It was in early 1988 that we first became suspicious of the torture chambers at the Batalanda housing scheme. We got this surprising tip during a conversation with K.L. Dharmasiri in front of the Colombo Public Library. At that time, he was the leader of the Independent Students' Union of the University of Colombo. The friendship we developed while Dharmasiri was an activist of the Socialist (JVP) Students' Union lasted till his death. His leader was Daya Pathirana, who was killed. In this meeting, Dharmasiri expressed to us that he is ready to join hands with any kind of enemy to take 'blood to blood' in return for Daya's death. Dharmasiri's studentship was banned for some time due to the student uprising. Dharmasiri's enemies at that time were Education Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Professor Stanley Wijesundaraya of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Colombo. However, in this short meeting, he gave us a very important clue. That is, about taking weapons from the government and dealings with Ranil Wickremesinghe. The feeling we had to investigate the political crimes committed by Ranil grew more with the information Dharmasiri told. There the Batalanda entered our memory quickly because we knew the area very well. As we moved from political newspapers to alternative papers, the memory of 'Batalanda' also moved into the future.
Batalanda Torture Camp & Investigative Journalism
Batalanda Torture Camp & Investigative…
Batalanda Torture Camp & Investigative Journalism
It was in early 1988 that we first became suspicious of the torture chambers at the Batalanda housing scheme. We got this surprising tip during a conversation with K.L. Dharmasiri in front of the Colombo Public Library. At that time, he was the leader of the Independent Students' Union of the University of Colombo. The friendship we developed while Dharmasiri was an activist of the Socialist (JVP) Students' Union lasted till his death. His leader was Daya Pathirana, who was killed. In this meeting, Dharmasiri expressed to us that he is ready to join hands with any kind of enemy to take 'blood to blood' in return for Daya's death. Dharmasiri's studentship was banned for some time due to the student uprising. Dharmasiri's enemies at that time were Education Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Professor Stanley Wijesundaraya of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Colombo. However, in this short meeting, he gave us a very important clue. That is, about taking weapons from the government and dealings with Ranil Wickremesinghe. The feeling we had to investigate the political crimes committed by Ranil grew more with the information Dharmasiri told. There the Batalanda entered our memory quickly because we knew the area very well. As we moved from political newspapers to alternative papers, the memory of 'Batalanda' also moved into the future.