The Batticaloa Tamil Journalists’ Association on Wednesday, April 29 commemorated Dharmaratnam Sivaram, popularly known as Tharaki, who was abducted and murdered by a group in a van near the Bambalapitiya Police Station on April 28, 2005 under the rule of Chandrika Bandaranaike.
Born in Batticaloa on August 11, 1959, Dharmaratnam Sivaram was abducted on April 28, 2005 in front of the Bambalapitiya Police Station by four men in a white van.
The body of the slain Sivaram was found the next day in the High Security Zone near the Kimbula Ela near the Sri Lankan Parliament. He was tortured and shot in the head.
Sivaram, who was the editor-in-chief of the well-known TamilNet website at the time of his assassination, began his media career under the guidance of fellow journalist Richard de Zoysa, who was assassinated in 1990.
Until the launch of the TamilNet website in 1997, Sivaram was a freelance journalist for The Island, the Sunday Times, the Daily Mirror, Virakesari and the Tamil Times.
Taraki
In 1989, Gamini Wirakoon, the editor-in-chief of The Island, was looking for a political analyst when he was introduced to Sivaram by Richard de Zoysa.
Gamini Weerakoon coined the nickname ‘Tharaka’ for Sivaram. However, due to a sub-editing error, the name was printed as ‘Taraki’. However, Sivaram continued to use the erroneous name as his nickname.