Nadarajah Raviraj

Nadarajah Raviraj (Tamil: நடராஜா ரவிராஜ், naṭarājā ravirāj, IPA: [nəɖəˈɾɑːɟɑ ˈɾəviˌɾɑːɟ] ^[?] June 25, 1962 – November 10, 2006) was a prominent Sri Lankan Tamil politician and human rights lawyer. Tamil (ta தமிழ்; t̪əmɨɻ is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Sri Lankan Tamil people ( or Ceylon Tamils, are an Ethnic group native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka who predominantly speak A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person Born in the Jaffna district in the North of Sri Lanka, he served as a Member of Parliament for the Tamil National Alliance, which is backed by the LTTE, until he was shot dead by gunmen in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on November 10, 2006. Jaffna or Yazhpanam (யாழ்ப்பாணம் in Tamil meaning யாழ்= Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. The Tamil National Alliance or Tamil Government Party ( Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi or இலங்கைத் தமிழரசுக் கட்சி in "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. Colombo ( Sinhala:, ˈkoləmbə Tamil: கொழும்பு is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. TNA and others alleged that the Sri Lankan government was involved in this assignation. The Sri Lankan government denied responsibility and strongly condemned his killing. ^[1]

On November 9, 2006, one day before his assassination, he led a protest demonstration in front of the UNICEF office in Colombo regarding the Vaharai bombing by the Sri Lankan Army of a school that led to the death of 45 civilians. Events 694 - Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims sentencing all Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Protest expresses relatively overt reaction to events or situations sometimes in favor though more often opposed The United Nations Children's Fund (or UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946 Colombo ( Sinhala:, ˈkoləmbə Tamil: கொழும்பு is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The Vaharai bombing is a disputed event in the Sri Lankan civil war. The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the three armed services of Sri Lanka and is responsible for overseeing land-based military and

Biography

Born in Chavakachcheri, Raviraj attended Chavakachcheri Drieberg College and St. Chavakacheri (சாவகச்சேரி is the second largest town in the in the Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka which has been badly devastated in the Sri John’s College, Jaffna. He was enrolled as an Attorney of Law in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in November 1988 and appeared in the Sri Lankan Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and in the High Courts of Ampara, Batticaloa, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Jaffna and elsewhere in the south. Ampara (Tamil அம்பாறை Sinhala අමිපාර is a remote city on the East Coast of Sri Lanka, about 200 km from the capital city of Colombo. Batticaloa (மட்டக்களப்பு in Tamil මඩකළපුව in Sinhala) is the provincial capital of the eastern province of Sri Lanka Vavuniya (வவுனியா is a town in the northern Sri Lanka. Trincomalee (திருகோணமலை Tirukōṇamalai තිරිකුණාමළය Tirikūṇamaḷaya is a district a bay and a port city on the northeast coast of Jaffna or Yazhpanam (யாழ்ப்பாணம் in Tamil meaning யாழ்= His law firm, Raviraj & Associates, specialized in cases under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and Emergency Regulations. Raviraj also worked as a human rights lawyer for Home for Human Rights in Colombo, from 1984 to 1990 and again from 1993 until 1999. The Home for Human Rights (HHR is one of Sri Lanka 's oldest Human rights organizations

