Siddharthan tells TN where missing IDPs have gone By Gagani Weerakoon
The leader of a former Tamil militant group has refuted reports that 10,000 people from the IDP camps in Vavuniya had disappeared. The alleged disappearance of so large a number of displaced persons had made news worldwide and several human rights watch organisations had expressed concern over it.
A prominent advocate of the human rights of Sri Lankan Tamils across the Palk Straits Kanimozhi Karunanidhi who was among the group of Tamil Nadu legislators who were on a visit here recently wanted to check the veracity of this disturbing news, from the Sri Lankan invitees at a dinner hosted by the Deputy High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Colombo, to the Tamil Nadu visitors.
According to informed sources, PLOTE Leader D. Siddharthan who was among the Sri Lankan invitees lost no time in correcting the wrong information that had already gained worldwide publicity.
Siddharthan’s answer to Kanimozhi’s inquiry was: “This is not true. The refugees who were supposed to have disappeared were ex-LTTE cadres who had surrendered. They are now being rehabilitated in correction centres elsewhere.”
“But there is a real issue that you can easily address,” Siddharthan told Kanimozi turning to JHU’s legal advisor and the party’s WPC member Udaya Gammanpila. “Gammanpla’s Jatika Hela Urumaya is looking on Tamil Nadu with much fear and suspicion. Why don’t you allay their fears and suspicions?”
Gammanpila who appeared to have the country’s history at his finger tips explained to the Tamil Nadu legislators that the Sinhalese in particular are following the politics in Tamil Nadu with some fear and misgivings. “People here have suffered throughout the country’s history due to many enemy invasions from South India and many instances of military occupation by South Indian powers,” explained Gammanpila.
Kanimozi and other Tamil Nadu legislators gave an attentive ear to Gammanpila’s commentary which some invitees later described in half-jest as a good lesson on history.
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