A Sinhala activist addresses the funeral of Prabakaran's father challenging taboos of the polity

(January 11, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Dharmasiri Lankapeli, a journalist and trade union activist who is also a member of Nawa Samasamaja Party and the Kaluthara district representative of Left Front presidential candidate Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratna was arrested and later released by Velevetithurai police of Jaffna. The reason for the arrest was his Sinhala language address at the funeral of Veerasami Thiruvengadam Velupillai on January 10th. Late Velupillai is the father of Velupillai Prabakaran, the founder leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), who was killed in the final battle with the Army on May 18 in the last bastions of the rebel-held Vanni in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Velupillai was a peaceful man who never followed his youngest son's extremely violent path for the liberation of the Sri Lankan Tamils. He lived most of his life since 1983 to 2002 in south India and settled in rebel-held Mallavi during the Norway-brokered ceasefire. He was arrested by Sri Lanka security forces from a IDP camp following the defeat of the Tamil Tigers and the government says he was kept in protective custody in Panagoda Army camp since then.


He passed away on January 07 and with the legal permission of the dead man's sons and daughters, the body was taken by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.K. Sivajilingam to his village Valvetithurai for cremation. Dharmasiri Lankapeli accompanied Sivajilingam and he dared to address the funeral in Sinhala language challenging the taboos of the Lankan polity over Prabakaran and his family.


Prabakaran's siblings Manoharan (Denmark) Jegatheeswari (India) Vinodini (Canada) decline President Mahinda Rajapaksa's offer to come to Sri Lanka for the funeral.


Photos of the dead bodies believed to be of late LTTE leader's two sons and daughters were in internet and the taboos do not open space for questioning these killings. The killing of the youngest son of Prabakaran, 12-year-old Balachandran was also readily approved by the Sri Lankan polity that is predominantly Buddhist in religion wise.


According to Buddhist history Suprabuddha was the father of Devadatta who conspired to assassinate Lord Buddha. He was also the father of Yasodhara, the wife of Siddhartha Gauthama who attained the Buddha status later. No one denounced Suprabuddha for being Devadatta's father. In the same way, no one denounced Yasodhara for being Devadatta's sister.

Sri Lankan media did not dare despite all of their so-called liberal policies to address this dead man as ‘Mr. Velupillai’ although he is completely innocent. Mr. Velupillai was a loyal public servant who retired as a district land officer. He hailed from the reputed "Thirumeni" family in Valvettithurai. The family holds hereditary trusteeship of Velvettithurai Sivan temple.


Mahawansa, the prominent historical chronicle venerated by Sinhalese describe how the hero of the Sinhalese King Dutugemunu respected his enemy Tamil King Elara who was defeated by him. That history did not repeat even before the children and the elders of Prabakaran.

Sri Lanka’s failure to provide scientific proof to the death of Tiger leader gives way to blind nationalism

(July 11 2009) Sri Lanka is failing to provide concrete proof of the death of Velupillai Prabakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) and Pottu Amman, the intelligence chief of the outfit who are wanted by India to wind up the case regarding the assassination of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The sources say that Sri Lankan authorities are unable to provide scientific proof for the deaths of these Tiger leaders. Although a corpse said to be of Prabakaran's was displayed as the government declared he was killed on May 18. No corpse of Pottu Amman's was shown so far. 

The situation has triggered claims from the ardent Tamil Ealam nationalists that their elusive leader is still alive and will appear in public in right moment. The admittance of the expatriate leadership of the LTTE has also gone unhindered among these arch nationalists.

In theater-crazy Tamil Nadu, the politicians are manipulating the mystery for their gains where the Chief Minister M Karunanidhi told the State Assembly of a story of a “hero's escape on a horseback with none in the know of his whereabouts” inferred here to mean LTTE leader V Prabhakaran.

“Mr Prabhakaran had been announced as dead in the past too atleast four times in 1984, 1987, 1989 and in 2004. This is the fifth time the announcement has come. Similarly four wars of independence have been fought in Sri Lanka. The fifth war for independence for Eelam (the area of Tamils in Sri Lanka) will commence and our respected Mr Prabhakaran will lead that war,”said Tamil Nadu politician P. Nedumaran, close associate of the elusive LTTE leader who has known him for decades.

“In connection with the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, a formal request for an official confirmation of the deaths of Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman, the chief of the intelligence wing of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), has been made to the government of Sri Lanka,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told parliament, when asked whether India had sought the death certificate of Prabhakaran.