Political career

He joined the Tamil United Liberation Front in 1987 and became a Central Committee Member of the TULF in 1990, the party's legal adviser in 1998 and a member of political bureau in 2000. The Sri Lankan Civil War is an Ongoing conflict on the Island -nation of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Traditionally the recorded History of Sri Lanka boasts of 25 chronicled centuries Origins of the Sri lankan civil war is highlighted by the continuous political rancor between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils Black July is the commonly used name for the Pogroms starting in Sri Lanka on July 23 1983. Following is a List of riots and pogroms in Sri Lanka 1915 riots The first reported organized riots in Sri Lanka were against the minority Sri Lankan Muslims Major human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the United States Department of State and the European Union, Various Non-governmental organizations and individuals have accused the Sri Lankan government of committing state terrorism Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups rose to prominence in the 1970s to fight the state of Sri Lanka to create an independent Tamil Eelam. "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. The following is a list of attacks attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE commonly known as the Tamil Tigers The expulsion of the Muslims from the Northern province was an act of Ethnic cleansing carried out by the Tamil militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa (commonly known as Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sinhala මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ; maˈhində ˈraːjəˌpakʂə born November Velupillai Prabhakaran (வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன் born November 26, 1954) also known informally as Thambi (தம்பி Colonel Karuna Amman is the Nom de guerre of Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan (born 1966 the President of the TMVP ( TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal Lieutenant Colonel (Ret Nandasena Gotabhaya Rajapaksa RWP, RSP, GR is the current Permanent Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, rcds psc, SLSR is a Sri Lankan Army officer who has served throughout Operation Poomalai or Eagle Mission 4 was the codename assigned to a mission undertaken by the Indian Air Force to airdrop supplies over the besieged town of Sri Lankan Civil War See also Sri Lankan Civil War Sri Lanka, from the early part of the 1980s was facing an increasingly violent ethnic strife Indian Peace Keeping Force ( IPKF; Hindi: भारतीय शान्ति सेना was the Indian military contingent performing a Peacekeeping Rajiv Gandhi राजीव गांधी (raːdʒiːv gaːnd̪ʰiː born in Bombay, (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991 the elder son of Indira and Feroze Research and Analysis Wing ( RAW or R&AW) is India 's external Intelligence agency. The Military of Sri Lanka consists of Three Branches which are the Army, Navy, Air Force which comes under the Ministry of Defence. Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP ( தமிழ் மக்கள் விடுதலைப்புலிகள், Tamil Peoples Liberation Tigers) also The Eelam People's Democratic Party is a Political party and a Paramilitary organization in Sri Lanka. Since the onset of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 1983 militant and paramilitary groups have assassinated many Public figures on suspicion of being sympathizers or informants Military use of children in Sri Lanka has been an internationally recognized problem since the inception of the Sri Lankan civil war in 1983. The Tamil United Liberation Front (in Tamil: தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி in Sinhala: ද්රවිඩ එක්සත් He was also appointed as administrative secretary of the party. ^[2] Raviraj was elected mayor of Jaffna in 1998, a position in which he served until his election to Parliament from Jaffna District in December 2001 as a candidate of the newly formed TNA. ^[3] He was reelected to parliament in 2004.

During the last few months Raviraj participated in the Civil Monitoring Committee (CMC), working with Mano Ganesan MP (Colombo District), Vasudeva Nanayakara MMC, Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne, and Appapillai Vinayagamoorthy to monitor extra judicial killings, abductions and disappearances. Raviraj MP has participated in conflict resolution workshops hosted by the Institute of Federalism in Switzerland, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Germany and the Peace Institute in Austria among others. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation ( Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung) (KAS is a German research foundation associated with that country's Christian Democratic Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. ^[2]

Throughout his career, Raviraj was admired by all communities in Sri Lanka at large, for his moderate views. He was severely critical of the Sri Lankan Government, particularly in the weeks leading up to his murder, highlighting, amongst many things, forced disappearances of many civilians and the food and medicinal blockade imposed by the Sri Lankan Government on Jaffna, starving the people. The day before he was killed, Raviraj and other TNA parliamentarians took part in a demonstration in front of the UN offices in Colombo to protest against the killing of Tamil civilians by the military and the mounting toll of abductions and extrajudicial killings. Although Raviraj spoke in favour of the LTTE, and his party, the TNA is believed to be supportive of the rebel group, he also was critical of them.

Yet recently, just before his death, Raviraj publicly criticised the LTTE leadership for sending their children abroad to be educated in luxury while poor Tamil children were suffering in their homeland. ^[4] In an interview given to the Asia Tribune on October 14 2006 he reportedly said of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran "LTTE leader Prabhakaran's children live a comfortable life abroad, poor Tamil children have to wait in long queues all day without even going to school to get a piece of bread"[1]. Velupillai Prabhakaran (வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன் born November 26, 1954) also known informally as Thambi (தம்பி

Raviraj was always supportive of Tamil self-rule and a leading campaigner for Tamil self-rule. Another MP of the TNA claimed that "This is a clear message to Tamil parliamentarians . . . Don't open your mouth" and supported the TNA's allegations on the government. . ^[5]

