Police hunt for TNA Vavuniya organiser, Governor takes up Ananthi’s conduct with NPC

Signatures on blank UN war crimes complaint forms

By Shamindra Ferdinando-October 31, 2014

The government investigating an alleged Tamil National Alliance (TNA) plot to provide unsubstantiated information to UN war crimes investigators wants to question Vavuniya-based senior TNA official Alva Pulle Vijendrakumar alias Sun Master

Authoritative sources told The Island yesterday that the TNA official had hurriedly left his Vavuniya residence and sought refuge presumably in Colombo or its suburbs after his name transpired in the ongoing probe. Sources said that Vijendrakumar had to be questioned to verify the alleged involvement of two politicians, one of them a member of Parliament. Sources said the politicians were responsible for what they called a vilification campaign against Sri Lanka.

A senior investigator said: "The police searched Vijendrakumar’s residence consequent to the recovery of 25 blank UN war crimes complaint forms from Sinnathamby Krishnarasa, a civilian who had received LTTE training. We took Krishnarasa into custody on October 25 at Mulankavil in the Vanni. Under interrogation, the suspect claimed that he received the blank forms from Vijendrakumar on the afternoon of Oct 22 in Vavuniya."

Krishnarasa quoted Vijendrakumar as having instructed him that he should only collect signatures on UN war crimes complaint forms of those who had suffered during the war. Responding to a query, the official said that of the 25 blank forms, six had signatures though none of them had been filled. "Obviously they were to be completed at the TNA office in Vavuniya on the instructions of its MPs," the official said.

He said that Vijendrakumar had contacted Krisnarasa over his hand phone while the latter was being questioned by security authorities.

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) had been involved in the project, another official alleged. According to him, the TNA’s Northern Provincial Council member, Ananthy Sasitharan, too, played a pivotal role in the operation by requesting the Geneva-based Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to give more time for them to collect information. Sasitharan’s husband was hardcore LTTE cadre, Elilan.

Meanwhile, Northern Governor retired Maj. Gen. G. A Chandrasiri has sought a clarification from Province Chairman C.V. K. Sivagnanam as to whether Sasitharan had moved OHCHR with the approval of the NPC.

The official said that the UN’s refusal to reveal the identities of those who provided information to Darusman panel until 2031 should be examined in the wake of UN using TNA to collect signatures on blank forms.