Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah ( ta, சின்னத்தம்பி சிவமகராஜா; 28 June 1938 – 20 August 2006) was a
Sri Lankan Tamil
Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...
newspaper publisher, politician and Member of Parliament.
Early life
Sivamaharajah was born 28 June 1938. He was from Kollankaladdy near
Tellippalai
Tellippalai or Thellippalai ( ta, தெல்லிப்பழை Tellippaḻai
Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students
The Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), also known as the Eelam Revolutionary Organisers, is a former Tamil militant group in Sri Lanka. Most of the EROS membership was absorbed into the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in ...
' (EROS) candidates in Jaffna District. He was elected. However, Sivamaharajah and all other EROS MPs boycotted
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
because of their opposition to the Sixth Amendment to the
Constitution of Sri Lanka
The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා ආණ්ඩුක්රම ව්යවස්ථාව, Śrī Laṃkā āndukrama vyavasthāva, ta, இலங்கை அரசிய ...
which required them to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for a separate state. After three months of absence, Sivamaharajah forfeited his seat in Parliament on 12 June 1989. Sivamaharajah did however enter Parliament on 17 July 1989, replacing S. Sivnantharaja who had resigned on 11 July 1989. He took his oath in Parliament on 21 July 1989. He resigned from Parliament on 7 May 1990.
Sivamaharajah was one of the
Tamil United Liberation Front
The Tamil United Liberation Front ( ta, தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி, translit=Tamil Onrupattatu Viduthulai Munnai, si, ද්රවිඩ එක්සත් විමුක්ති ප ...
's (TULF) candidates in Jaffna District at the 2000 parliamentary election. He was elected and re-entered Parliament.
On 20 October 2001 the
All Ceylon Tamil Congress
All Ceylon Tamil Congress ( ta, அகில இலங்கைத் தமிழ்க் காங்கிரஸ்), is the oldest Tamil political party in Sri Lanka.
History
The ACTC was founded in 1944 by G.G. Ponnambalam. Ponnambalam ask ...
,
Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front
The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) is a series of Sri Lankan political parties and a former militant separatist group.
Militant separatists
The EPRLF was formed in 1980 by K. Pathmanabha (Padmanaba), Douglas Devananda, Su ...
,
Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization
The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) is an Eelam Tamil organisation which campaigned for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in the northeast of Sri Lanka during 1972-1987 which later accepted the December 19th proposals. ...
and TULF formed the
Tamil National Alliance
The Tamil National Alliance ( ta, தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு ISO 15919: ''tamiḻt tēciyakkūṭṭamaippu''; TNA) is a political alliance in Sri Lanka that represents the country's Sri Lan ...
(TNA). Sivamaharajah contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District but failed to get elected. He contested the 2004 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District but failed to get elected after coming twelfth amongst the TNA candidates.
Sivamaharajah was managing director of '' Namathu Eelanadu'', a
Tamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...
newspaper. ''Namathu Eelanadu'', which started publication on 1 October 2002, was considered to be supportive of Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism. The paper's office in
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
was raided by the
Sri Lanka Army
ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம்
, image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png
, image_size = 180px
, caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army
, start_date ...
on 15 December 2005 and its staff interrogated.
Sivamaharajah was chairman of the Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society (MPCS) in Tellippalai and president of the Consortium of Valikamam North Public Organizations. He worked extensively to assist the tens of thousands of civilians forcibly expelled from the Valikamam North High Security Zone (HSZ) by the
Sri Lankan military
The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (Sri Lank ...
.
On the night of 20 August 2006, at around 7.20pm, Sivamaharajah was shot dead at his temporary home in Tellippalai, which was located 300 meters ''inside'' the Valikamam North High Security zone during a curfew. The government backed
Eelam People's Democratic Party
The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) is a political party and a pro-government paramilitary organization in Sri Lanka. It is led by its founder Douglas Devananda.
Background
Douglas Devananda was one of the founding members of the Eelam Re ...
(EPDP) paramilitary group was blamed for the assassination. The assassination was condemned by
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
and the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
. Sivamaharajah's killing was part of a series of killings, abductions and other attacks on the Sri Lankan Tamil media which began in 2005.
On 22 August 2006 the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
(LTTE) conferred the title
Maamanithar
Maamanithar or Maamanithan ( ta, மாமனிதர் ''Māmaṉitar''; great human being or supremely great man) was an honour awarded by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. The honour was usually awarded to civilians p ...