Commemorations were held across the North-East marking 21 years since the assassination of journalist Dharmeratnam ‘Taraki’ Sivaram, honouring his legacy while highlighting continued impunity for his killing and broader violence against Tamil journalists.

Commemorations were held across the North-East on 28 April to mark the 21st anniversary of the assassination of prominent Tamil journalist and political analyst Dharmeratnam Sivaram, widely known by his byline Taraki.

In Batticaloa, journalists, civil society representatives and members of the public gathered at the slain journalists’ memorial in Gandhi Park to pay tribute. Batticaloa Municipal Council Mayor Sivam Pakkiyanathan and senior journalist R. Thurairatnam jointly garlanded Sivaram’s portrait, followed by the lighting of a memorial flame and the laying of floral tributes.

Batticaloa

The event, organised by the Eastern Province Journalists’ Association and the Batticaloa Media Club, also featured reflections on Sivaram’s life and work by senior journalists including S. Perinparasa and R. Thurairatnam, alongside Eastern Province Journalists’ Association President V. Sakthivel.

Parallel commemorations took place in Mullaitivu, where journalists and media activists gathered at the district media house under the leadership of Shanmugam Thavaseelan. Attendees honoured Sivaram through candlelight tributes and moments of silence.

Kilinochchi

Sivaram, a leading Tamil journalist and editor of TamilNet, was abducted in Colombo on 28 April 2005 in front of Bambalapitiya police station. His body was discovered hours later within a high-security zone in the capital. Despite the heavy military and police presence in the area at the time, his killing remains unsolved.

His assassination is widely regarded as emblematic of the grave risks faced by Tamil journalists, particularly during the armed conflict and its aftermath, where violence against media workers was marked by systemic impunity.

The year of Sivaram’s killing also saw the murders of other Tamil media workers, including Sudar Oli correspondent S. Suhirtharajan and broadcaster Relangi Selvarajah. In the years that followed, further attacks around the anniversary of Sivaram’s death underscored a pattern of intimidation, including the killing of Uthayan staff members in 2006 and the fatal shooting of Selvarajah Rajivarman in Jaffna on 29 April 2007. None of the perpetrators have been brought to justice.

Sivaram’s work, spanning publications such as the Daily Mirror, Sunday Times, The Island and Virakesari, as well as his central role in TamilNet, earned him recognition as one of the most influential Tamil political analysts of his time. His insights into the Tamil national struggle and military dynamics were widely followed by diplomats, researchers and international observers.

His killing drew widespread condemnation from international organisations including Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists and UNESCO, whose Director-General described the murder as a “shameful crime”.

Despite repeated threats to his life, Sivaram remained on the island, once remarking to friends, “Where else should I die but here?”

He was posthumously awarded the title Maamanithar by the LTTE, recognising his contributions to the Tamil national cause.

More than two decades on, commemorations across the North-East continue not only to honour Sivaram’s legacy, but to highlight the ongoing lack of accountability for crimes against Tamil journalists.