Sivaram funeral cortege leaves Colombo

[TamilNet, Sunday, 01 May 2005, 17:19 GMT]
The body of murdered Tamil journalist Sivaram Dharmeratnam was taken from his residence in Colombo at 10pm local time to Batticaloa where his funeral will take place on Monday. The skies opened up momentarily around No.15/4 Mahindarama Road, Ratmalana from where the cortege left with Police escort. The cortege is expected to reach Batticaloa in the early hours of Monday


Among those who paid their respects to the slain journalist were Leader of the Opposition, Ranil Wickremasinghe, Tamil National Alliance MPs, Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena MP, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Thiyagaraja Maheswaran MP, representatives of the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance and former UNP minister Ravi Karunanayake MP.

Mrs Sivaram standing by the side of TNA MP Jeyanandamoorthy

The funeral will take place at the Aalayadichcholai Cemetery at 4 pm Monday. The cemetery lies within the High Security Zone of the Sri Lanka Air Force base in Batticaloa. Representatives from the LTTE are expected to attend the funeral.

The late Sivaram Dharmeratnam's body will be taken to the LTTE controlled areas for the public to pay their respects.