Assassination

Raviraj was shot in Colombo, Sri Lanka by 2 assailants riding a motorbike on November 10, 2006 when he was leaving his home. Colombo ( Sinhala:, ˈkoləmbə Tamil: கொழும்பு is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. He had just left his home after returning from an interview between 7:00 am to 8:00 a. m(local time) on the Derana TV Channel. Derana is a Sri Lankan Free-to-air Television channel which was launched on 11 October 2005 He was rushed to the General Hospital in Colombo where he succumbed to his injuries at 9:20am. His bodyguard, Police Constable Lakshman Lokuwella attached to the Jaffna Police Station, was also killed in the shooting. A constable is a person holding a particular office most commonly in law enforcement.

The shooting occurred around 8. 45am as he was proceeding to the Elvitigala Road from Martha Road (6°54'7. 11"N 79°52'38. 26"E) in his vehicle. ^[6] The assailants escaped leaving behind a T-56 rifle and a few rounds of ammunition in a bag. The Type 56 assault rifle is a Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov AK-47, which has been manufactured since 1956 ^[7] The site of the attack was within the Manning Town Complex and was opposite the Sri Lankan Military Police headquarters. The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the three armed services of Sri Lanka and is responsible for overseeing land-based military and ^[8]

Upon a request by the Sri Lankan government, the Metropolitan Police Service (from Scotland Yard) agreed to send a team of forensic experts to assist the investigation into the killing. "Metropolitan Police" redirects here See also Metropolitan police. New Scotland Yard or Scotland Yard, informally known as The Yard and NSY, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible ^[9] The investigations have not yet concluded. However, a local human rights organization has accused that the killer is known to the Government and remain free. It further alleged that the killers belonged to paramilitary TMVP cadres. Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP ( தமிழ் மக்கள் விடுதலைப்புலிகள், Tamil Peoples Liberation Tigers) also ^[10] Many accused the government of not showing any interest in finding the real killers behind this assassination. ^[4]

Reaction to his assassination

The Sri Lankan government strongly condemned his killing and extended its unreserved sympathies to his next of kin. ^[1] The President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse issued a statement in which he said he "unequivocally condemned the brutal killing of Mr. Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa (commonly known as Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sinhala මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ; maˈhində ˈraːjəˌpakʂə born November Nadaraja Raviraj, Member of Parliament of the Tamil National Alliance and his Police bodyguard Lakshman". It also stated that he viewed the killing "as one more reprehensible act by those opposed to dissent and political pluralism in a democratic society". President Rajapakse also extended his deepest condolences to the families of Nadarajah Raviraj and his security officer Lakshman. ^[11]

R. Sampanthan, leader of the TNA, a political party widely believed to be a proxy of the LTTE,^[12] blamed the government for the murder and claimed "It is government forces or forces aligned to the government, there can be no question "and argued "This is an attempt to stifle. . . and silence those who can justifiably espouse the Tamil cause. "^[13] Selvam Adaikalanathan, a fellow TNA MP said "A democratic voice of Tamils has been silenced in Sri Lanka's capital today," and charged that resourceful Tamil politicians, journalists and activists (see State terrorism in Sri Lanka) are being systematically killed in Sri Lanka. Various Non-governmental organizations and individuals have accused the Sri Lankan government of committing state terrorism "Raviraj tirelessly worked to improve the conditions of the people living under economic embargo to relieve the humanitarian catastrophe. He had a convincing way of dealing with even the crude bureaucracy of this failed state," Mr. Adaikalanathan said. ^[2]

The chief spokesman of the LTTE condemned the killing and blamed the government of Sri Lanka for the assassination. "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. ^[14] The LTTE released a statement mentioning "As a parliamentarian he worked tirelessly for the Tamil nation. He spoke loudly to the world about the Sinhala Buddhist chauvinistic state terror. He shattered the false propaganda of the Sinhala state infusing his arguments with his legal expertise. "^[15][16] The LTTE's eulogy to Raviraj added "Death never destroys the great souls who lived their life for truth. They will live for ever in our nation’s soul as heroes of our history. "^[15]

