By Nirmala Kannangara  

Remarks made at a media conference by Health Ministry Spokesman Dr. Hemantha Herath that journalists who had been killed in Sri Lanka were ‘third class’ have led to outrage from activists and calls for his termination, as the official’s comments were widely understood as an endorsement of the practice of killing journalists whose reporting can be viewed as objectionable.  

“There is no excuse to kill a journalist. There is no excuse to kill anyone,” rights activist Ahimsa Wickrematunge responded to Dr. Herath in a tweet demanding his immediate removal. “These remarks are further evidence that the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime celebrates the murders of those like my father,” Wickrematunge alleged.  
Ahimsa’s father, the founding editor of The Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge, was murdered over 12 years ago in January 2009 as he drove to work. Several police officers have been arrested for tampering with evidence of the murder, however, the murderers themselves have never been identified.  

Weligama Mayor and Vice Chairman of the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Youth Wing Rehan Jayawickreme on Twitter also condemned the comments by Dr. Herath. “This statement should not be considered a minor faux pas and he should resign immediately,” Jayawickreme said.  

Dr. Herath made the remarks responding to a journalist who quizzed him about the government policy on vaccine dosage. “Do not behave like third class journalists,” the Health Ministry spokesman warned. “To my knowledge, most of the journalists who wound up being murdered in the past were also behaving like third class journalists,” he further said.  

Media analyst Nalaka Gunawardena also responded to the comments by Dr. Herath emphasising that journalists representing the public interest may ask any question, even if uninformed, outrageous or irrelevant, adding that Dr. Herath’s ‘outburst or ‘threat’ cannot be justified under any circumstances.