Journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram murdered in Colombo Requesting the international organizations and world governments for conducting an impartial enquiry.

Journalist Mr Dharmeratnam Sivaram was brutally murdered with gun shot head injuries in Himbulala, a Sinhala suburb between Jayawardhenapura hospital and the parliament complex building in Colombo Friday morning. THimbulala is about 500 meters behind the parliament complex and lies inside the High Security Zone (HSZ). Mr Sivaram was abducted on April 28, 2005 (Thursday) evening around 10.30 p.m. by unidentified persons in front of the Bambalapitya Police Station in Colombo.

Mr. Sivaram is a courageous writer who fearlessly expressed his opinions and presented news stories even under difficult circumstances. During the past two decades Mr Sivaram painstakingly articulated the rights and aspirations of the Tamil people through his writings and succeeded in internationalizing the ethnic conflict. Mr. Mark Whitaker, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of South Carolina, Aiken, U.S.A, is completing an intellectual biography of Dharmeratnam Sivarams life and work in a book entitled Learning Politics from Sivaram.
This killing of a reputed journalist inside the HSZ has shocked the people all over the world. Condemnation of his killing has been pouring from individuals and Organizations.

We suspect that Sri Lanka military intelligence in collaboration with Tamil para-military groups is responsible for this brutal murder. The truth will not come out from any investigation unless pressure comes from the international community, which has asked the resumption of peace talks between the GOSL and the LTTE.

We, the undersigned, appeal to all the organizations and governments around the world to protest this killing and pressure the GOSL to launch an impartial investigation that will result in bringing to justice the perpetrators of the heinous crime.