The Board of Directors of the Sri Lanka Press Institute expressed shock and horror at the cold blooded murder of the Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge by yet unidentified gunmen.

"It is well known that the late Wickrematunga had an adversarial relationship with both the incumbent government as well as its predecessor. This killing has taken place just two days after the armed attack on the MTV/MBC television station at Depanama", SLPI said in a statement.

Inaction over previous such incidents has created a public perception that both these attacks may have involved a state agency and it is incumbent on the President and the government to dispel such suspicion by a thorough and meticulous investigation. No suspects have been arrested over recent attacks on media personalities including Keith Noyahr, Deputy Editor of the Nation, and Namal Perera of the Sri Lanka Press Institute, it said.