Sri Lankan govt under fire as murdered editor buried
[AFP]
The funeral of a Sri Lankan newspaper editor and staunch critic of the war on Tamil rebels was underway Monday with the island’s hawkish government facing allegations of being behind his killing. Security was tight as thousands of mourners attended a Christian service for Lasantha Wickrematunga at the Assembly of God church in Colombo ahead of a burial ceremony at the Colombo General Cemetery. Wickrematunga’s Sunday Leader newspaper has been virulently anti-establishment and regularly savaged the government for waging its costly and bloody war against the Tamil Tigers. Last Thursday he was shot at close range near the capital Colombo by unidentified gunmen.