THOUSANDS of people, including men, women and children paid their last respects on Saturday to the remains of the late Thiruvengadam Vellupillai, father of LTTE leader V Prabhakaran, at Theeruvli in Valveddiththu’rai (VVT) near the memorial monument of Lt. Col. Kumarappa, Lt Col Pulenthiran and Col Kiddu.
Mr Velupillai passed away while he was being kept in isolation and illegal custody by the Sri Lanka Army at the age of 86.
Despite the intimidating presence of Sri Lanka intelligence personnel, people poured in their thousands from all parts of the peninsula to pay their last respects to his remains.
The remains were brought to VVT around 5:45pm to be kept for the public to pay their last respects till 9:00am on Sunday.
The body was taken to Prabhakaran’s house in Aaladi in VVT and from there was taken in procession at 11:00am to Oo’ra’ni Hindu cremation grounds.
The headquarters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), conveying its condolences to Mrs Velupillai, children and relatives, on Thursday said that the entire Tamil Nation lamented for the demise of Mr Velupillai, who preferred to be with the people during the war.
The LTTE leader’s parents had been living in Tamil Nadu in India, but opted to go to Vanni before the war broke out.
Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Gamini Navaratne, said on Saturday that the number of election-related violent incidents had risen to three hundred and fifty eight by Saturday morning.
Twenty-eight violent acts were reported on Friday. Thirty-eight suspects have been arrested and detained in this regard, he added.
Supporters of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Saturday morning held a protest in front of the Negombo police office demanding the arrest of the suspects who were believed to have attacked their election office earlier.
Three persons were injured in the attack.
Also, a fourth Tamil political prisoner on hunger strike has been admitted to Jaffna hospital
One of the 25 Tamil political prisoners on hunger strike in Jaffna prison was admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) on Friday as his condition grew critical.
Three fasting prisoners who were admitted to JTH on Thursday in a similar condition are out of danger now but continue to receive treatment, sources in Jaffna said.
Tamil political prisoners arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Emergency Regulation (ER) and held for a long time in remand prisons in the country are on hunger strike demanding their immediate release or legal action.
Meanwhile, the Batticaloa Mayor, Sivageetha Prabhakaran, on Friday resigned from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and joined United National Party (UNP) to support General (retd) Fonseka in the upcoming Sri Lankan Presidential elections.
Ms Sivageetha was earlier in the TMVP paramilitary group faction led by Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, the present chief minister in the Eastern Provincial Council.
Later, she joined the SLFP at the request of Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna, now a minister the Rajapaksa government who is also one of the vice presidents of SLFP.
The Rajapakse government immediately withdrew the military security provided to her after her announcement that she would be supporting General Fonseka in the forthcoming presidential election.
Sivageetha was provided with 25 army personnel including some female soldiers. All of them had been withdrawn when she arrived in Colombo to address the press briefing, she told media. The security to her residence in Batticaloa has also been withdrawn leaving only two police constables.
Meanwhile, at a demonstration held in Vavunia in which hundreds of family members of the disappeared participated, Common Left Candidate Vickramabahu Karunaratne accused both the main candidates in the presidential election of war crimes that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Tamils.
He said: ‘Mahinda and Sarath are the ones who know what happened to them,’ he said.
‘Tell us where they are, how they disappeared and where they are held. If they are killed tell us how and show us what happened to their bodies,’ Vickramabahu appealed.
He further stated that the whole world will be told how both Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sarath Fonseka are killers.
Tamil Presidential Candidate MK Shivajilingam who took part in the demonstration addressing the relatives said that the main culprits who are responsible for these atrocities are coming shamelessly begging for votes.
‘Even some Tamil leaders have fallen behind these two who massacred the Tamils and destroyed schools, hospitals and houses. We will not bow down and will fight against them until the truth is revealed,’ he told the gathering.
The TNA parliamentarian said that although the leadership of the Tamil National Alliance has announced their support for Sarath Fonseka it was not the wish of all TNA MPs and supporters.
In the demonstration organised by the Committee for the Investigation of Disappearances (CID), relatives holding photographs of their loved ones who disappeared during and after the war marched through the streets of Vavunia along with the Common Left Candidate and the Tamil Presidential Candidate.
Addressing voters in Jaffna, the Common Left Candidate said that the Tamil struggle was not over although the LTTE leadership was decimated with the help of India and other foreign forces.
Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne was touring Jaffna after twenty years. He was accompanied by Tamil Presidential Candidate MK Shivajilingam.
Dr Vickramabahu addressedg people in Jaffna in Nallur, Achchuveli, Nelliady, Chunnakam and Uduppiddy.
‘We will continue with the Tamil national struggle in the political arena for autonomy and self determination,’ said Dr Vickramabahu.
He said that those who crushed the Tamils will have to pay for the blood and tears shed by the Tamils.
‘The workers struggles that sprang up in the south saying that they cannot bear the burden of the war, forced the government to call an election before time,’ said Dr Vickramabahu.
Tamil Presidential Candidate MK Shivajilingam called upon Tamils not to give a single vote for either of the two main candidates who are trying to claim the spoils of the war.
He said that they should vote for either him or Dr Vickramabahu in order to stop getting either the present president or the former army commander getting 50% of votes in the presidential elections.
When launching the Election Manifesto of the Left Front common Left Candidate Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne told Journalists in Colombo on the 28th of December that both the main candidates in the Presidential race are agents of foreign powers.
At the media briefing held at the Nippon Hotel in Colombo 2 Dr Vickramabahu was joined by Tamil Presidential Candidate MK Shivajilingam. He said that it is impossible for minorities to accept the concept of a unitary state. Dr. Vickramabahu said that the 13th amendment to the constitution does not fulfil the aspirations of the minorities, especially Tamils.
Rev Yohan Devananda, Comrade Surendra Ajith of Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist), Comrade Sajith Sri Lakmal of United Workers Party, Comrade Chanakya Silva of Sama Samaja Alternative Group and Comrade Vallipuram Thiranavukkarasu of The Left Front were also present at the media briefing.
