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The Sunday Leader

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The Sunday Leader
TypeWeeklynewspaper
Owner(s)
PublisherLeader Publications(Private) Limited
EditorEaswaran Rutnam
Founded19 June 1994(1994-06-19)
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersNo. 24 Katukurunduwatte Road,Ratmalana,Sri Lanka
Sister newspapersIruresa(Irudina)
The Morning Leader
Websitewww.thesundayleader.lk

The Sunday Leaderwas anEnglish-languageSri Lankanweeklynewspaperpublished byLeader Publications(Private) Limited. It was founded in 1994 and is published fromColombo.Its sister newspapers are theIruresa(Irudina) and the defunctThe Morning Leader.Founded by brothersLasantha WickrematungeandLal Wickrematunge,the newspaper is known for its outspoken and controversial news coverage.[1][2]The newspaper and its staff have been attacked and threatened several times and its founding editor Lasantha Wickrematunge was assassinated.[3]

History

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The Sunday Leaderwas founded in 1994 by brothersLasantha WickrematungeandLal Wickrematungewith the first edition being published on 19 June 1994.[4]The newspaper was associated withsilent partnerand leading politician and presidential candidateGamini Dissanayakewho was assassinated on 24 October 1994.[5]

The Sunday Leaderwas shut down by theSri Lankan governmenton 22 May 2000 using the recently passed censorship law – theEmergency (Miscellaneous Provisions and Powers) Regulation No.1 of 2000.[6][7]The government's chief censor Ariya Rubasinghe had ordered that the newspaper cease publication for six months (22 May 2000 to 21 November 2000) following an article in the paper which mocked the country's censorship of the military situation imposed after the embarrassing defeat in theSecond Battle of Elephant Pass.[8]Thepolicelocked Leader Publications' printing facility and installed armed guards outside the building.[9]Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge subsequently filed afundamental rightsapplication with theSupreme Courtchallenging the closure.[10]On 30 June 2000 the Supreme Court ruled that the ban onThe Sunday Leaderwas illegal and ordered the police to re-open the newspaper immediately.[11][12]

On 5 September 2000 Lasantha Wickrematunge was found guilty of criminally defamingSri Lankan PresidentChandrika Kumaratungain 1995 article inThe Sunday Leader.[13][14]Wickrematunge was sentenced to two years in jail,suspendedfor five years.[13][14]

Government ministerMahinda Wijesekarathreatened to kill Lasantha Wickrematunge inParliamenton 27 July 2003, saying: "Very soon I'll put him in a room and have him shot or he will be stabbed to death!"[8][15]The threat followed the expose of corruption in Wijesekara's ministry.[8]

Lasantha Wickrematunge was threatened by PresidentMahinda Rajapaksausing abusive language in a telephone call on 11 January 2006.[8][16]According to Wickrematunge the president had threatened to destroy him saying "Fuck your mother, you son of a bloody whore!...I treated you well all this while. Now I will destroy you".[8]Wickrematunge was detained briefly atBandaranaike International Airporton 21 February 2006 as he arrived for a flight toGeneva.[8][17]Airport officials had claimed that Wickrematunge required "special permission" to leave Sri Lanka.[18]In late December 2006 an unsuccessful attempt was made to arrest Lasantha Wickrematunge for "endangering national security" afterThe Sunday Leaderpublished a report exposing a Rs. 500 million luxury bunker to be built in the presidential complex.[8][19]

Journalist Arthur Wamanan Sornalingam and his mother were arrested by theCriminal Investigation Departmenton 24 October 2007 following a complaint from government ministerMano Wijeyeratne.[20][21]The arrest followed an article in The Sunday Leaderwhich alleged that a government department had paid Wijeyeratne's wife's mobile phone bill.[22]Investigative editor Dilrukshi Handunetti was forced to hand over documents relating to the article to the police.[22]Sornalingam subsequently filed a fundamental rights application with the Supreme Court in relation to the arrest.[23]

On 5 December 2008 a judge ordered Leader Publications not to publish any reports about Defence SecretaryGotabhaya Rajapaksa,brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, for two weeks.[24][25]Gotabhaya had gone to the courts to sue Leader Publications forRs.2 billion (€14 million) in damages for publishing "slanderous" reports about him.[24]

Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge was shot dead on 8 January 2009.[26][27]Frederica Janszbecame editor of the newspaper following Wickrematunge's murder.[28]On 22 October 2009 Jansz News Editor Munza Mushtaq were sent handwritten death threats through the post.[29][30]"We will slice you up if you do not stop your writing," the letters threatened.[31]Jansz toldReporters Without BordersWickrematunge had been sent an identical letter which was compared by aGraphologistwho said all three letters were written by the same fist.

