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Anandasangaree?
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
The dastardly killing of former Trincomalee Urban Council chairman Periyappodi
Sooriyamoorthy by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is an unmistakable warning
signal to Tamil United Liberation Front President Veerasingham Anandasangaree.
Though Sooriyamoorthy has sported different party colours at different stages of his
political career the man was primarily a Sangaree loyalist and trusted confidante. He
threw in his lot with Sangaree despite the danger and contested Parliament elections
last year in Jaffna on the Independent list fielded under the padlock symbol by
Anandasangaree. He has been associating with Sangaree for more than three decades.
Sooriyamoorthy had been living in Colombo for some time now adopting a low profile
due to security concerns. Recently a marriage was fixed for one of his daughters
working at a media organization The father made arrangements to sell off their house
in Vihara road, Trincomalee to pay for dowry. Some relatives of the family were living at
the house. Sooriyamoorthy travelled by day and reached the town only by evening on
that fateful May 18th.
Though he had arrived in Trincomalee only a few hours before the tiger assassins
knew of it and paid a visit. The time was 9. 20 pm on Wednesday when four young men
on motor cycles pulled up at the house. They called out to Sooriyamoorthy asking him
to come with them. When Sooriyamoorthy stayed put two men got down and came in.
They asked the ex - UC chairman to come with them for a business discussion about
buying the house. Smelling a rat Sooriyamoorthy refused. At this point the two youths
got nasty and tried to physically drag Sooriyamoorthy out. The man struggled. Agitated
relatives started raising a ruckus and neighbours started coming out of their houses.
Suddenly the youths pulled out guns. Though they tried to shoot him sat point blank
range in the head and chest Sooriyamoorthy tried to grapple with his killers. Other
relatives also tried to prevent the shooting. In the melee Sooriyamoorthy received gun
shots in his abdomen and thigh. The killers fled while the man collapsed. He was first
taken to Trincomalee hospital for emergency treatment. Thereafter he was airlifted to
Colombo and underwent emergency surgery. In spite of the medical staff trying very
hard to save his life Sooriyamoorthy passed away on May 25th. Anandasangaree was
away from the Country at that time.
Sooriyamoorthy was born on October 23rd in 1949 at Alvai West in Jaffna. His family
had links and property in Kilinochchi and Trincomalee. His childhood was divided in all
three places and studied in different schools. As a youngster he was often "displayed"
on Federal Party platforms singing Tamil nationalist songs and making fiery speeches.
He married in Trincomalee but lived in Kilinochchi in the seventies. The FP and Tamil
Congress merged into the TULF. Moorthy came under the influence of
Anandasangaree. He rendered yeoman service to Sangaree when the Kilinochchi MP
was campaigning to carve out a separate district for Kilinochchi.
When the armed militancy phase of Tamil politics escalated after 1983 Sooriyamoorthy
joined the Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and went to India
where he engaged in political work. This was the time when Sangaree too was
perceived as being sympathetic towards the PLOTE. Later after Gnanasegeram alias
Paaranthan Rajan split from the PLOTE and formed the Eelam National Democratic
Liberation Front Sooriyamoorthy too joined him. Sooriyamoorthy was elected
unopposed on the ENDLF ticket from the Northern Province at the N - E provincial
elections of 1988. Sooriyamoorthy relocated to Trincomalee and began living there.
After the IPKF left Sooriyamoorthy returned to India and then came back to
Trincomalee. In 1994 he led an Independent candidate list backed by the TELO at the
Urban Council elections. The list came first and Sooriyamoorthy became the pro -
TELO chairman of Trincomalee urban council. He had many problems then with the
armed forces and Sinhala chauvinists. He was assaulted by the armed forces at one
point.
Sooriyamoorthy's greatest contribution however was the construction of a separate
Market in Powerhouse road for the besieged Tamils. The main market had been taken
over by Sinhala anti - social elements and Tamil people were affected badly. Though
the market was built at a cost of 75 Lakh rupees the armed forces did not allow it to be
opened under the familiar pretext of security. Later the Governor too upheld this stance
and the new market remains unused. After an attempt on his life was made in the late
nineties Sooriyamoorthy moved to Colombo.
He shot back into the limelight again when he returned to Anandasangarees fold and
contested Parliamentary polls last year. Sooriyamoorthy went to Jaffna and bravely
campaigned despite the threats and intimidation. The Jaffna election result was a
foregone conclusion as the LTTE succeeded in mass manipulation of the electoral
process. The father of five children went back to Trincomalee to raise money for his
daughters wedding and was cruelly gunned down.
