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One Hundred
Tamils of the 20th Century
Mamanithar Vanniasingham
Vigneswaran
 Mr.Vanniasingham
Vigneswaran, President of the Trincomalee District
Tamil Peoples' Forum (TDTPF) was shot dead Friday, 7
April 2006 around 9.30 a.m. by an unidentified person
when he was about to enter the main branch of the
Bank of Ceylon (BoC) located along Inner Harbor Road
between the office of the Senior Superintendent of
Police and Trincomalee Harbor Police. The
assassination of the key Tamil activist has taken
place when the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was
about to announce the appointment of Mr. Vigneswaran
as the national list Parliamentarian to fill the
position held by Joseph Pararajasingham MP who
was slain in Batticaloa on Christmas eve.
Liberation Tigers Political Head S.P.
Thamilchelvan, in a letter to the Head of Sri Lanka
Monitoring Mission on 7 April 2006, expressed shock
over Trincomalee Tamil activist Vigneswaran's slaying
and said that the killing, in the context of what is
taking place on the ground, rendered Colombo's
pledges in Geneva on curbing paramilitary activities
"meaningless." Describing Vigneswaran's slaying as a
part of Sri Lankan military's "planned killings of
Tamil activists in a systematic manner,"
Thamilchelvan says that the GoSL and its law
enforcing authorities could no longer plead ignorance
of Tamil activists killings. The slaying of Tamil
activist, humanitarian worker and a democrat has put
the entire Tamil Nation into deep grief,
Thamilchelvan said in his letter to the Head of Sri
Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).
"Tamil human rights activist Mr. V. Vigneswaran's
assassination and those of 17 other Tamils in the
period from November 2005 to January 2006 clearly
shows that the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) will
never protect the human rights of the Tamils.
Therefore we ourselves have to strive to protect our
rights," said Rev. Fr. Kanagaratnam, Director
North East Human Rights Secretariat
(NEOSHR), paying homage to slain Mr. Vigneswaran
whose body was kept for viewing at the Cultural Hall
in Kilinochchi Monday, 10 April 2006
Leader of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai
Pirapaharan, bestowed the title Maamanithar
(Great Human being) on Mr.Vanniasingham Vigneswaran,
President of the Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples'
Forum (TDTPF).
"Steadfast and honest, he opposed the genocidal war by the successive
Sinhala governments which destroyed thousands of
Tamil lives and their property, plundered Tamils
possessions and resources, and was intent on
destroying Tamil National symbols. Vigeswaran
fought to free Tamils from this menace,"
Pirapaharan said in the statement conferring the
award.
English Translation of the statement issued by
the Leader of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai
Pirapaharan
"Tamil Nation has lost today a highly principled
man who worked relentlessly towards the freedom of
Tamil Nation. A flame of freedom that burnt
brightly in our Nation's capitol has been
extinguished. A strident voice that fought for the
unity and solidarity of the Tamil Nation has gone
silent. A Tamil activist who served as a backbone
to the rise of Tamil Nationalism has been killed by
the cowardice attack by the enemy. Vigneswaran's
loss has plunged our Nation into unspeakable
grief.
Vigneswaran is a shining light possessed with high
ideals. His exemplary qualities attracted everyone
towards him. Tamil people held him in high esteem
and loved him. His loss is irreplaceable.
Vigneswaran firmly believed that separate Tamil
Eelam is the final solution to the Tamil National
struggle. Steadfast and honest, he opposed the
genocidal war by successive Sinhala
governments which destroyed thousands of Tamil
lives and their property, plundered Tamils
possessions and resources, and was intent
destroying Tamil National symbols. Vigeswaran
fought to free Tamils from this menace. He embraced
fully the ideals and struggle advanced by our
movement towards freedom.
His life was closely entwined with Trincomalee soil
and lives of Tamil people. He deeply loved his
people. While living amidst Sri Lanka Army (SLA)
occupation, he raised his voice to the world that
the Trincomalee soil belonged to Tamil people. Even
while aware of danger to his life, he courageously
fought against injustice. As the President of the
Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples' Forum, he was
instrumental in strengthening Tamil National
Alliance (TNA) support in his district.
I am deeply honored to confer the Maamanithar
(Great Human being) award on Mr V Vigneswaran
recognizing his love for his people and their
freedom, and his unprecedented contributions to the
Tamil
struggle. Death never destroys great men who
lived to uphold truthful goals. They will forever
live in the psyche of the Tamil Nation."
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