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Another Lankan dies in terror attack
From Neville de Silva in London
The 17-year old son of a Sri Lankan couple here was among those killed in the terrorist attack in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh last month.
Charitha Jayawardena, the younger son of Diogu and Jackie Jayawardena who are now British citizens, was on holiday in Egypt with friends when the terrorists struck.

He is the second person with Sri Lankan connections to be killed in terrorist attacks within two weeks or so. Thirty year-old Shyanuja Parathasangary, a niece of the TULF leader V.Anandasangari, was killed when Britain’s first suicide bombers blew up a bus in one of the four suicide attacks on July 7.

Charitha’s body had not yet been brought to Britain when I spoke to his uncle Percy Jayawardena who runs a well-patronised cargo firm here. Percy Jayawardena said that Charitha, who was born in Britain and lived in Lincolnshire had been reluctant to go on this holiday but was persuaded to do so by a close friend who was visiting the Egyptian resort with his parents.
Sri Lanka’s ambassador Wijesiri Hettiarachchi had sent an Attache from the Cairo Embassy to the Red Sea town, 450 kilometres away when he received an email from Charitha’s cousins in Sri Lanka inquiring about his welfare following the bombing.

On hearing that Charitha’s parents were due to leave for Egypt, Ambassador Hettiarachchi had managed to contact Mr Jayawardena on his mobile phone at Heathrow Airport and offer all assistance and also pass on the name and contact number of the Sri Lankan Embassy Attache if any other help was necessary.

However since Charitha and the parents were British citizens, British consular officers had looked after all arrangements.

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