On Feb. 3, 2008, a suicide bomber from the terrorist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) took the lives of seven members of Colombo’s D.S. Senanayake College baseball team along with their coach, Malinda Aramadura. The terrorist attacked Colombo’s Fort Railway Station in Sri Lanka. The LTTE, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State, is described by the FBI as among the most deadliest terrorist organizations in the world.

Among those innocent baseball players killed in this LTTE terrorist attack was one Tamil - Rajarathnem Radeeswaran. The LTTE terrorists claim to be the sole representatives for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. The other students killed include Eranga Chaturanga, , Supun Hallala, Kollitha Kumara Mahamudalige, Vimukthi Sajan Thewarapperuma, Dinuth Priyasanka and Thiwanka Thisera.

Representative of the Washington Nationals baseball team addresses the guests

On February 3, 2009, the Embassy of Sri Lanka, Washington DC hosted an event to commemorate and pay tribute to those innocent victims of terrorism, in an event organized by the newly formed ‘Unity - Sri Lanka’, a group of young Sri Lankans in the greater Washington DC area, together with past students of D.S. Senanayake College in the United States of America.

The event featured a special guest appearance by a representative of the Washington Nationals baseball team, who joined the tribute paid to sportsmen pursuing the sport in Sri Lanka, who were killed in the deadly terrorist attack.

Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya who addressed the large gathering at the event, stated that “(t)his is a clear example that in sports, there is no place for terrorism. All that counts in sports is teamwork, where a group of individuals, of different backgrounds, religions, with no barriers fielding together for a common achievement” and that “(t)errorism is a challenge that affects not just Sri Lanka and the USA, but the entire international community. It is a threat to our democratic way of life”. He concluded by inviting everyone to work together to build peace and promote unity in Sri Lanka, where the government is on the verge of eradicating terrorism by eliminating the LTTE.

Members of Unity-Sri Lanka with Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya and Representative of the Washington Nationals

A short video presentation on the victims, as well as a message from the President of the Old Boys’ Association of D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo were featured at the event. Buddhist, Hindu, Islam and Christian religious observances - representing the four main religions practiced in Sri Lanka - were held in honor of the students and other victims of terrorism.

Embassy of Sri Lanka
Washington DC
USA

10 February 2009