A Tamil journalist who had attended a public meeting chaired by Sri Lanka’s Fisheries Minister and government-aligned paramilitary leader Douglas Devananda was threatened by his security for filming an argument between residents and the minister.
The incident took place in Manduvil area when journalist Rajaiah Udayakumar was attending a public meeting that was open to the press. During the meeting, there had been a disagreement and residents were in a heated exchange with Devananda. Udayakumar had been recording at the time, however, he was confronted by the minister’s security who prevented him from recording the incident. The journalist was threatened and told that if he published the news, they would search his home.
The latest incident comes after Devananda was recently forced to flee from Kilinochchi, as he attempted to demarcate land for the construction of a cement factory that has been opposed by local residents in the region.Tamils in Kilinochchi had been protesting for months alleging that the construction would pollute the water and exacerbate the existing scarcity of drinking water in the district. They also claimed that the discharge from the factory would render their pasture lands infertile for agricultural purposes.
Devananda heads the notorious EPDP, a paramilitary organisation that continues to remain close to the Sri Lankan regime. Devananda was elected to Parliament in 1994 and aligned with the government as it battled against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and launched multiple military offensives. He has been rewarded with several ministerial posts throughout the years, including Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare, Minister of Agriculture, Marketing Development, Hindu Education Affairs and currently remains the minister of fisheries.
Throughout the armed conflict, the EPDP was armed and backed by the Sri Lankan state, carrying out a series of war crimes and other human rights violations.
