2009 UNESCO World Press Freedom Day international laureate announced
The late Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge has been named laureate of the 2009 UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize. Joe Thloloe, President of the selection jury, described Mr Wickrematunge as a man “who was clearly conscious of the dangers he faced but nevertheless chose to speak out, even beyond his grave”. He was assassinated on January 8th 2009.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, will present the prize in a ceremony in Doha on May 3, World Press Freedom Day. Mr Matsuura welcomed the choice of Mr Wickrematunge: “In awarding the 2009 World Press Freedom Prize to a committed journalist who opposed war, UNESCO, along with media professionals from all over the world, recognizes the important role that freedom of expression can play in fostering mutual understanding and reconciliation, the theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day celebration.”
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About Lasantha Wickrematunge
Born in 1958, Lasantha Wickrematunge trained as a lawyer and was a member of the Sri Lankan Bar Association. Whilst employed as an attorney-at-law, he began working as an investigative reporter for the Sun/Davasa newspaper. In 1994, Mr Wickrematunge co-founded the Sunday Leader and used the publication to campaign vigorously against the war between Sri Lanka’s army and Tamil rebels. In 2000, he successfully led a campaign to abolish a law that allowed the government to curb the media. The office of the Sunday Leader was damaged in an arson attack in November 2007.
Mr Wickrematunge had often feared that he would be murdered as a consequence of his outspoken views. In an editorial intended for publication after his death, he voiced his commitment and readiness to die for press freedom: “[…] there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre and security. It is the call of conscience.” It appeared in the Sunday Leader on 11 January 2009.
About the Award
The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, created in 1997, each year honours a person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, and especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger. For more information on the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, click here.
The Sunday Leader, which Mr Wickrematunge edited until his death, has also been nominated for a Guardian Journalism Award at the 2009 Index on Censorships Freedom of Expression Awards. The paper has been described as a platform for some of Sri Lanka’s “most outspoken journalism, despite its editor’s assassination”. The Index on Censorships Freedom of Expression Awards 2009 will take place on 21 April at King’s Place, London. For further details on the awards, click here.
Written: 06/04/2009 , last modified: 06/04/2009
Lasantha Wickrematunge