Final farewell for veteran Tamil politician R Sampanthan

by Viruben
Jul 8, 2024

This weekend saw the funeral of former leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Rajavarodayam Sampanthan in Trincomalee.

The funeral was attended by several senior political figures including former leader of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), Mavai Senathirajah, M.A. Sumanthiran, Ranil Wickremesinghe and controversially members of the Rajapaksa clan.

Former president, and accused war criminal, Mahinda Rajapaksa, and Namal Rajapaksa were seen in attendance. Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is accused of overseeing the Tamil genocide, issued a statement morning the loss of R Sampanthan and describing him as an "old friend and colleague".

Speaking at the funeral, Wickremesinghe said that Sampanthan's passing "is the loss of a long-time friend". He went on to claim that Sampanthan "consistently advocated for power-sharing in a united Sri Lanka and never advocated for separatism" although Sampanthan first entered Sri Lanka’s parliament in 1977, on the TULF platform of a separate state for Tamils in the North-East. 

 

 

 

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