A badly damaged white car with broken glass windows, a seriously injured man being rushed to hospital and a scene of carnage and destruction is still etched in the minds of all those who were at the scene on that fateful day – 8 January 2009.
This was the day that Editor-in-Chief of the Sunday Leader Newspaper Lasantha Wickrematunge was assassinated in broad daylight on Attidiya Road while on his way to office at Katukurunduwatte Road, off Templers Road, Mount Lavinia.
His eldest son Avinash was 19, his daughter Ahimsa 17, and his younger son Aadesh 10 when he passed away at the Kalubowila Hospital on that fateful day.
It has been 14 years since the brutal assassination of Lasantha, but sadly his killers still roam free. Justice is yet to be served for the murder of an Editor who sacrificed his life to tell it all.
In her book ‘And Then They Came For Me’ – the Lasantha Wickrematunge story, written by his ex-wife, journalist Raine Wickrematunge his lifestory unravels.
The book states: “One day, Harris, ever on the lookout for some part-time employment for ‘Malli,’ brought home a copy of the SUN newspaper and pointed to an advertisement. It was an in-house ad calling for trainee reporters and sub-editors. “This might be good for you,” he remarked, pointing out that the newspaper office, located as it was on Hulftsdorp Hill, wasn’t too far away from home either.”
First job
“Harris then proceeded to type out an application on his trusty Remington and, instead of posting it to the Independent Newspapers office, took it to No. 5, Gunasena Mawatha and handed it in personally. That act on the part of a determined father was the beginning of a completely new chapter in Lasantha’s life, unleashing as it were, the full force of the remarkable destiny that lay before him,” the book states.
“At this time, I was already working at Independent Newspapers which published the English language SUN and WEEKEND, Sinhala language Dawasa and Riviresa, Tamil language Dinapathi and Chinthamani and a few other periodicals. I had joined the company soon after my Advanced Levels and was a sub-editor on the daily SUN’s Sunday edition, the WEEKEND. I also conducted the women’s and children’s pages and wrote feature stories under the by-line Raine Amarasinghe.”
“The Editor of the SUN was the dashing Rex de Silva whose creative talent took the paper to great heights. Lasantha, a couple of years older to me, joined Independent Newspapers in July 1981, just as I was completing two years there. Within half an hour, Rex came up to my desk followed by two young men. He introduced them as Damodaran Sivalingam and Lasantha Wickrematunge. Rex told me they were new recruits to the subs desk and asked me to train them in the art of sub-editing,” the book says.
The story goes on – on Sundays I would go through the newspaper at home, circling any typos on the pages that Lasantha had overseen. I would take these pages to the office on Monday morning and brandish these in his face, pulling him up for missing a typographical error,” Raine explains.
Tribute
Damo who wrote a tribute article in The Nation newspaper many years later, seems to remember much more than I do, she says. He wrote, “I first met Lasantha when we started our working life on the same day at the WEEKEND Newspaper sub-desk as trainee journalists. We were trained by no other than Raine, his wife-to-be, though she did not know that just then. I think it was love at first sight for Lasantha as he plotted away to win her heart almost immediately. We became good friends right from the beginning as I became his ‘golaya’ in promoting his advances much to the annoyance of Raine who often said, ‘I am NOT interested in you.’ I guess all of you know she had to eat her own words. I remember them as a happy and devoted couple. This story tells you a lot about Lasantha. He always knew what he wanted in life and pursued it with all his heart.”
“During lunchtime each day, many of us would gather in the modest lunch room and everyone eagerly waited for Lasantha’s lunchbox to be opened; his mother packed some tasty morsels for him and we girls would get bits to savour. One day as we sat for lunch, Lasantha opened his lunch box and grinned to himself. When we asked him what he was smiling about, he said, “I only have plain rice today. I had a fight with Chandra (his mother) this morning and she seems to have punished me.” Of course, all of us in the room laughed our heads off and proceeded to share with him whatever we had in our lunches,” Raine said.
After many years at the Sun newspaper, Lasantha’s change to another media institution came when due to a political issue the SUN newspaper management decided that Lasantha was to be suspended.
“The moment the words about the suspension were out, Lasantha retorted, “In that case, I’m quitting this newspaper,” and stomped out of the room. The very next day he was hired by Vijitha Yapa, Editor of The Island and The Sunday Island newspapers. It was here at The Island newsrooms that Lasantha fully unleashed his reporting brilliance,” Raine explains.
Recalling memories
She says consequently, when he investigated a scandal, it wasn’t surprising that he uncovered its every detail, however trivial. “That was the strength of his work: he convinced you not just by making extravagant accusations against the powerful, but by the weight of the detail of his reporting. At his best, Lasantha convinced you that there couldn’t be another side to the story,” the book states.
Gamini Weerakoon, Deputy Editor of The Island recalled, “In the 80s, there were a few rough diamonds around and I was surprised to be introduced to a young man who had left the SUN newspaper for The Island. …. He looked too young to be among ruffians, some of them veterans with 20 to 30 years’ experience who dominated the news desk and the sub-editors’ desks and I had my doubts whether he would last long. However, I was soon to realise that he was a serendipitous find for the newspaper.”
Recalling her memories in those early days when the Sunday Leader was just about to get off the ground Raine says one day in January 1994, Lasantha’s brother Lal arrived at our home bursting with the exciting news about a tentative idea to launch a new newspaper.
