Congratulations Sri Lanka Guardian

From Durga Velautham in New Delhi

(January 12, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) Today’s (January 11) Sri Lanka Guardian carries a rich variety of features that are a credit to the media in Sri Lanka and that too at a time when a brave and brilliant journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge was gunned down by unknown gunmen on a very busy street in Colombo. There were features on this horrendous assassination, every one of them so passionate in their tribute to such a great exponent of the Fourth Estate of the Realms, two by Victor Karunairajan and others by T C Rajaratnam and a moving personal tribute by Gamini Weerakoon.

The final editorial of Lasantha Wickrematunge will certainly remain a classic piece of journalism and to any investigation into this dastardly crime, will also contain obvious pointers to his killers supported by the various experiences Lasantha Wickrematunge has undergone during the last three years. Mr Weerakoon has detailed these well.

There were also two exceptionally good and thoroughly informative features on the Sun God and the Wanni Front by Col R Hariharan and H L D Mahindapala as well as an Ottawa Citizen feature “Sri Lanka has rejected its basic responsibilities” by Robert Muggah with an apt and pointed introduction by Victor Karunairajan. Equally, you had features on the war situation including one by B Raman that had his usual nature of interpreting it well to your readers.

The international scene was well documented by the features on the Middle East and the departing worst president of the US in known times, George Bush.

I must comment that a feature about Anglican Conspiracies by Lenin Benedict was extremely poor on facts and contentions and such should never have been published. However, the two brilliant responses to it by Professor Ratnajeevan Hoole and Satchi Sithananthan adequately put paid Lenin Benedict style of mischief.

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the Sri Lanka Guardian for the great service to the Sri Lankan community and hope there will soon be a good solution to the ethnic crisis. If I could indulge myself to comment on the politicians of Tamil Nadu, I would advise them to scour the areas in and around Rameshwaram and find out for themselves, the danger that is building up for India from the LTTE.

Maybe Mr Vaiko has strange ideas that he can raise an army of volunteers to sail to the northern coast of Sri Lanka to help the Sun God Prabhakaran to flee Wanni. Even if he does that, where will he keep him? India should be at full alert that in sheer desperation to give valour to his stupid suggestion, he may attempt something to that effect; at least sail a few yards towards Sri Lanka and have him thrown back to India by the coast guard. Nedumaran did something like that some years ago.

He will need this for his own fortunes in the forthcoming elections and naturally would have received a large largesse from the Canadian LTTE sources operating via a university don from Sri Lanka in Chennai. What is strange and indeed sickening about Tamil Nadu politics is that people in this southern state have not come to realize yet the charlatanry of their politicians who appear to live in film world fantasies rather than the realities that their people face.
- Sri Lanka Guardian