This year Sri Lanka will commemorate the three year anniversary of the historic aragalaya movement on 9 July that prompted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to humiliatingly flee Sri Lanka and eventually resign while abroad. This significant event marks the awakening of a sleeping sovereignty and the shift towards a new political order. 

Today the spirit of protest remains strong among Sri Lankan citizens, who understand the efficacy of defiance against corruption. A message that resonates with the sentiments expressed by veteran journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge that civic engagement is significant for voices promoting democratic values.

This January marks 16 years since the passing of Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge, an icon of Sri Lanka’s struggle for law and order. To mark his anniversary I delve into understanding how his legacy continues to inspire us and how his message resonated with the aragalaya movement and the unified protest against the Rajapaksa-led Government. 

The life of Lasantha Wickrematunge was led by an impassioned service. He became a symbol of defiance against the autocratic tendencies of the Sri Lankan State. His assassination in 2009, after years of outspoken fearlessness that frequently put him at odds with political leaders, signified the dangers of speaking truth to power. 

Lasantha’s voice, which was unfalteringly critical of the Government, its militarisation of civilian spaces and its suppression of press freedom, resonated powerfully in the context of the aragalaya movement. His labour, particularly his famed last editorial written just days before his death, is often remembered for its far-seeing augury of social disharmony.

‘And then they came for me’, the final editorial published days after his 2009 assassination, remains one of the most poignant and prophetic words on the State of Sri Lanka. 

Lasantha strongly laid out the central message that would define much of his career; the refusal to bow to tyranny, the need to expose corruption, and the imperative to speak out against injustice, even at the cost of one’s life. His words not only served as a personal statement of his convictions but also resonated with the core values of the aragalaya movement. In many ways, Lasantha’s message  –  embodied in his bravery and his willingness to die for his principles –  served as an ideological and moral foundation for the aragalaya, a struggle against the very system he had fought to expose till his last breath.

A call for conscience

Lasantha’s final words offer a sobering reflection on the State of Sri Lanka under the rule of then President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He denounces the violence and censorship employed by the State to suppress journalists, stating that the Government has resorted to terror and murder to control the organs of liberty. Lasantha acknowledged the immense personal risks involved in his work – harassment, assault, and the looming threat of death – but asserted that his concern for the State of his motherland transcended his personal safety.

In his words, he emphasises the role of the media as an unflinching witness to the abuses of power, a role that he himself had embraced with courage.

This daring hero explicitly foresaw his own death at the hands of those in power, describing how the Government would likely orchestrate his murder in a context where impunity reigns. Yet he remained unbowed, framing his impending death not as a personal defeat but as part of a larger struggle. In his final words, he invokes the words of the German theologian Martin Niemöller, who, after surviving Nazi imprisonment, warned of the dangers of not speaking out against oppression. Lasantha’s appeal was a call to action against the suffocating control of the government, a plea for all citizens – regardless of their identity – to stand against fascism  before it consumed them.

The aragalaya movement: A manifestation of Lasantha Wickrematunge’s legacy

The aragalaya movement, which erupted in Sri Lanka in 2022, was, in many respects, the fulfilment of the very ideals that Lasantha highlighted in ‘And then they came for me.’ The movement was driven by widespread dissatisfaction with the political leadership of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family that were responsible for the country’s deep economic crises. The protests, which began in early 2022 and culminated in the storming of the Presidential residence in July of that year was characterised by a determined demand for transformative change. 

One of the central tenets of the aragalaya was the rejection of autocratic rule and the call for greater transparency in governance. Lasantha’s words, which insisted on the need for an administration that is openly accountable to its citizens, became a touchstone for many of the protesters. Banners and signs with Lasantha’s face, alongside signs bearing his words, became a  common feature displayed at many aragalaya protests.

In his last words, Lasantha warned of the dangers posed by unchecked government power, specifically calling attention to the fate of critics under a totalitarian regime. Just as he decried the suppression of freedom of expression and the stifling of democratic freedoms under the Rajapaksa rule, the aragalaya protestors sought to reclaim those very freedoms from a Government they believed had become increasingly tyrannous. Lasantha Wickrematunge’s vision of a liberal democracy echoed strongly in the values expressed by the movement, which sought to dismantle the structures of corruption and unaccountability that had long taken hold of the state.

The aragalaya also mirrored Lasantha’s cry for pacific protest, even in the face of repression. Despite the violence that erupted in response to the protests, much of the aragalaya was marked by non-violent civil activism, with young people, students, and ordinary citizens coming together to demand political change. Like Lasantha, who took great personal risks in his pursuit of truth, the protestors were willing to put themselves in harm’s way, defying the State’s attempts to silence their voices through force and intimidation.

Lasantha’s assassination as a catalyst for the movement

The tragic irony of Lasantha’s assassination lies in its subsequent role as a symbol of the very corruption that the aragalaya sought to uprise. His murder, carried out under the watch of a Government he had criticised relentlessly, became a stark reminder of the lengths to which the State would go to silence an opposing view. In his last editorial, Lasantha presciently stated that his death would not lead to justice under a Rajapaksa Government, that the culprits would remain free and that the regime would continue its pattern of impunity. In this sense, his assassination was a reflection of the broader culture of corruption and dictatorship that the aragalaya aimed to dismantle.

The aragalaya movement was also, in many ways, a response to the cumulative effects of years of State-sanctioned violence, and disregard for human rights – conditions that Lasantha had brought to the national attention and contested throughout his career. His final editorial, written in the shadow of his own imminent death, was an exhortation for the people to resist the tyrannical regime that had taken root in the country. By mid 2022, with the economy in freefall and political legitimacy at an all-time low, the people of Sri Lanka heeded that call, coming together across ethnic and political lines to demand a new beginning.

Conclusion: A tradition that lives

‘And then they came for me’ remains a vital and resonant testament to the fight for freedom in Sri Lanka. His words, written in the knowledge that he was likely to be silenced, have outlived him, becoming a guiding light for movements like the aragalaya that continue to fight against the forces of dictatorial corruption. In many ways, the aragalaya was the living essence of Lasantha’s call to speak out.  It was not just a protest against a specific government or crisis; it was the continuation of the struggle that Lasantha embodied in his life’s work – a struggle for all people to live freely with dignity.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication