Among the many human rights violations that have occurred in this country in recent decades, the abduction and killing of Dharmaratnam Sivaram, also known as Taraki, stands out.
Investigating this case and bringing the perpetrators to justice was an election promise of the National People’s Power Government. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that Sivaram’s case is among a select number of human rights violations currently under investigation. April 28 marks twenty years since Sivaram was killed.
Who was Sivaram?
Born on August 11, 1959, into an upper-middle-class family in Batticaloa, Dharmaratnam Sivaram received his primary education at St. Michael’s College, Batticaloa, and later attended Aquinas College, Colombo. He subsequently entered the University of Peradeniya in 1982 to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature.
However, amid rising Tamil public opposition inside and outside the University, Sivaram abandoned his degree and turned to politics. He joined Dr. Rajasundaram’s Gandhian Movement, which aimed to protect and uplift the oppressed Tamil community.
By 1983, the United National Party Government had begun cracking down on the Gandhian Movement. Dr. Rajasundaram and several prominent Gandhian leaders were arrested and imprisoned. During the infamous Welikada Prison massacre, many of them, including Dr. Rajasundaram, were killed. A few managed to survive.
Deeply shaken by the massacre and the loss of his comrades, Sivaram chose to take up arms and joined the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). He soon distinguished himself through strong leadership, in the political and military wings of the group.
Following the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987, Sivaram became the General Secretary of the Democratic People’s Liberation Front (DPLF), the political front affiliated with PLOTE. However, he left the organisation shortly thereafter due to ideological differences with its leader, Uma Maheswaran.
Sivaram then found his path into journalism through his friendship with renowned journalist Richard de Zoysa. Their connection, formed during Sivaram’s time as the DPLF Secretary, opened the door for him to join The Island newspaper as a freelance journalist.
Recognised as a sharp war and political analyst, Sivaram contributed insightful articles not only to The Island but also to the Sunday Times, Midweek Mirror, Daily Mirror, Veerakesari and Tamil Times.
In 1997, he became the editor of the TamilNet website. Under his leadership, the site quickly gained international recognition as a key source of news for the Tamil community during the civil conflict.
In 2001, he also co-founded the North Eastern Herald magazine alongside another prominent Tamil journalist, J. Tissanayagam.
Kidnapping
As previously arranged, a meeting was scheduled between Sivaram and Hiru newspaper editor Rohitha Bhashana Abeywardena on April 28, 2005. However, due to a coincidence turn of events, the meeting was unexpectedly cancelled. That same night, Sivaram was abducted.
Later, Bhashana wrote the following about how the planned meeting with Sivaram was avoided:
“I received Siva’s first SMS on that sunny 28th at 11.00 a.m. He said, ‘I am in Colombo. If you have time, we can meet in the afternoon.’ I replied, suggesting that we meet at five in the evening.
“He responded, ‘I have a meeting from 5.30 to 7.00. Can you make time after seven? You can try to cancel the meeting. It cannot be confirmed.’ That message came in around two in the afternoon.
“So I asked if we could instead meet on Friday. Siva’s last message came in response at around four o’clock:
‘If there’s time after seven, today is the best day. I’ll send you a message and see if they’re free. If we meet tomorrow, you’ll have to come to the Armour Street side. I’ll be working at the Weerakesari tomorrow.’ In the end, I agreed to meet him that evening.”
“Then, at seven o’clock in the evening, I was ready to leave the office to meet Siva, expecting his call. Right at seven, the phone rang. It was Siva’s familiar, friendly, rough voice.
“Machan, I’m at the Bambalapitiya Junction. Can you come? But I’ve just met Kusal Perera. If you can’t come, I’ll talk to Kusal and then come to Fort. Don’t turn off your phone — I’ll call you when I get there,” Siva said. I agreed.
“Then there was a long pause. I sent a message to Siva again at 9.30 p.m.: “Are you still drinking?” But there was no reply. Since I hadn’t heard from him by 10.30 p.m., I gave up the idea of going out.”
– [Rohitha Bhashana Abeywardena / “Sulanga Enu Pinisa” / Hiru / 2005-05-08]
The meeting between Sivaram, journalist Kusal Perera, trade unionist Ravi Kumudesh, and social activist Prasantha Ratnayake, who had all gathered at the Bambalapitiya Bar, lasted until almost midnight. Kumudesh and Prasantha were the first to say goodbye as they stepped out into the street to head home.
While Sivaram was with Kusal, a group of men suddenly jumped out of a Montero vehicle that had stopped in front of them, forcibly dragged Sivaram into it, and sped away. The abduction took place right in front of the Bambalapitiya Police Station, on a busy street in the capital. Disturbed by the incident, Kusal Perera returned home and later stated that his mobile phone had been disconnected.
Shot dead near Parliament
Everyone who heard about Sivaram’s abduction made great efforts to save his life. Even the then Deputy Editor of the Sunday Times newspaper, Rajpal Abeynayake — a political ally of Sivaram—appealed to the Army Commander to ensure his colleague’s safety.
However, all efforts were in vain. The body of Sivaram, who had been shot dead, was discovered the next morning, April 29, in the Kimbula Ela area near the Parliament complex. Buddhika Weerasinghe, a photojournalist and activist with the Free Media Movement, who rushed to the scene upon hearing the news, was the one to identify the body.
Sivaram’s body was kept at his home in Temple Road, Ratmalana, for public mourning, before being laid to rest in his birthplace, Aaladichole, Batticaloa.
