Colombo, Jan 8  - Journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge was killed with an ulterior motive to silence all journalists and the authorities have failed to bring the culprits to book even after 15 years of his murder, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka said yesterday.

BASL President Kaushalya Nawaratne told the Daily Mirror that Lasantha was killed in broad daylight 15 years ago on a day like today, and it is sad to note that a single culprit has not been apprehended and punished to date.

“People are entitled to know what is happening around them in a society with governance and the judicial system and trying to silence journalists by imposing government authority one could suppress opinion and freedom of the press,” the senior counsel said.

“If you believe in the pillars of democracy then these kinds of gruesome murders cannot take place in a society. There was an ulterior motive behind the killing of Editor Wickrematunge. The authorities thought they could silence all the journalists by doing so,” he said.

The authorities should at least now, even after 15 years of the killing, must apprehend the culprits and punish them to preserve justice.

“Persons like Lasantha Wickrematunge will be dearly missed as one of those who were being vociferous against the injustice,” Counsel Nawaratne said.

Meanwhile, the 15th anniversary of the assassination of The Sunday Leader founder Editor-in-Chief Lasantha Wickrematunge, which falls today (8), will be marked with a service at his graveside. Family, friends, former colleagues and others will gather at Borella Kanatte at 9.00 am today to mark the anniversary and remember Lasantha.

Assassinated on January 8, 2009, Lasantha was one of Sri Lanka’s leading journalists and an outspoken critic of the then Rajapaksa Government. He was attacked as he drove to work and later died of his injuries.

The brazen attack was carried out by two gunmen on motorcycles in the middle of morning-rush-hour traffic. The investigation into Lasantha’s murder has yielded no tangible results thus far and his killers still roam free, 15 years later.