Yesterday dawned with the good news to the media persons. It brought solace to them for they were exasperated over the abduction of their fellow journalist, Nadaraja Kuruparan. Nadaraja Kuruparan, a senior media person, who was abducted at the point of a gun in Colombo on Tuesday was released after 22 hours of his abduction. The release of this journalist within 22 hours of abduction by an armed group is not a victory individually to Kuruparan.

It is a victory to the fraternity of the media that rose against the abduction, and demonstrated vehemently. His release is a victory to the readers and listeners who conducted special prayers at temple in Jaffna and the Mosques in the East .

It is a certainly a victory to the International Diplomats who exerted pressure and exercised their diplomacy in order to obtain his release.

It is needless to say that this abduction was an act cowardice by forces that cannot face constructive criticism. There have been a chain of abductions and killings of journalists in the recent past. We might mention the killings of Sivaram, Nadesan, Suhirtha Rajan, Sampath Lakmal and S.Sivamaharajah.

The EPDP has in its statement rightly pointed out that by killing journalists one cannot silence the cause they stand for. When we witness the spate of killings of journalists in recent times, one wonders whether we are in a dark period similar to that of the nineties, when journalist Richard de Soyza was abducted and killed.

At this hour, we make an appeal to our colleague and friend Kuruparan. While we greet him for the bravery with which he faced the abduction and his release, we are proud of his release but the abduction drama has not ended. He has a duty by his follow journalists to reveal the truth of his abduction in order to ensure the freedom of the press.

It is no use thanking the abductors for releasing him safely and suppressing the truth through fear.

He has a sacred duty not only by his colleagues who stood by him in his hour of distress but also by the society to expose the forces that were behind this abduction.

An English translation of the Editorial in Uthayan, a Tamil daily, based in Jaffna

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