Representatives from political parties, organisations, mass media, trade unions, including the Tamil Journalists’ Association, the Free Media Movement, and the Hiru Group, who gathered at the `Hiru’ office in Fort, Colombo, decided to hold a massive protest on May 3, World Press Freedom Day.
For the first time, a massive protest and march was held against the murder of Sivaram by journalists with the support of other parties, blocking the streets of the capital. A protest organised by P. Chandrasekaran’s Upcountry Peoples` Front in collaboration with E. Thambaiya’s New Democratic Party was held in Hatton town on May 22, with the participation of estate workers.
Then, a month after the murder, on May 28, the march started near the Ahimsakayange Aramaya (today, Diyatha Uyana has been built there) in the Parliament Circle. Despite torrential rains, the march proceeded to the Kimbula Ela area where Sivaram was killed, and a commemoration was held by lighting candles.
Meanwhile, an unknown organisation called the Theraputtabhaya Balakaya claimed responsibility for Sivaram’s murder.
Due to domestic and international pressure, the Government of then-President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga initiated an investigation into Sivaram’s murder.
PLOTE-Peter arrested on suspicion
As revealed in the Sunday Leader newspaper published on June 19, 2015, edited by Lasantha Wickramatunga, Arumugam Skandaraja, alias Peter, a member of the PLOTE organisation, was arrested on June 3 on suspicion of the murder of Sivaram. Peter, who was arrested by the CID in Wellawatte, is the driver of the current PLOTE leader, Dharmalingam Siddharth.
Peter, born in Trincomalee, joined the PLOTE organisation in 1984, initially working in the communications unit. He then received weapons training under leader Uma Maheswaran in Uttar Pradesh, India, and was reassigned to the communications unit.
When the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) arrived in Sri Lanka, Peter joined the PLOTE camps in Mullaiyawali in the Vanni, Kunjikulam, and Chettikulam in Mannar. He was sentenced to prison for participating in the failed PLOTE’s attempt to seize the Maldives. After his release, Peter formed a rapport with armed leader Manikkadasan. He fled from Vavuniya to Colombo but could not escape Manikkadasan’s threats. After Manikkadasan was killed, Peter became the driver of the leader, Siddharth.
The Dialog SIM card belonging to Sivaram’s mobile phone number 0777311380 was found in the possession of Peter, who was arrested. He told the CID that it was given to him by a person named “Raju.” Sivaram’s mobile phone SIM card was found in Siddharth’s Indian-made Scorpio car, bearing the registration number WP HT 6276. The vehicle was seized by the police on suspicion of being used in the kidnapping, and its registration number led to the address of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
However, the problematic aspect here was that, according to eyewitness accounts on the night of Sivaram’s kidnapping, it was a silver Mitsubishi Montero with the registration number WP GL 1… It also had a spare wheel attached to the back. There was no significant closeness between Sivaram and Siddharthan — only estrangement. Nevertheless, the suspects who were arrested were released, and the investigation has remained dormant for several years.
Many people have expressed differing opinions about Sivaram and his politics —positive and negative. At the time, the Propaganda Secretary of the JVP, Wimal Weerawansa, accused Sivaram of being a “Tiger” during a Patriotic National Movement rally in Maharagama. That statement was later confirmed in print by the Lanka newspaper.
“Sivaram was once a brother, later a political enemy, but always a friend.” Thus wrote Dayan Jayatilleka, who was once politically active alongside him. “Society is poorer without him. I know that I feel more lonely. We will never find someone like him in intelligence and personality,” he said.
(Not Every Tiger like Sivaram – Dayan Jayatilleka)
Was Karuna a target?
The article “An Open Letter to Karuna”, written by Sivaram after the Karuna Amman faction split from the LTTE, is considered one of the most significant pieces ever written in the history of the Tamil Eelam struggle.
This view is emphasised by Nilanthan, a political analyst for the Eelam newspaper. According to him, Sivaram’s strong stance during Karuna’s defection aligned him with the Vanni faction. Nilanthan speculates that this alignment may have made Sivaram a target of Karuna. (Death of the last Tamil who trusted the Sinhalese – Nilanthan]
A student leader of the JVP, whom Sivaram had come to know through Richard de Zoysa, survived the turbulent season of terror of 1988–89 thanks to Sivaram’s help, offered at Richard’s request. Upon hearing of Sivaram’s murder, he wrote with a heavy heart:
“In the era of ’88–’89, when the terrible shadows of state terrorism loomed over our lives, Siva sheltered us — not only in Colombo but also in the East —without any sectarian bias. The Siva who protected us then is no longer with us today.
“From his last letters, I sensed that he continued to carry a faint hope for a Sinhala proletarian movement, rooted in the trust he had built with us during those dark days.
“But we failed to protect the one who once protected us. Not only did we fail — according to some of our old political comrades, he had even become the greatest enemy of the Sinhala people.”
(“The departure of the last comrade who fought for brotherhood” – Prathap de Silva)
Fifteen years after the killing, Vaishnavi, Vaitaki, and Andrew — Sivaram’s three teenage children — posted an article on the JDS website calling for justice not only for their father, but for all Tamils affected by the war.
“That is why we feel it is essential to remember all those who died during the war, especially the thousands of Tamils massacred in the Mullivaikkal war. Holding the Government accountable for the war crimes committed in the Mullivaikkal massacre is justice for our father in this era. Justice and accountability are needed for the Tamil families who lost loved ones who are still missing after surrendering to the forces in the final stages of the armed conflict. Justice is needed for the families who continue to live in displacement, and for all those who live under state oppression in the North and the East.”