The Sunday Leadercarried an article on 13 December 2009 entitled "Gota Ordered Them To Be Shot", alleging that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa ordered the then commander of the58 Division,Major GeneralShavendra Silva,to shoot down the surrendering LTTE leaders during the final days of theSri Lankan Civil War.[32]Sarath Fonseka,the formercommanderof theSri Lanka Army,and candidate of the2010 presidential electionwho was quoted in the article, initially denied the story, butThe Sunday Leadersubsequently refuted the denial.[33]The story resulted in Fonseka beingchargedwith "" propagating a false rumour ", a violation ofemergency regulations.[34]In November 2011 Fonseka was found guilty and sentenced to three years in jail and fined Rs. 5,000.[35]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa threatened Leader Publications chairmanLal Wickrematungein a phone call on 19 July 2011 after the publication of an article that claimed the president and his sonNamal Rajapaksahad received payments fromChinafor use "at their discretion".[36]According to Wickrematunge the president had said: "...if you attack me personally, I will know how to attack you personally too."[36]

Editor Frederica Jansz was threatened and insulted by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in a phone call on 6 July 2012.[37][38]According to Jansz the Defence Secretary said: "Yes, I threatened you. Your type of journalists are pigs who eat shit!...I will put you in jail!... People will kill you!!! People hate you!!!"[39][40]

In September 2012 Asanga Seneviratne, an ally of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, bought a 72% stake inThe Sunday Leaderand its sister newspaper theIruresa.[41][42]Seneviratne is managing director of Asia Fort Asset Management (Pvt) Ltd and vice president ofSri Lanka Cricket.[43][44]He is also president ofSri Lanka Rugby Football Unionand controversially appointed President Rajapaksa's son Yoshitha Rajapaksa as captain of theSri Lanka national rugby union team.[42][45]The Sunday Leaderhad published a number of reports exposing Seneviratne's property developments and investment deals.[42]According to editor Frederica Jansz, Seneviratne asked her stop publishing articles critical of the Sri Lankan government and theRajapaksa family.[41][42]She refused and on 21 September 2012 she was sacked as editor.[41][42]Jansz was replaced by Sakuntala Perera as editor ofThe Sunday Leader.[46]Seneviratne denies Jansz claims.[42]

In 2015 May, The Sunday Leader tendered an unconditional apology toGotabhaya Rajapaksafor a series of articles regarding the purchase of MIG 27 airplanes for theSri Lanka Air Force.[47][48]

In 2018 October, The Sunday Leader newspaper and website have suspended operation due to the political turmoil in Sri Lanka after the removal of the Prime Minister by the President.

Attacks

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The Sunday Leaderand its employees have been subject to numerous attacks since its foundation in 1994. Lasantha Wickrematunge was assaulted on his way home in 1994.[49]On 7 February 1995 Lasantha Wickrematunge and his ex-wife were pulled from their car and beaten.[8][50]On the night of 18 June 1998 Lasantha Wickrematunge's house inNugegodawas attacked withType 56 assault riflescausing extensive damage and narrowly missing Wickrematunge's driver.[51][52]The attack came afterThe Sunday Leaderexposed irregular financial dealings between Minister of Posts, Telecommunication and the MediaMangala SamaraweeraandSri Lanka TelecomCEO Kamitsumo.[53]

Two photographers forThe Sunday Leader,Lakmal Spencer and Ashoka Fernando, were amongst a group of media personnel who were attacked by the police as they covered an opposition rally in Colombo on 15 July 1999.[54]The two men filed a fundamental rights application with the Supreme Court and in October 2001 they were awarded damages of Rs. 86,625 and Rs. 72,750.[55][56]

On the night of 16 October 2005 armed men entered the printing press of Leader Publications, threatened the manager with "dire consequences" if the newspapers continued to be printed and then set fire to bundles of newspapers.[57][58]The attack came afterThe Sunday Leaderhad published an article which alleged thatPrime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa had misappropriatedtsunamirelief funds.[59]

The printing press of Leader Publications inRatmalanawas burnt down on 21 November 2007 by a group of armed masked men who entered the building, poured petrol on the printing machines and set fire to them.[60][61]The attack came afterThe Morning Leaderhad been critical of theAsian Tribune's relationship with a government backed paramilitary group.[60][61]

