Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) Vanni District parliamentarian Thurairajha Ravikaran has called for the immediate release of detained Tamil rapper Ganeshkumar Sangeethsan and renewed demands for the repeal of Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday during a debate on regulations under the Central Bank Act and a resolution on Essential Public Services, Ravikaran raised the case of Sangeethsan, a popular rap artist from Udayanagar East in Kilinochchi, also known as Hip Hop Sangee.
The MP said Sangeethsan had been arrested and remanded under the PTA, a law he described as a tool of repression in Sri Lanka.
He urged parliament to secure the artist’s immediate release and called for the legislation to be abolished without delay.
Ravikaran said the arrest reflected a wider pattern of intimidation directed at Tamil artists, creators and journalists who express their views freely. He noted that over time, several such individuals had been summoned, questioned or intimidated by the Terrorism Investigation Division, while artistic works had reportedly been suppressed or prevented from being released.
According to Ravikaran, Sangeethsan’s arrest cannot be viewed as an isolated incident. He argued that it forms part of a broader attack on freedom of expression, particularly where Tamil political memory, identity and artistic expression are concerned.
The ITAK MP said his party has consistently maintained that the PTA is unnecessary and has long functioned as an instrument of state repression.
His intervention comes as pressure continues to mount over Sangeethsan’s detention. The rapper, widely known as HipHop Sangee, was arrested after Sri Lankan authorities alleged that songs he performed and shared online promoted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The case has sparked protests across the Tamil homeland, including in Kilinochchi, Valvettithurai, Vavuniya and Mannar, where demonstrators have demanded his release and condemned the continued use of anti-terror legislation against Tamil artistic expression.
The PTA has long been condemned by Tamil political parties, human rights organisations and international observers for enabling prolonged detention, facilitating abuse and being used disproportionately against Tamils.
Despite repeated promises by successive Sri Lankan governments to repeal or replace the legislation, it remains in force and continues to be invoked against Tamil political, cultural and artistic expression in the North-East.
