Nadarajah Raviraj's assassination condemned

Communist Party of Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: Communist Party General Secretary DEW Gunasekara in a statement on behalf of the party's politburo yesterday condemned the assassination of Jaffna District Parliamentarian Nadarajah Raviraj.

The statement: The Communist Party of Sri Lanka, unequivocally and with all vehemence condemns the assassination of Nadarajah Raviraj, MP and demands the Government to spare no effort to investigate and bring to Book the assassins.

Taking all the circumstances into account, it is clear that the attempt on the life of Raviraj has been well calculated and motivated. This is one of the cruelest political murders perpetrated in the recent past in the Colombo city in a broad daylight at the busiest hour of the day. It is curious that the assassin could easily escape so fast undetected amidst high security in the city.

The assassination objectively helps the escalation of tension in the country, blocks the on-going national effort for peace-building, strains further the ethnic relations and helps the war mongering elements of both sides of the divide.

Raviraj was entitled to his right to express his views and feelings on behalf of the people whom he represented and this brutal murder was clearly an attempt to silence the dissent through terror, the statement said.

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Lanka General Services' Union

Lanka General Services' Union President Jayaratna Maliyagoda in a statement says the late Nadarajah Raviraj was a political figure who had worked in close collaboration with the southern politicians and the people to find a peaceful political solution to the North East issue within a democratic framework.

Excerpts from the statement: It is evident, that this killing is a direct challenge to the democracy and the people who enter democratic political arena and raise their voice for the rights of the people whom they represent.

Many politicians, trade unionists and social activists have been the target of gunmen during last two decades.

"Punishing the culprits who killed Raviraj will not make one feel that the duty has been discharged. We say this is the context of daily reporting incidents of abductions, holding them to ransom and killing some of them, in spite of tightened security in the city of Colombo.

In this context, the LGSU urges the government to take appropriate steps to curb all forms of fascist type violence activities to protect the people and ensure right to life." The LGSU stresses that by delay in resolving the North-East issue and bringing to end the violence, Sri Lanka will make the country into one which is war-weary and war-torn in South Asia before long.

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National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka in a statement yesterday expressed its shock and dismay at the events unfolded in the last few days.

Excerpts from the statement: The massacre of unarmed civilians who were taking refuge at an IDP camp and the subsequent assassination of TNA MP and Human Rights activist Nadarajah Raviraj in the very heart of the high security capital, Colombo, sent shock waves through the nation.

These are not isolated incidents but the culmination of a violent culture which has been prevalent in Sri Lanka in recent times. The killing of politicians, human rights activists, journalists and the silencing of other democratic voices has become a trend in our society. If this dangerous trend is not arrested immediately, the people of this nation will lose faith in the democracy and the justice system.