Suspicion has fallen on Tamil group and government ally, the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) which has been accused of involvement in intimidation and irregularities in the run-up to and during elections. EPDP’s leader Douglas Devananda was sworn in as Northern Rehabilitation minister on the same day of the attack. The EPDP has denied the allegation, but Mr Devananda continues to insist that Mr Nimalarajan was an agent for the LTTE.
The Vienna-based International Press Institute has called on President Chandrika to initiate a thorough investigation and bring those responsible swiftly to justice. New York’s Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says that the course of the war cannot be adequately reported because of the Sri Lankan administration’s failure to grant journalists regular access to the conflict areas. ‘In this context Nimalarajan’s reports were particularly crucial source of information’, the CPJ points out. Journalists in southern Sri Lanka describe Mr Nimalarajan as a man deeply troubled by the war and who sought to make connections with organisations and individuals in the south for a common purpose.