Veteran journalist Victor Ivan passed away while receiving treatment in hospital. He was 75-years-old.
The former Editor of the ‘Ravaya’ newspaper has been receiving treatment in hospital for a few months.
He was considered a Marxist rebel in his youth and later became the Editor of the controversial Sinhalese newspaper Ravaya.
He served as the Editor of the Ravaya for 25 years consecutively since its inception. Victor is an investigative journalist, political critic, a theorist, social activist and also an author of several books.
He was the 7th accused of the main court case on the Youth Insurrection 1971. The panel of judges described him as the most colorful character of all suspects respondents. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment at the end of the inquiry.
During his imprisonment he abandoned the doctrine of the JVP as well as that of Marxism. While rejecting the doctrine of violence he became an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi adopting the philosophy of non-violence expounded by him.
Victor Ivan entered the field of journalism in 1986, at a time when the country was in turmoil with the outbreak of violent youth insurrections triggered by the Sinhalese in the South and the Tamils in the North. “The Ravaya”, the monthly magazine that he launched soon became popular among the readers and turned out to be the magazine of highest demand at that time.
Revelation of the presence of radio-active substances in the products of “Nestle” company in the aftermath of the Chernobyl Disaster was one of the most remarkable article published by Ravaya magazine.
