The best part of their baseless allegations are they know nothing of what happened in Mullivaikkal and they have not read the whole LLRC reports. According to my knowledge they do not have any information to reveal to the LLRC should they be called upon to do so.
by Pearl Thevanayagam
(November 11, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) I have highlighted in these columns ad nauseum the conundrum Tamils have been facing since independence is their attitude towards fellow Tamils. Raj Jayadevan and Ms Paramasivam are bringing in outside factors to vilify Jaffna GA Imelda Sukumar and they are unable to stomach the truth as stated by the GA at LLRC. It is inconceivable that a fellow Tamil was able to gain the confidence of both the government and the public and to be holding a very important position as Jaffna GA.
Jayadevan whom I have met during a panel discussion on media censorship in Sri Lanka at the Frontline Club in London was a speaker along with Charulatha Hogg from Human Rights Watch, Priyath Liyanage from BBC Sinhala Sevice, another former BBC correspondent in Colombo Frances Harrison and myself in February 2009.
He declared he had credentials as journalist in that he was one-time editor of Tamil Guardian. But he was also targeted by the LTTE for mis-appropriating their funds for a temple in London.
Although news from the battlefront was a hard commodity due to ban on journalists visiting, only now some truths are emerging.
While these two were nowhere near the theatre of war, Ms Sukumar was present at all times working with the civilians. While Jayadevan cast aspersions on her integrity citing that she turned a blind eye to some dubious sand-mining contracts and that deeds are being falsified at Kachcheri he could not show proof that the GA was behind all this. The GA cannot ignore politicians, security forces or businessmen but that does not mean the GA would throw aside her integrity in dealing with the day-to-day matters pertaining to the governance of the peninsula.
This is journalism at its crassest level.
These two are among those who collect funds for forming various NGOs on behalf of the Tamil diaspora. I have not met Ms Paramasivam but she appears to be the side-kick for Jayadevan. NGOs milking the Tamil diaspora cannot function unless they show the world they are an endangered species and there needs to be organisations in the post-conflict period for peace NGOs, reconciliation organizations, trauma counseling associations et al.
The Tamil diaspora and wealthy Tamils in Sri Lanka should be wary of these scoundrels and channel their donations to those who deserve them such as children, orphans, widows, the aged and the infirm and process their funds through UNHCR or other well-recognised charitable organizations with credibility.
Even as I write I have at least five NGOs based in London who have invited me to attend their meetings.
The best part of their baseless allegations are they know nothing of what happened in Mullivaikkal and they have not read the whole LLRC reports. According to my knowledge they do not have any information to reveal to the LLRC should they be called upon to do so.
The government has provided security to the GA and she rightly deserves and needs this protection since there will always be elements who could endanger the GA’s work or cause her physical harm; even kill her.
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