Lasantha Wickrematunge was shot dead on 8 January 2009 in Colombo.[62][63]Three days later an editorial appeared inThe Sunday Leaderwritten by Wickrematunge before his death in which he predicted his own murder, stating "it will be the government that kills me".[64]Wickrematunge and his newspaper had been highly critical of the government and he had been attacked before.[65][66]He had been assaulted twice before and his house had been sprayed with machine-gun fire.[67]A number of people including seventeen army personnel were arrested in relation to Wickrematunge's murder but later released.[68]To date no one has been brought to justice for Wickrematunge's murder.[69]

On February 16, 2013 Sunday Leader's Faraz Shauketally, who holds dual British and Sri Lankan citizenship, was rushed to hospital after being shot in the neck. Shauketally was on the phone to a colleague at the Sunday Leader on Friday evening at his home in Mount Lavinia when the call was cut. Shortly afterwards he answered a call and said he had been shot in the neck by three intruders, who had then escaped. President Rajapaksa said he would investigate the incident but nobody was apprehended.

On the 24th of August 2013 Journalist Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema's house was invaded by five armed men who held her at knifepoint as they searched her home before police burst in and shot one of the intruders dead, officials said. Police spokesman Buddhika Siriwardena said three officers were injured when the intruders attacked them with knives. "One intruder was shot dead and the other four have been arrested," he said. Police described the pre-dawn intrusion as an attempted armed robbery but the island's main press freedom organisation, the Free Media Movement (FMM), said they suspected the attack was linked to her work.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Outrage at fatal shooting of newspaper editor in Colombo".Reporters Without Borders.8 January 2009.
  2. ^"RNW team threatened in Sri Lanka".Radio Netherlands Worldwide.21 July 2011.
  3. ^"Press release Sri Lankan defence secretary:" You shit fucking journalist… People hate you. They will kill you "".ARTICLE 19.9 July 2012.
  4. ^Jansz, Frederica(17 June 2012)."Eighteen Years Unbowed And Unafraid".The Sunday Leader.
  5. ^"Sri Lanka".Press Reference.
  6. ^"Sunday Leader closed down".TamilNet.22 May 2000.
  7. ^"Let the Leader".The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).28 May 2000.
  8. ^abcdefghYapa, Vimukthi (25 November 2007)."Unbowed and Unafraid".The Sunday Leader.
  9. ^"Sri Lanka: No letup in censorship of war coverage".Committee to Protect Journalists.22 May 2000.
  10. ^"Sunday Leader fundamental rights case".TamilNet.1 June 2000.
  11. ^"Sunday Leader ban illegal".TamilNet.30 June 2000.
  12. ^"Censorship illegal, says Supreme Court".The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).2 July 2000.
  13. ^ab"Suspended jail term for editor".TamilNet.5 September 2000.
  14. ^ab"Calls for Repeal of Criminal Defamation Laws".Committee to Protect Journalists.5 September 2000.
  15. ^Jansz, Frederica(15 May 2005)."Murdered journalists: where is justice?".The Sunday Leader.
  16. ^"Senior Editor accuses SL President of issuing verbal threats".TamilNet.13 January 2006.
  17. ^"Editor of Sunday Leader detained at Katunayake".TamilNet.21 February 2006.
  18. ^"Sunday Leader editor" harassed "".BBCSinhala.20 February 2006.
  19. ^"Sunday Leader editor faces arrest".TamilNet.28 December 2006.
  20. ^"CID arrests Sunday Leader journalist in Colombo".TamilNet.24 October 2007.
  21. ^"The Ordeal Of Arthur Wamanan".The Sunday Leader.28 October 2007.
  22. ^ab"Sri Lankan investigative reporter detained and his editor questioned".Committee to Protect Journalists.25 October 2007.
  23. ^Selvanayagam, S. S. (30 November 2007)."SC grants permission to proceed with FR petition".Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
  24. ^ab"BBC World Service and Sunday Leader newspaper censored".Reporters Without Borders.12 December 2008.
  25. ^"RSF condemns Colombo's censorship of BBC, Sunday Leader".TamilNet.12 December 2008.
  26. ^"Sri Lankan editor shot dead".Al Jazeera.8 January 2009.
  27. ^Reddy, B. Muralidhar (9 January 2009)."Editor of Sri Lankan daily assassinated".The Hindu.Archived fromthe originalon 22 January 2009.