Though Sooriyamoorthy has criss - crossed from party to party he was not seen as an
opportunist. He personified the ordinary Tamil psyche to some extent. The average
Tamil was never caught up in the various political divisions. All were our boys fighting
for our rights. This continuing fratricide in the name of liberation is anathema.
Sooriyamoorthy was like that too. He was able to move from organization to
organization in the larger interests of the community. His decision to join Sangaree last
year was a brave defiant act. Sooriyamoorthy could have teamed up with the Tamil
National Alliance like so many others but chose to support Anandasangaree the lone
warrior. He has paid with his life for that courageous choice.
He was widely acceptable and well - liked. Stalwarts from many different Tamil parties
were there at his funeral. Orations were made by different people ranging from
Dharmalingam Siddharthan to Douglas Devananda. A surprise "mourner" was TNA
Parliamentarian from Jaffna MK Sivajilingam. Sivajilingam and Sooriyamoorthy were all
aligned to the TELO once. But now Sivaji and his ilk are shameless sycophants of the
LTTE. Everyone including Sivaji know that the tigers killed Sooriyamoorthy. Yet Sivaji
dared to attend the funeral. Simple as the gesture may be it was indeed significant.
The insincere show of sympathy and mourning generated by the LTTE for the murder
of Sivaram alias Taraki is yet to subside. The tigers and their propagandists are
condemning Sivaram's murder as cowardly and are entreating the international
community to exert pressure on the Government to investigate the killing. On the other
hand there is total silence about Sooriyamoorthy's killing. The gunning of a 56 year old
unarmed man who engaged in democratic politics is also cowardly. It has to be
condemned also. The plight of Sooriyamoorthy's wife and five children is as pathetic as
that of Sivarams widow and three children.
Why is it then that the "Tamil world" goes "deaf, dumb and blind" when tigers kill people
particularly innocent civilians ruthlessly? Why is it that the Tamil community is incapable
of condemning the tigers as cowardly killers? Why is it that there is no outcry seeking
investigation of the murder? This silence itself is a powerful indictment of the LTTE.
What offence did Sooriyamoorthy commit to deserve such a death? Can Mr. Velupillai
Pirapakaran justify this murder in any way? Have the tigers and the Tamil people
advanced at least an inch on the road to Tamil Eelam through the cowardly killing of
Periyapodi Sooriyamoorthy? That members of all Tamil political parties could attend this
mans funeral itself speaks volumes about the man.
Trincomalee is in the grip of a violent upheaval. The Buddha statue affair is being used
to divide people on racial lines. A fear psychosis is being instilled into the Tamil people
of Trincomalee that the Sinhala bad guys are all out to annihilate the Tamils. An us
versus them attitude is being nourished. Yet at the height of this crisis assassins
belonging to the LTTE killing machine seek out Sooriyamoorthy and kill him. The LTTE
preaches Tamil solidarity on the one hand to Trincomalee Tamils but deny the right of
life to a Tamil who was only a few years ago the first citizen of the town. The tiger
"intelligence" was not alert enough to prevent a Buddha statue being erected overnight
in the heart of the town but Pottu Amman's minions were aware of Sooriyamoorthy
returning to Trincomalee within hours and murdered him.
Let there be no mistake about this murder. It is a serious warning to Anandasangaree.
Earlier the LTTE regarded him as a deflated balloon after the elections and viewed him
with amused contempt. To his credit Sangaree was not taking his defeat lying down. He
has been very active taking up the larger Tamil cause as opposed to the tiger cause.
Sangaree has also been highlighting the damage caused to the Tamils by the LTTE.
The Tamil media may black Sangaree out and the pro - tiger elements dismiss his
comments as "senile outpourings" (Aralsi perntha alattal).
The truth however is that Sangaree has made and continues to make an impact. In a
Tamil world compelled to pay pooja at the shrine of the living Sun God Sangaree makes
all the difference. He is received well by all fair minded persons in the Country and
those living abroad interested in Sri Lanka. This does not mean that the impact of
Sangaree is monumental. No! but it is not insignificant either. To the tigers Sangaree is
no longer a speck of dust to be trod underfoot. He is a thorn in tiger flesh. An ant that
has gone up the elephants trunk. The killing of Sooriyamoorthy shows that the LTTE
has given a warning signal to Anandasangaree.
There are many admirers of Anandasangaree in the South. Sinhala politicians of all
shades of opinion have a healthy respect for him. This regard alone is not enough. The
time has come to translate these sentiments into concrete action. All efforts should be
taken to extend as much protection as possible to this Septuagenarian lone ranger.
