Speaking on his death bed, T.P. Vijayaraj, the twenty-six year old Indian Tamil auto driver who self-immolated on Monday in Salem in protest against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s visit to India, urged Tamils to protest against the visit.
Vijayraj, who succumbed to his burns on Tuesday at 11:45 am at the Government Medical College Hospital, spoke to journalists before his death:
“Rajapake should not come into India. The murderer who killed Eelam Tamils in large number should not come to India. What’s your name? Viyaraj. What organization are you part of? CITU. What time did you do this and was it your decision to do this? Yes I took the decision to do this. What do you wish to say to Tamil people? Rajapakse is a dog and should be chased out of this country. He shouldn’t be able to come to India... I’m proud to give up my life for Tamils. All the Tamils should come together to protest and prevent Rajapakse from coming to India.”
See here for the full video clip.
Vijayaraj’s brother, Thevaraj said his brother had a lot of respect for the Tamil people and when he had time he wrote poems and read books about the Eelam Tamil struggle.
Indian police have recovered a letter that was written by Vijayaraj stating his reasons for self-immolation, where Vijayaraj condemned the Indian government stating, “Indian government, you supplied artillery shells to destroy Tamils, gave radar, and supplied arms.”
Leaders from Tamil Political parties paid their last respects on Wednesday.
