The Sri Lankan army has said that senior LTTE leader Ezhilan did not surrender at the end of the war and was not detained.
On Tuesday, the final day of the judicial inquiry into Ezhilan’s disappearance, Major General Chanakya Gunawardena, representing the Sri Lankan Army, told the Mullaitivu Magistrate Court that Sinnathurai Sasitharan alias Ezhilan, was not in the army’s custody.
The Major General said that since Ezhilan was not found in the records of LTTE cadres that had been rehabilitated and released, he had not surrendered or been detained by the army.
Upon cross questioning, he confirmed that the military did not carry out any further investigations to find out the senior LTTE leader, reports JDSLanka.
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NPC Minister Ananthy Sasitharan and Attorney-at-law K. S. Ratnavale outside Mullaitivu Magistrate Court following hearing. Photograph: Shalin for Tamil Guardian |
The response of the military commander displays "callous disregard to the life of a human being who has disappeared,” attorney at law KS Ratnavale told journalists after the hearing.
Ananthy Sasitharan, NPC minister and partner of Ezhilan insists that she handed her husband over to the military "with my own hands while tens of thousands were looking on".
"This is not only about me and my husband," she said. "This is about justice for thousands of Tamils who are enduring years of untold suffering."
Along with Ezhilan, the court will inquire into the disappearances of six further surrendees.
Read more on JDSLanka.
