Ekneligoda mystery pops up ‘third disappearance’

The Prageeth Ekneligoda saga was given a new lease of life last week when ruling United People's Freedom Alliance parliamentarian Arundika Fernando told Parliament that the missing journalist was living in France.

The statement again generated controversy and a spate of claims and counter-claims focusing the spotlight on human rights issues and the government’s handling of matters related to media freedom over the past few years.

It is fair to say that prior to Prageeth Ekneligoda’s disappearance, he was barely known in media circles far from being a household name hitting the headlines every day. He did not work in the mainstream media and did not enjoy the reputation of having a well-known ‘by line’.

Ekneligoda was a contributor to the ‘Lanka E News’ website known for its anti-government leanings , and was a cartoonist. He had a history of being a left-wing political activist, but was best known for his work as a graphic artist rather than a journalist.

Ironically, the disappearance of Ekneligoda was not his first. In August 2009 too, he claimed that he was abducted in the now infamous white van while on his way home. He was allegedly blindfolded and kept overnight by his captors who released him at a quarry in Athurugiriya the next day.

The alleged incident created a minor ripple in media circles at that time. On the one hand, Ekneligoda had returned from his alleged ordeal virtually unhurt. On the other hand, there was no independent corroboration of the incident, and there were skeptics who questioned its veracity.

His second disappearance, after all, is the event which is attracting international attention. It was alleged that Ekneligoda left his office on January 24, 2010 saying he was visiting a friend, and has not been seen or heard from ever since.

This particular date had significance. It was on the eve of the last presidential election which President Mahinda Rajapaksa won comfortably. It was noted that in the lead up to that election, Ekneligoda was known as a supporter of opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka.

Since then, Ekneligoda’s name has been bandied about in a blame game. His wife, Sandhya Ekneligoda has been in the forefront of several campaigns where she has called upon the government to reveal his whereabouts, implying that the government is responsible for his disappearance.

Ms. Ekneligoda also sought the help of the international community to find her husband. She made formal complaints to various United Nations (UN) organisations that the Sri Lankan government is a member of. She also submitted a personal appeal to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

She went to the United States and Europe several times to talk about her husband’s disappearances and even appeared before the UN Human Rights Council about which the government was not happy.

Sandhya Ekneligoda may be doing her utmost to find her husband and that has to be admired. However, ias a result, questions are being raised as to whether she is being used by interested parties to bring the government in to disrepute.

The government’s own handling of the matter is hardly commendable and a blunder of gigantic proportions came from none other than the then Attorney General-and incumbent Chief Justice,-Mohan Peiris.

Representing Sri Lanka in The UN Committee Against Torture on November 9, 2011, Mr. Peiris said the Sri Lankan government had received intelligence information that Ekneligoda was living in a foreign country. But he did not mention which country it was.

It was a comment that Mr. Peiris would have later regretted. After retiring from his position as Attorney General, he was summoned to the Homagama Magistrate’s Court to testify, following a habeas corpus application submitted by Sandhya Ekneligoda.

In court, Mr. Peiris was to clarify his position stating that the government had received information that Ekneligoda was living overseas and that it had forwarded this information for further inquiries. He said he could not remember the source of that information as he had to read many documents on a daily basis.

Pressed further on the whereabouts of Ekneligoda, Mr. Peiris was to concede that he did not know where Ekneligoda was and that he did not believe the government did either. In what is now a famous comment, Mr. Peiris added that “God only knows where Ekneligoda is”.

The latest revelations by parliamentarian Arundika Fernando are much in the same vein as Mr.Peiris’s initial comments that Ekneligoda was living overseas. However, Mr. Fernando was more specific; he said he ‘met’ Ekneligoda in France through another journalist, Manjula Wediwardena.

In what seemed like a tale from an old-fashioned spy-thriller, Fernando also said that he met Ekneligoda in January this year. Ekneligoda had shaved his head and was in disguise, Fernando claimed, saying that Ekneligoda moved away before he could speak to him. 

It is unclear why Fernando, a backbencher and a Puttlam district Member of Parliament chose to make his claim at this point in time. Sandhya Ekneligoda has said that this was done to ‘restore’ the government’s reputation vis-à-vis human rights in view of the upcoming Commonwealth Summit.

 France has stated that there is no evidence to suggest that Ekneligoda is in that country. Wediwardena has denied that Fernando met him in France.

Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has said in response to various calls for an inquiry into the issue that Police could question Fernando but could not compel him to respond. Fernando has not backed off from his position and has repeated his allegation both in Parliament and in interviews with the electronic media. He is accusing Ekneligoda and his wife of being part of a conspiracy to tarnish the government’s reputation.