COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Lasantha Wickrematunge, a journalist and outspoken critic of the government’s war on ethnic Tamil rebels, knew he was marked for death and thought he knew why.
Three days after he was gunned down execution-style, Wickrematunge’s newspaper published a haunting, self-written obituary Sunday in which he says he was targeted for his writings and adds: “When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me.”
Wickrematunge’s death and another attack last week that trashed a television station were the latest in a string of assaults against journalists. Both most-recent media targets had been accused of insufficient patriotism in their coverage of the war and other issues.
Authorities have denied the accusations and promised a thorough investigation.
Thousands of people turned Wickrematunge’s funeral Monday into a large anti-government protest, lining the streets as his casket was driven in a slow procession to the cemetery. Many wore black armbands and demanded justice.
