By Ananth Palakidnar

Norwegian Embassy in Colombo was active and all out to clearly indicate its role in carrying out the facilitation process between the Government and the LTTE had embarked in the peace talks. Norwegian Government was compelled to clear its part in the facilitation process due to the agitations against the Norway’s role by the hardliners in the Southern part of the Island. It is important to mention that Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) party of present leadership of the country was in the forefront to oppose the Norwegian involvement in the facilitation process. President Anurakumara Dissanayake and his supporters from the JVP had even staged demonstrations against Norway assisting the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in the facilitation process. Norway with the co-chair countries such as Japan, America, Sweden and the European Union had engaged extensively with taking the LTTE delegation to various countries for peace talks with the Government delegation led by Professor G.L. Peiris.

With the fall of Elephant Pass military base in the North Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had established Killinochchi as their political base and created its own
Police station, Court House and its administrative network. Killinochchi which was under the LTTE had even highlighted how Tamil Eelam , the separate state the outfit
was trying to establish would be in the future. Therefore with LTTE establishing Killinochchi as its strong hold both militarily as well as politically, the region became
a focal spot for the diplomatic community as well as for international media which were closely monitoring the facilitation process carried out by Norway with the support of the co-chair countries.

Norway’s Erick Solheim functioned as chief negotiator engaging with the LTTE. The outfit’s theoretician Dr.Anton Balasingam and its political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan were negotiating on behalf of the LTTE. Since the media reflecting the mindset of the people in the South who were opposed to the Norway’s facilitation process, Norwegian Embassy in Colombo initiated a media tour to Killinochchi to make the media circles in Colombo to familiarise with the Norway’s engagement in the facilitation process. All editors and senior journalists from Colombo’s print and electronic media were taken on a tour to Killinochchi to provide an opportunity to understand the LTTE’s contribution towards Norway’s facilitation process. A luxury coach from Colombo carried the media personnel to Killinochchi and prominent figures among the media fraternity including Editor of Leader newspaper Lasantha Wickremetunge was in the coach which traveled to
Killinochchi .

Lasantha at that time was popular with his articles written in the Leader on the Sri Lanka’s political and defense situation. Lasantha also conducted television interviews with prominent political figures on the MTV English Channel in Colombo.
So the media delegation on its way towards Killinochchi had unanimously agreed to allow Lasantha Wickremetunge to carry out the interview with LTTE’s political wing leader S.P. Thamilchelvan. LTTE’s media coordinator Thayanithy alias Thaya Master
welcomed the media delegation and took the delegation to a guest house of the LTTE which was meant for the visitors who came to Killinochchi to meet the outfit. The
guest house was located at a hamlet called Mallavi where the media delegation had spent the night. Colombo media men had a good time spending the night at the guest house, prior to the much expected media interaction with the LTTE next day.

Lasantha was very relaxed and joking and discussing on interesting political issues with his counterparts. Next day morning after a delicious breakfast provided by
the LTTE , the media delegation headed towards Killinochchi to the political office of S.P. Thamilchelvan. At the entrance to the political office, Thamilchelvan with his usual pleasant smile holding his walking stick in his hand had welcomed the media delegation inside the auditorium of his office where the interview between Lasantha Wickremetunge and Thamilselvan took place. The journalists as it was decided earlier allowed Lasantha to go ahead with the interview and admired the manner Lasantha had questioned Thamilselvan. Not only the questions Lasantha had asked from
Thamilselvan, the veteran journo even accommodative of other journalists and wanted them to ask their questions as well.

Lasantha was a highly an appreciative and respected journalist. Whenever the embassies and other foreign institutions organised cocktails for their key events,
Lasantha could be seen surrounded by leading foreign diplomats enjoying the conversation with him. Beginning from the brutal assassination of Richard de Zoysa in the early nineties, a significant number of journalists have been assassinated in the Island during the turbulent period which lasted for nearly four decades.
Apart from Richard de Zoysa and Lasantha Wickremetunge, leading Tamil journalists Tharaki Sivaram, Nadesan and Nimalarajan had also been massacred when the country faced with the North and East civil war. The latest victim was Prageeth Egneligoda. A Navy sailor a week ago has revealed that Egneligoda was shot dead and thrown into the sea during Gotabaya Rajapakse’s regime.

The journalists who were assassinated were high profile personalities and highly respected by the media circle in the country. However the murderers and abductors of journalists in the Island still remain at large and nothing has been done to
bring them to the books. As the media fraternity pays tribute to veteran journalist Lasantha Wickremetunge on his 16 th death anniversary, the regime of President Anurakumara Dissanayake must come forward to mete out justice to the families of the dead journalists and to the media fraternity in the country.