2ND LEAD (Update)

Sixteenth remembrance of journalist Nadesan marked amidst harassment by SL Police

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 June 2020, 09:03 GMT]
SL military intelligence personnel in civilian clothes and SL Policemen in uniform were deployed at the entrance of Jaffna Press Club (JPC) on Sunday morning when Tamil journalists marked 16th-year remembrance of Tamil journalist, Naaddup-pattaa'lar Aiyathurai Nadesan. Around fifteen policemen and intelligence personnel were guarding the entrance of the JPC and the Stanley Road - Raasaavin Thoaddam junction for four hours, from 8:30 to 12:30, in rotation, journalists who attended the event in Jaffna said. The journalists had already gathered inside the premises and managed to proceed with the remembrance as planned.

Journalists in Batticaloa have managed to mark the remembrance day without any military or police harassment at the office of Voice of Media in Kalladi on Sunday evening. The event was organised by Eastern Province Journalists’ Forum (Eastern Press Club).

The journalists maintained social distancing during the remembrance events.

Colombo’s military intelligence and the notorious ‘Terrorist’ Investigation Division of the SL Police have been increasing harassments of remembrance events marked by Tamils since 18 May when Tamils mobilised in the North and East marking Remembrance of Mu'l'livaaykkaal Tamil Genocide.

Mr Nadesan, who worked as a journalist for two decades, was shot dead allegedly by a paramilitary group on 31 May 2004.

The assassination took place after he wrote an article criticising the Sri Lanka Army intelligence and paramilitary groups operating with it for the murder of an academic and several civilians in Batticaloa.

Nadesan was 49 and a father of four children at the time of his death.




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