Nimalka Fernando, a leading human rights activist in Sri Lanka remarked "We are fast becoming a country of widows". Nimalka Fernando is an attorney-at-law and women’s rights activist from Sri Lanka. "These killers and the mighty terror of the state are making us a killing field. " and the "gunmen got away after stopping traffic in front of a military installation, without fear of being arrested. "^[17]

United National Party organizer S. The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP Sinhalese: එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය (pronounced Eksath Jathika Pakshaya B. Dissanayake, member of the main opposition to President Rajapakse's Sri Lanka Freedom Party blamed the Sri Lankan government for the killing, claiming the blame cannot be passed onto the Karuna group or any other organization. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is one of the major political parties in Sri Lanka. Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP ( தமிழ் மக்கள் விடுதலைப்புலிகள், Tamil Peoples Liberation Tigers) also Dissanayake remarked "It was impossible for such assassinations to take place in broad daylight in the city (Colombo) without the knowledge of the state. "^[18]

The Asian Human Rights Commission expressed shock at the killing of N. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC is an independent non-governmental body which seeks to promote greater awareness and realisation of Human rights in the Asian region Raviraj and remarked that in Sri Lanka, "the rule of law machinery has been in a state of collapse now for a long time it is no surprise that things have gone out of control" and observed "these deaths are just part of a continuous situation of assassinations done by all parties to the conflict" and "the parties to the conflict claim justification for the deaths they cause and there is no regret in any quarter about what is taking place. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island "^[19]

The US State Department deplored the murder of the Tamil MP and urged the Sri Lankan government to promptly investigate, arrest and prosecute those responsible, claiming "It is critical that crimes such as the murder of Nadarajah Raviraj do not go unpunished. " and the "The people of Sri Lanka have been unjustly robbed of his energy and talent. "^[20]

The Colombo-based International Center for Strategic Defense (ICSD) in its analaysis has pointed the finger at the LTTE as the prime source for the assassination [2].

The Criminal investigations Department has announced that three suspects have been held with regard to the assassination and investigations are proceeding [3].

EPDP Leader and Minister Douglas Devanananda categorically dismissed all allegations leveled against the EPDP regarding the killing of TNA MP Nadarajah Raviraj [4]. The Eelam People's Democratic Party is a Political party and a Paramilitary organization in Sri Lanka. Kathiravelu Nithyananda Devananda (born 1957 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka) popularly known as Douglas Devananda, is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician

Controversy

Asian Tribune reports the police investigating calls made to Raviraj's mobile phone have found that he received several threatening phone calls originating from the LTTE controlled Vanni region. The Asian Tribune is an Online newspaper that provides news and editorial on the current affairs of Asia, with a special emphasis on South Asia The mobile phone trail led to several mobile telephone numbers which had a monthly bill in excess of a million rupees, but was undesignated and was not being charged to any particular person or company[5].

Government's involvement

A local human right organization, University Teachers for Human Rights, claimed that they were near certain that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, current Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence of the Government of Sri Lanka, was involvement in the assassination. The University Teachers for Human Rights(Jaffna or UTHR(J was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, Jaffna in Sri Lanka as Lieutenant Colonel (Ret Nandasena Gotabhaya Rajapaksa RWP, RSP, GR is the current Permanent The Permanent Secretary, in most departments officially titled the Permanent Under-Secretary of State (although the full title is rarely used is the most senior civil Ministry of Defence Public Security Law & Order is responsible for the formulation co-ordination and the execution of policies in relation to the security of the country TemplatePolitics of Sri Lanka Politics of Sri Lanka takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic Republic, whereby the President Further, it claimed that Gajanayake ,whose forces work under the Ministry of Defence, was the main organiser behind the assassination. Ministry of Defence Public Security Law & Order is responsible for the formulation co-ordination and the execution of policies in relation to the security of the country ^[21]

See also

• Human Rights in Sri Lanka
• Origins of the Sri Lankan civil war
• Black July
• Sri Lankan civil war
• Sri Lankan Tamils
• LTTE
• Sri Lankan Army

References

External links

• Complete text of final interview given by Nadarajah Raviraj
• Tragic demise of Nadarajah Raviraj in Colombo