Former LTTE spokesman Ilanthirayan’s wife bears witness before LLRC

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 October 2010, 06:13 GMT]
“I have not seen my husband after Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers took him away saying that he was to be given medical treatment and I do not know what had happened to him,” Vanitha Ilanthirayan, the wife of former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) spokesman Ilanthirayan (Rasiah Sivaroopan), said bearing witness before the Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) Saturday in Batticaloa District Government Secretariat. Meanwhile, Bobby, the wife of former LTTE Commander of Batticaloa district Piraba (Krishnapillai Pirabakaran), told the LLRC that she has no information of her husband who was taken away by SLA soldiers when they came along with the people to the SLA controlled Vadduvaakal area in Mullaiththeevu district when the war ended, sources in Baticaloa said.

Vanitha Ilanthirayan, the mother of three children, told LLRC that SLA soldiers took her husband away for treatment on 17th May 2009 and so far she has had no information about him. She said that two men identifying themselves as Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers had come to her when she was detained in a camp and had said that they will take her to her husband who was under medical treatment. She had refused to go with them, Vanitha told LLRC.

Bobby, the wife of Piraba told LLRC that her husband had been taken away by SLA soldiers on 17th May 2009 in the presence of the public in Vadduvaakal in Mullaiththeevu district in Vanni where they had come with their children to SLA controlled area.

LLCR registered the complaints of more than 1500 persons Saturday in Batticaloa District Secretariat.

Most of the persons who appeared before LLRC requested it to find information about their spouses and children who had gone missing after arrest or surrender to SLA at the end of the war.

LLRC will continue its sittings Sunday in Oaddamaavadi Divisional Secretariat and Monday in Ea’raavoor Pattu Chengkaladi Divisional Secretariat.

Batticaloa district Government Agent, former parliamentarians, key government officials, religious priests and NGO representatives took part in the sitting of the six-member LLRC appointed by Sri Lanka president.