A Tamil parliamentarian from the main opposition United National Party (UNP), was assassinated by gunmen at the Ponnambala Vaaneasvarar temple at Kochchikkadai in Colombo on New Year’s day.

 

Colombo district parliamentarian Thiyagarajah Maheswaran, 41, was shot by gunmen while he was paying homage at the popular Siva temple in Colombo around 9.30 a.m. and succumbed to his injuries at the National Hospital in Colombo an hour later.

 

The shooting, which also claimed the life of the MP’s bodyguard, came a few hours after Mr. Maheswaran announced on a popular television show that he would reveal details on how abductions and killings in Jaffna are managed by the Sri Lankan establishment through the EPDP paramilitary group.

 

The UNP blamed the hardline government of President Mahinda Rajapakse for paving the way for the killing by stripping the MP of most of his official guards.

 

Twelve devotees were wounded when gunmen shot at Mr. Maheswaran. According to media reports one assassin was wounded when a bodyguard returned fire and is also receiving treatment at the National Hospital.

 

On December 19 the government had reduced the Ministerial Security Division guards provided to the MP from 18 to two, after he heavily criticized the government and voted against the budget.

 

Later Mr. Maheswaran wrote to defence secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse, who is also the younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, urging his security details to be restored as he faced danger. However no action was taken.

 

Hundreds of mourners took part in Maheswaran’s funeral which took place in Colombo on Thursday, 3 January. UNP parliamentarians took over the casket containing his remains from his family around 2:30 p.m. at his residence in Wellawatte and the cortege, and the funeral procession went along Galle Road and several areas in Colombo to reach Kanaththai cremation grounds in Borella.

 

Parliamentarians representing various political parties, members of Movement Against War, Free Media Movement, Working Journalists’ Association, Tamil Journalists' Association and religious leaders representing Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian faiths besides hundreds of mourners walked the six kilometer trek from Wellawatte reaching Borella around 5:30 p.m.

Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims participated in the procession and some of them shouted slogans accusing Rajapakse regime and Douglas Devananda, the leader of the EPDP and a cabinet minister for the killing.

Members of the Movement Against War with black cloth covering their mouths and UNP parliamentarians wearing black bands around their necks shouted slogans slamming Sri Lanka government while members of other organizations carried portraits of Maheswaran walked along in the cortege up to the cremation grounds.

The cortege passed through Wellawatte, Bampalappitiya and Kirilappane areas where shops and other business establishments were closed paying respect to the slain leader.

White flags were put up in Fort, Pettah (Peaddai) and Five Lamps junction areas where a general shut down was observed from Thursday morning.

Leader of the opposition and head of UNP, Ranil Wickremasinghe, Minister Fowzi, Western Province Peoples’ Front leader and parliamentarian Mano Ganesan, Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian for Jaffna district Sri Kantha, Muslim Congress Leader Rauf Hakeem, Sunanda Dheshapiriya, spokesman of the Free Media Movement and many prominent persons paid tribute to Maheswaran before his remains were cremated.