“Lal worked for Multi-Packs, a company that printed Sinhala cartoon periodicals among other things and he and Haris Hulugalle, Chairman of Multi-Packs, were considering starting a national, English language newspaper,” Raine said.
No whip-cracking boss
She added, Lasantha was seen as an essential element in the venture, both from the editorial and business aspects. “His journalistic credentials were formidable – as a newsman, he was one of the best the country had produced. From a business standpoint, his vast pool of wide and varied contacts would be an invaluable asset to a new company. Lasantha however was adamant about one thing. He would come on board, he said, only if he was afforded full editorial autonomy with no whip-cracking boss breathing down his neck. No censorial stifling of his pen nor that of other journalists working on the newspaper would be tolerated, he insisted. That assurance given, Lasantha and I threw ourselves into the planning of the project with Lal and Haris and slowly the formative bones of Leader Publications began taking shape,” Raine explained.
Initially, the aim was to publish a Sunday paper which would be called The Sunday Leader she says. “Down the road, they would consider starting a Sinhala edition, and later, if everything went well, even a mid-week. Lasantha and I were to be involved in all the initial planning of the format of the newspaper and be responsible for recruiting staff, steering the editorial department and the newspaper’s content,” she said.
On 5 April 1994, Lasantha’s 36th birthday, we said our fond goodbyes to the Times staff, ………. to see us off. As Lasantha and I drove from the Times building to Ward Place where our new offices were located, there were mixed feelings. There was some diffidence and yet, a spirit of great adventure and excitement bubbled.
The Ward Place office looked like somebody’s abandoned home. The garden – complete with clumps of grass, sand and straggling weeds – was a favourite haunt of stray dogs, one of which was adopted later as part of the Leader family and christened ‘Steffie.’
Designing the paper
“Right from day one – together with Lal and Haris Hulugalle – Lasantha and I rolled up our sleeves and got down to the business of developing the format and design of the newspaper. Haris’ daughter Shani was an asset with her knowledge of computer technology and her design and layout skills. We brainstormed for a catchy slogan, one that encapsulated the essence of the newspaper and the ideals it would champion. Lasantha suggested ‘Unbowed and Unafraid’ which everyone agreed was an excellent motto,” Raine explained.
She added in that first week at the office there was just Lasantha, me, an office helper, driver and a couple of production staffers who had been sourced from Multi-Packs, the parent company, a couple of weeks later Rukshana, a young trainee reporter, a few typesetters and paste-up artists, joined the ranks. The office was equipped with two Apple Mac computers, a Macintosh Quadra and an A3 printer.
“At the outset, Lasantha wanted me to take on the role of Features Editor continuing what I had done at the Times. I however yearned for a break from titles. While applying for media accreditation cards however, it appeared applicants were required to provide their designations and I had none. Defence Analyst Iqbal Athas who had joined the Leader ranks as Deputy Editor, hurriedly conjured the title ‘Features Consultant’ and that remained my designation throughout my Leader life,” she explained.
All of us went about our tasks at a frantic pace in preparation for the first issue due to come out on 19 June 1994, she says and Lasantha and I put in so much back-breaking work in those early days that one desk-head was to quip, “If it ever came to a crunch, Lasantha and Raine can easily run this paper by themselves.” That was a huge exaggeration, in fact an impossibility, but in a sense it encapsulated the simplified version of how the rest of the staff viewed us – Lasantha brought in the news, Raine put it together,” Raine explained.
It was hard, that first year. I remember all I wanted at that stage was to complete our first year in circulation. I was terrified the Leader would be just a three-month wonder, a flash in the pan.
Victory in The Hague
Internal issues notwithstanding, Lasantha at the helm as Editor-in-Chief, was turning the Leader into a much sought after, if somewhat controversial, newspaper. With his investigative journalism, credibility grew and the public was riding the wave with us, egging and encouraging us on. The Sunday Leader was emerging as the standard-bearer of journalistic excellence.
He was also completely fearless in ‘naming and shaming the devil’ whoever it was and whatever office he or she held. He was driven by the principle of the public’s right to know and the knowledge that a good newspaper was not just an agent of change but the upholder of democracy itself.
Lasantha was a journalist and a brilliant one at that, but he was also a political animal wading knee-deep in murky political waters. He and The Sunday Leader were in a sense what gave the Opposition the courage and the drive, in many instances, to take the Government head-on.
“It’s hard to believe that 14 years have passed since Lasantha’s death. Just like every year since 2009, once again all we can do is lament about the fact that the investigation has stalled and the killers roam free. This is not just true with Lasantha’s murder but that of all other journalists killed in Sri Lanka. That such impunity exists isn’t shocking any longer in a country where violence is endemic and murder is routine. So, until the day dawns when a clean, upright administration is installed – one with no hidden agendas nor interference into investigations, we can hope for little more than laughable red herrings and pathetic eyewash,” Raine explained.
She says, anyway this year we got internationally what we never got in SL and that was the victory in The Hague which found the Government of Sri Lanka guilty of Lasantha’s murder.
“All I can wish for at present is that Lasantha’s vision that his murder will ‘galvanise forces that will usher in a new era of human liberty,’ comes to fruition. We had a glimpse of that during the Aragalaya,” Raine said.
By Risidra Mendis
