He had reported on the war and the sufferings of the Tamil people due to the war.

The protestors also demanded the government revealed the details of the murdered journalists, including Sivaram, Ekneligoda and Nadesan.

Nimalarajan, who had reported for Haraya, BBC and Virakesari, was shot dead as he was writing an article for Virakesari on war-affected people, on 19 October 2000.

The armed assailants, who had stormed the house during a period of curfew, also lobbed several grenades, injuring the journalist’s mother and another person.

Police seized a motorcycle said to have belonged to two of the assailants, and investigations revealed they belonged to the EPDP.

Court action has been filed against the duo, but the killers are yet to be identified.

Expressing their anger over the failure to ensure justice for all the slain journalists, the demonstrators shouted slogans in Tamil, Sinhala and English against a continuing media repression in the north.

Alleging different laws to the south and the north, they also protested against harassment of the media by the military and the police in recent times.

They began their agitation by paying floral tributes to the Nimalarajan statue.