Appreciation: Jayatilleke de Silva

By Imtiaz Bakeer Markar

As a student activist aligned with the UNP in the 1970s, my first recollection of Jayatilleke de Silva is as an ideologue for the student wing of the Communist Party in Sri Lanka. 

Although de Silva and I did not share the same ideological backgrounds in politics, we connected strongly on the issues of social justice, national unity, global justice, and solidarity to the Palestinian cause. 

Jayatilleke de Silva, who wrote to the Attha newspaper, and served as the editor of the Daily News and Sunday Observer newspapers, was an exemplary journalist who stood by the principles he believed in. He was immensely respected by his colleagues, and many activists who worked towards social justice and national unity. 

He delivered the keynote address at the event to mark the 10th anniversary of the Weligama Declaration on the media’s role to build national unity in Sri Lanka, organised by the Bakeer Markar Centre for National Unity. 

Following his global justice principles, de Silva was an active committee member of the Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine, and the Journalists for Global Justice organisation. 

On behalf of the Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine, we wish to convey our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Jayatilleke de Silva. 

His remains lie at No. 42/2, 2nd Lane, Koswatta Road, Nawala, Rajagiriya, and the funeral will be held today (28 February) at the Nawala cemetery.