “Taraki”, editor of the news website TamilNet and Daily Mirror columnist. They urged the government to step up its efforts in the investigation.

While welcoming the arrest, Reporters Without Borders stressed that it was essential to identify the killers and the instigators of the murder and to find the motive for this killing of one of the country’s best-known Tamil journalists. The organisation said it expected police to inform the press about the latest developments and that they would leave no stone unturned in pursuing their inquiries. It also urged the international community to increase pressure on Colombo to end the impunity enjoyed by killers of journalists and human rights activists.

Although the Police have not officially announced it, the suspect, Arumugam Sri Skandarajan, also known as “Peter” was arrested near Colombo on 13 June 2005 in possession of the chip from D. Sivaram’s mobile phone. Police, led by Superintendent Sarath Lugoda, have also found a vehicle that was used in the kidnapping and belonging to Dharmalingam Siddharthan. leader of the para-military group PLOTE fighting against the LTTE along with the Sri Lankan army. The arrested man is also a former armed militant of that movement which clashed violently with the LTTE in the 1990s. He spent several years in prison in the 1980s for his involvement in a botched coup attempt to overthrow the government of Maldives.

Journalists in Colombo said the suspect has reportedly told police that he was contacted by an “associate” and asked to borrow a PLOTE vehicle before the murder of Sivaram. He was given the mobile phone chip so he could check on the origin of calls the journalist received. He was taken before a judge in Kaduwela on 14 June, who gave police permission to keep him in custody for continued questioning until 20 June. Another man arrested by police, Velayuthan Nallanather, was freed for lack of evidence. The court banned the press from naming the two arrested men.

Some journalists in Colombo treated the arrest with caution. “This tells us nothing about the instigators of the murder”, one said. “Police might be tempted to deflect attention from the implication in the murder of Tamil warlord Karuna’s henchmen,” said the journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity. The arrest of a suspect in June 2005 raised hopes that the case would soon be solved, but the investigators did virtually nothing since his arrest. The police said they had found a vehicle that may have been used in his abduction. However, the witnesses of the abduction later said the detained suspect was not one of the kidnappers and that the car was not the one they had used.

A former Sri Lankan Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is alleged to have covered up evidence in the case of murdered Tamil journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram, reported The Sunday Leader. Sarath Lugoda, the former DIG and the ex-director of the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) is alleged to have concealed evidence that the murder may have been ordered by authorities high up in the Sri Lankan government and released the main suspects accused of the assassination.

On 17 November 2005, the 5th presidential election was held and the hard-lined Sinhala – Buddhist Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa of the governing United People’s Freedom Alliance was elected. Rajapaksa secured 4,880,950 votes or just 50.29 per cent of the total against his main rival Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP), who received 4,694,623 votes or 48.4 per cent. The majority was a mere 108, 786 votes, the narrowest of the four presidential elections held since 1982. Rajapaksa’s election victory created long-term implications for Sri Lankan politics. It sent a dangerous message to the minorities that Sri Lanka is no longer a pluralistic multi-cultural, multi-racial country, but a Sinhala-Buddhist country, and that minority votes do not count.Rajapaksa’s rival Ranil Wickremesinghe would have easily won the race if not for the unofficial boycott imposed by the LTTE in the North. Out of 701,938 voters in the Jaffna electoral district, only 8,524 (1.21%) cast their votes. In Kilinochchi polling division there was only one solitary vote out of 89,454 registered voters.

In May 2006 after arresting one suspect, police abandoned the investigation,” said Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in its Annual Report for 2006 on Sri Lanka (TamilNet 22-05-2006)

I am, therefore, delighted over the announcement, made by Cabinet Spokesman Vijitha Herath, that his government has re-opened Sivaram’s murder case along with 6 others.