Pararajasingham slaying has endangered direct talks - TNA MPs

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 December 2005, 16:33 GMT]
Addressing the mourners who had gathered to pay the last tribute to the slain Tamil National Alliance MP, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, TNA parliamentarians Mavai Senathirajah and M.K. Sivajilingam said that the Government of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan President, in his capacity as Defense Minister, are responsible for the continued engagement of paramilitary cadres and for the killing of the MP. "The whole affair of resuming the peace process has been placed at maximum risk by the brutal act," Mr. Sivajilngam told the gathering.

During the last ten years of Pararajasingham's life in his 40 years of public career, he was directly threatened several times by the enemy, but despite the continued threats, his commitment to the Tamil cause remained strengthened, Mr. Sivajilingam added.

Mavai Senathirajah giving a walk-through of the lenghty political career of Mr. Pararajasingham, which began with "Thanthai" S.J.V.Chelvanayakam, said the loss of Pararajasingham was irreplaceable

The funeral of the slain senior Tamil politician was held in Batticaloa Thursday evening.

The body of the TNA MP was taken from his house at 4:25 p.m. at Lady Manning Drive to the family's burial grounds at Alayadicholai for burial at 5:00 p.m.

United National Party parliamentarians Mr. Gamini Jayawickrama Perera and Dr. Jayalath Jayawardene, Democratic Left Front Secretary Vasudeva Nanayakara, who is aligned with SL President Mahinda Rajapakse, were among the Sinhalese politicians who attended the funeral services. Tamil National Alliance MPs, Tamil academics, activists and religious leaders attended the funeral.

Mrs. Sugunam Pararajasingham, who was severely wounded when she tried to save her husband from the guns of the killers, was informed about her husband's demise early morning Thursday, medical sources said. She attended the funeral with saline injection.

The body of Pararajasingham, taken to Vavuniya and Kilinochchi on Tuesday, reached Batticaloa Thursday early morning at 1:15 a.m.

Tamil National Alliance MPs Suresh Premachandran, M.K. Sivajilingam, Mavai Senathirajah, K. Thurairatnasingham, P.Kanagasabai and several others including the Ceylon Workers United Front (CWUF) representatives S. Sathasivam and D. V. Sennan took part in the funeral.

UNP parliamentarian Gamini Jayawickrama read out the message of tribute from UNP leader Ranil Wickramasinghe. UNP Deputy Karu Jeyasuriya's message was read out by Dr. Jayalath Jeyawardene.

Religious funeral services, scheduled to be held at the church where the MP was slain, were held at home for security reasons, sources added.

As Batticaloa mourned the death of Pararajasingham, shops and public places remained closed. Sri Lanka government beefed up security in Batticaloa.