Sri Sabaratnam

Sri Sabaratnam
Native name சிறி சபாரத்தினம்
Born (1952-08-28)28 August 1952
Died 6 May 1986(1986-05-06) (aged 33)
Kondavil, Sri Lanka
Other names Tall Sri
Years active –1986
Organization Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization

Sundaram Sri Sabaratnam (Tamil: சிறி சபாரத்தினம்; 28 August 1952 – 6 May 1986) was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka.

Early life

Sabaratnam was born on 28 August 1952.[1] Whilst in government custody between 1972 and 1975 his jailer nicknamed him "Tall Sri" to differentiate him from another Sri in custody.[2]

Neervely bank robbery

On 25 March 1981 a People's Bank van returning to Jaffna after collecting cash in Vadamarachchi was robbed of Rs. 8 million on the Jaffna-Point Pedro Road in Neervely.[3][4] N. Thangavelu (alias Thangadurai), S. Yogachandran (alias Kuttimani), Selvadurai Sivasubramaniam (alias Devan), Navaratnarah (Nadarajah) Sivapatham (alias Sivapalan Master) and Vythilingam Nadesathasan (Nadesudasan) were arrested and charged in connection with the robbery.[5] Sabaratnam was charged in absentia.[5] The trial at Colombo High Court commenced on 2 November 1982 and on 24 February 1983 all six defendants were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.[5][4][6]

Sabaratnam became leader of TELO after the killing of Thangathurai and Kuttimani during the Welikada prison massacre in July 1983.[7][8][9]

Death

In April 1986 the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) banned TELO and set about killing its leader Sri Sabaratnam.[10] Sabaratnam went on the run, fleeing from TELO's main base in Kalviyankadu to Neervely, then to Kopay and finally to Kondavil.[11] The LTTE found out that he was in Kondavil and they, led by Kittu, cordoned off the area and started a house-to-house search, using loud hailers to warn local residents not to shelter Sabaratnam.[11] On 6 May 1986[lower-alpha 1] the LTTE discovered Sabaratnam in a tobacco field and Kittu shot him in the leg to prevent him escaping.[10][11][12] Sabaratnam pleaded with Kittu for his life but Kittu shot him using a machine gun.[10][11] Sabaratnam's bullet ridden body was displayed at Kondavil bus stand before being handed over to his family.[10][11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Asian Tribune[9][10] and Tamil Times[12] state that he was killed on 6 May 1986; Sri-TELO[1] say 5 May 1986; Marks[2] and Wilson[13] say April or May 1986; and Wickramasinghe[14] says April 1986.

References

  1. 1 2 "தன்னிகரற்ற தலைவர் சிறீசபாரத்தினத்துக்கு வீர வணக்கம் !". Sri-TELO. 5 May 2012.
  2. 1 2 Marks, Thomas A. (1996). Maoist Insurgency Since Vietnam. Frank Cass. p. 188. ISBN 0-7146-4123-5.
  3. ↑ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (7 August 2009). ""Operation KP": Extraordinary rendition of New Tiger Chief". dbsjeyaraj.com.
  4. 1 2 Sri Kantha, Sachi (5 June 2013). "Kuttimani Files". Ilankai Tamil Sangam.
  5. 1 2 3 "THE MARTYRDOM OF OF THANGATHURAI & KUTTIMUNI". Tamil Nation.
  6. ↑ "Life Sentence for Neerveli Six" (PDF). Tamil Times. II (5): 4. March 1983.
  7. ↑ Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (2000). Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. C. Hurst & Co. p. 127. ISBN 1-85065-519-7.
  8. ↑ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (5 April 1985). "How strong are the "boys"?". Frontline (magazine). 2.
  9. 1 2 Rajasingham, K. T. (7 May 2012). "Sri Sabaratnam - The former TELO Leader, remembered on his 26th Death Anniversary". Asian Tribune.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Remembering Sri Sabaratnam, the TELO leader". Asian Tribune. 6 May 2005.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 57: Kittu, the LTTE legend". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story.
  12. 1 2 "Diary of Incidents" (PDF). Tamil Times. V (10): 14. August 1986. ISSN 0266-4488.
  13. ↑ Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (2000). Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. C. Hurst & Co. p. 128. ISBN 1-85065-519-7.
  14. ↑ Wickramasinghe, Nira (2006). Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Indentities. University of Hawaii Press. p. 289. ISBN 0-8248-3016-4.

Further reading

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