 "Photo: Matthew Brady | The Spectator")
Journalism is not typically viewed as a field of work where people have to fear for their lives. But that’s not the case in Sri Lanka, where journalists are not nearly so safe.
“No other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism,” said Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge in an editorial published by The Sunday Leader, Sri Lanka’s most widely circulated independent weekly newspaper.
Sophomore Ruan Pethiyagoda, age 24, previously wrote for The Sunday Leader.
Pethiyagoda, a Seattle University journalism major, first took an interest in politics by observing his uncle, Gamini Dissanayake, who had held positions in the Sri Lankan government since 1977.
As Pethiyagoda began working for The Sunday Leader in 2007, writing became his life.
“It was obsessive and expensive,” Pethiyagoda said. “The work I was doing often cost more than my salary, but I loved it. It was like an addiction.”
Dissanayake, along with Lasantha Wickrematunge, Ruan’s former editor, started The Sunday Leader together. When a terrorist suicide bomber killed Dissanayake in 1994, his family sold the newspaper, handing its management to Wickrematunge.
“[Wickrematunge] wasn’t one to back down,” Pethiyagoda said. “They couldn’t scare him because he knew what he was saying was right and he would fight them on it.”
In an editorial Wickrematunge by that was published after his death in Jan. 2009, he confronted the issue of political corruption by addressing the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“We both know who will be behind my death, but dare not call his name. Not just my life, but yours too, depends on it,” the editorial said.
As Pethiyagoda explained, his editor died just a few days before a court trial where Wickrematunge was expected to prove the truth behind a series of articles exposing details implicating Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the president’s brother. The secretary was allegedly involved in scandals concerning multimillion dollar laundering operations, illegal Chinese bank accounts, London-based dummy corporations and secondhand Soviet military aircraft.
“The medical examiner’s report showed [Wickrematunge] had been killed by a nail-embellished iron pole rammed into his head, yet the final statement said he had died of natural causes,” Pethiyagoda explained.
For Pethiyagoda, Wickrematunge was more than a boss—he was a role model, a leader and a friend.
“Working for him and for [The Sunday Leader] was like someone here getting to go work for The New York Times,” Pethiyagoda said. “I fell for journalism because of him.”
Much like his boss, Pethiyagoda wrote many articles exposing corruption and foul play in successive administrations. While most of the evidence for such issues has allegedly been covered up, none of them have been successfully proven false by the government.
“Never once in these 15 years has anyone proved us wrong or successfully prosecuted us,” said Wickrematunge in his last editorial.
“[Ruan] directly understood the purpose and danger behind working for us,” said Sonali Wickrematunge, co-editor of The Sunday Leader and widow of the paper’s former editor. “But things have gotten much worse since we left.”
As Sonali explained it, her husband had been the backbone of independent journalism in Sri Lanka. With him gone, she thinks journalists are finding it harder to speak out.
“More journalists are at risk now. The whole fabric of the resistance put out by journalists has begun to fall apart,” Sonali said. “There is no need for more journalists to die.”
Even without Wickrematunge or his wife, The Sunday Leader continues to cover the news and expose the truth in controversial issues.
Pethiyagoda plans to return to Sri Lanka as soon as he graduates so he can take part in the struggle for government change.
“I want to go back and write there again,” Pethiyagoda said. He does not intend to return to work for The Leader.
Aubrey may be reached at aeyre@su-spectator.com
36 comments
Lasantha and Lal, the Wickrematunga Brothers started the paper and Lal who became managing director of Multipak, publishers and were the founders of Sunday Leader.
Dead men do not speak ergo it is morally wrong to fabricate truth. Pearl Thevanayagam
In his February 24th interview with the ITN’s ‘Ethulanthaya’, Defence Secretary and Presidential sibling Gotabaya Rajapaksa decried media freedom and human rights as ‘foreign concepts’ and opined that media organisations and judges who succumb to such ‘foreign concepts’ retard the forward march of the country.
Do Not Come To Sri Lanka,If you are so clever in journalism stay where ever you are and write about the new found mother or father land NOT SRI LANKA.
1. The Sunday Leader is the LEAST circulated independent weekly - it has a circulation of less than 3,000.?
You should know the quality or investigative journalism of Sunday Leader is greater than The sunday Times. I also wanted to point out tha the circulation numbers doesn't matter the village boys don't understand what is investigative journalism is for example economist, new scientist weekly titles which is well read within a certain number of people who are the decision makers and who have the same interest.
What cannot be achieved by politicians can be achieved by journalists.
Sri lanka will have to produce more journalists and international journalists must help them a lot.
Pl stop the rot of the country before it is too late.
Thanks.
Why the country is like this is Buddhists are not led by the 8 precepts but misled by politicians who only want political power and not at all bothered by their conscience.
Noble speach involves
1 Always speak the truth
2 There is a right time and place to speak this truth
3. It has to be benificial to all parties concerned.
4 On hearing this truth the wise would approve. If any one of these items is missing in the speach it creat problems to oneself and others. You can look into instances where journelists have got in to trouble and see nothing but this truth operating. It is the natures law.
The contents of this article shows you a still wet behind your ears. So be careful of what you say and keep to the above priciples and you can become a great journelist .
with best wishes
Sana,Go back and follow the history