  28. ^"Frederica Jansz sacked from editor post".Adaderana.21 September 2012.
  29. ^"And now they come for us".The Sunday Leader.24 October 2009.
  30. ^"Sri Lanka editors receive death threats for Channel-4 video comments".TamilNet.27 October 2009.
  31. ^"New threats to privately-owned print media".Reporters Without Borders.26 October 2009.
  32. ^Jansz, Frederica(13 December 2009).""Gota Ordered Them To Be Shot" – General Sarath Fonseka ".The Sunday Leader.
  33. ^Jansz, Frederica(3 January 2010)."Her Story…".The Sunday Leader.
  34. ^Gunasekara, Manopriya (20 November 2011)."The White Flag case: The reasons behind the two verdicts".The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  35. ^Thajudeen, T. Farook (18 November 2011)."Sarath Fonseka sentenced to three years".Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
  36. ^ab"President personally phones newspaper's chairman to threaten him".Reporters Without Borders.2 August 2011.
  37. ^"Interview with editor who was threatened by defence secretary".Reporters Without Borders.12 July 2012.
  38. ^Pidd, Helen (12 July 2012)."Sri Lankan journalists protest against state media suppression".The Guardian.
  39. ^Jansz, Frederica(8 July 2012)."Gota Goes Berserk".The Sunday Leader.
  40. ^Saravanamuttu, Paikiasothy (12 July 2012)."Gotabaya Rajapaksa: Too full with Power to Exercise it?".The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
  41. ^abcHaviland, Charles (21 September 2012)."Sri Lanka Sunday Leader editor Frederica Jansz sacked".BBC News.
  42. ^abcdefDoherty, Ben (6 October 2012)."Australia denies asylum to Sri Lankan editor facing government death threats".The Age.
  43. ^"The Office Bearers".Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-10-09.
  44. ^"Ex Co Members".Sri Lanka Cricket.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-10-08.
  45. ^Pathirana, Saroj (14 April 2012)."Senior rugby players avoid national team".BBCSinhala.
  46. ^"Frede Out And Saku In – Frederica Is Sacked, Not Resigned".Colombo Telegraph.21 September 2012.
  47. ^"Sunday Leader tenders unconditional apology to Gotabaya".Ada Derana.2015-03-06.Retrieved6 May2017.
  48. ^"Apology To Gotabaya By The Sunday Leader".Colombo Telegraph.2015-03-08.Retrieved6 May2017.
  49. ^"Lasantha Attacked In 1994".The Sunday Leader.17 June 2012.
  50. ^Gentleman, Amelia (17 January 2009)."If you write you'll be killed".The Guardian.
  51. ^Hadjirin, Arshad M. (21 June 1998)."Lasantha reads a message in the attack on his house".The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  52. ^"Sri Lankan Journalist Attacked".Committee to Protect Journalists.18 June 1998.
  53. ^"Editor's home shot at".TamilNet.18 June 1998.
  54. ^"Sri Lanka".Asia Country Report 1999.Committee to Protect Journalists.
  55. ^Rafiq, Ayesha R. (15 August 1999)."Cameramen take July 15 case to SC".The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  56. ^Weerarathne, Chitra (31 October 2001)."Photographic equipment damaged by police State to pay 75% as damages".The Island (Sri Lanka).
  57. ^"Armed men enter Colombo weekly press, set fire, warn employees".TamilNet.17 October 2005.
  58. ^"FMM condemns attack on weeklies".Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).18 October 2005. Archived fromthe originalon 19 February 2013.
  59. ^"Sri Lanka".Attacks on the Press 2005: Sri Lanka.Committee to Protect Journalists.
  60. ^ab"Masked men burn Sunday Leader printing press".TamilNet.21 November 2007.
  61. ^abPalihawadana, Norman (22 November 2007)."Armed gang burns down Leader newspapers press".The Island (Sri Lanka).
  62. ^Thottam, Jyoti (8 January 2009)."Dying for Journalism: Lasantha Wickrematunge of Sri Lanka".Time.Archived fromthe originalon January 13, 2009.
  63. ^"Top Sri Lankan editor shot dead".BBC News.8 January 2009.
  64. ^"And Then They Came For Me".The Sunday Leader.11 January 2009.
  65. ^Luft, Oliver (8 January 2009)."Sri Lankan newspaper editor shot dead".The Guardian.
  66. ^"Sunday Leader Editor assassinated".TamilNet.8 January 2009.
  67. ^"Chronicle of a death foretold".The Economist.15 January 2009.
  68. ^"Lasantha murder: International probe urged".BBCSinhala.8 January 2012.
  69. ^Radhakrishnan, R. K. (8 January 2012)."Lasantha's killers still at large".The Hindu.
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