Chennai: Pazha Nedumaran, a veteran Tamil nationalist leader and former Congressman, on Monday claimed Velupillari Prabakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who was declared dead in May 2009, was alive and fine. His wife and daughter, who are believed to have escaped during the end stage Eelam War โ IV, too are alive, he claimed.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ป, ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ๐ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป
Making the startling claim at a press conference at Mullivaikkal Mutram in Thanjavur in central Tamil Nadu, Nedumaran, who had made several clandestine trips to LTTE-held Jaffna during the civil war in Sri Lanka, said Prabakaran would emerge in public soon.
Nedumaran, who had once put himself up as a human shield to safeguard former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when stones were rained on her in Tamil Nadu, was one of the earliest supporters of Prabakaran. In fact, Prabakaran during his days in Chennai used to stay at Nedumaranโs MLA hostel room in the 1980s and Indira Gandhi had assured him that she would launch an operation to liberate the Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, days before she was assassinated.
๐ ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป'๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐: ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป
Claiming that he was making the statement with the consent of Prabakaranโs family members, Nedumaran said with Sri Lanka reeling under an economic crisis and the Sinhalese people protesting against Mahinda Rajapaksa, the time was now appropriate for Prabakaran to come out in the open.
According to him, the Tamil Desiya Thalaivar (leader of Tamil Nation) โ as Prabkaran is described โ is hale and healthy and this announcement should end โrumours about his deathโ.
On May 18, 2009, the Sri Lankan Government had declared its troops had discovered the body of Prabakaran at Mullivaikal island, and said one of his estranged lieutenants Karuna Muralitharan had confirmed that the body was that of the LTTE leader.
๐ก๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป, ๐ง๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น ๐ก๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐ด๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป
Nedumaran claimed the LTTE never allowed countries opposed to India to set foot on their land or had any relationship with them. The Indian Government must prevent China from firming up its presence in Sri Lanka, he said. He also called upon the Tamil Nadu Government, political parties and people to support Prabakaran at this crucial juncture.
However, Nedumaran refused to be drawn into a debate on the proof for his claim but said he was in touch with Prabakaran
Ex Sri Lankan MP Sivajilingam responds
Former Sri Lankan MP Sivajilingam responded to Nedumaran's claim by saying that the Sri Lankan authorities had not yet established that the body found was that of Prabhakaran, supporting the argument that he had survived the end of the war and was still alive somewhere secret.
Sivajilingam declared that Nedumaran's assertion that Prabhakaran was still alive was his view and that it could not be disregarded, adding that if it were true, Tamils all over the world would be delighted. โA situation has arisen wherein a Tamil Eelam can be created without a warโ, he said. Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) Founder T.Velmurugan, MLA, termed as โhappyโ and โsweetโ news that Mr Prabhakaran was alive.
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here.ย ย To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
