Pirapaharan honours slain TNA MP
Leader of the Liberation Tigers, Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan Saturday posthumously honoured Mr. Ariyanayagam Chandra Nehru as Maamanithar, the highest honour granted by the LTTE. The citation signed by the LTTE leader was given to Mr. Nehru's widow and son at a special ceremony in Pavattah, in the interior of Sri Lanka's southeast coast. Nehru's body, draped in the LTTE flag was taken from Thirukkovil to the LTTE conference centre in Pavattah, in the Kannjikudichcha Aaru region which is controlled by the Tigers.
Commander of LTTE forces in Batticaloa-Amparai, Mr. Ram, presenting the Maamanithar citation to Mr. Chandra Nehru's widow and son |
| Mamanithar Ariyanayagam Chandra Nehru |
'Mr. Nehru has been declared a Maamanithar for the exceptional service he had rendered to the Thamil Eelam struggle and people", the citation said.
Senior LTTE leaders, Mr. V. Balakumar, Col. T. Ramesh, Mr. S. Karikalan and Ms. S. Thamilini spoke at the ceremony.
Later Mr. Nehru's body was taken to Thirukkovil for burial.
The citation was to be presented by the LTTE Political Head, Mr. S. P. Thamilchelvan. However, Mr. Thamilchelvan was unable to attend the ceremony as Colombo has declined to provide a helicopter from Kokkaddicholai to Paavattah, sources close to LTTE said.
The citation signed by the LTTE leader honouring Mr. A. Chandra Nehru as MaamanaitharChronology:
12.02.05 Pirapaharan honours slain TNA MP
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Nehru, a fearless Human Rights campaigner- NESOHR
Eulogizing Mr. A. Chandra Nehru, founder member of NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESOHR), as a champion of peoples rights and as one "who steered through the highly militarized and inhospitable environment that prevails in the NorthEast to defend and protect the Human Rights of those who were voiceless and helpless..," Rev Father Karunaratnam, Chairman of NESOHR, said in a press release issued Sunday that Nehru's tragic death "is an irreparable loss for NESOHR, the HR fraternity, both local and International, and the down trodden and helpless citizenry of the NorthEast."Full text of the press release follows:The Board of Governors of NESOHR met on the 13th of February 2005 to express their profound sadness and sense of loss of the sudden and tragic demise of Mr. A. Chandra Nehru, a founder member of NESOHR and former TNA Parliamentarian for the Amparai District. The meeting commenced with the observance of silence as a mark of respect and the flying of the NESOHR flag at half mast.
Mr. Chandra Nehru was a fearless and goal-oriented Human Rights (HR) advocate, activist, and campaigner who steered through the highly militarized and inhospitable environment that prevails in the NorthEast to defend and protect the Human Rights of those who were voiceless and helpless victims of both man-made and natural disasters that have been plaguing the region. It was his individual efforts, both as a private citizen and as a member of parliament that attracted him to other like minded HR activists, which led to the creation of NESOHR. True to his character and personality he stood alone in the face of daunting challenges to serve the needs of those who were denied and deprived of their rights and freedom, as enunciated in the UN Charter, International Conventions and Covenants relating to Humanitarian Laws and Human Rights. His contributions to his people in his electorate and region were numerous, invaluable and timely. It may be appropriate at this juncture to recall and place on record a few of these.
1. He actively engaged himself in the land-rights related issues concerning the victims of the Amparai District, which was an outcome of the peculiar dynamics that developed as a consequence of the protracted and violent ethnic conflict.
2. He was in the forefront to secure the release of PTA detainees, who for many years were languishing in prisons in Sri Lanka, without access to justice.
3. Although his period of tenure in Parliament was brief, he did bring to light and place on record in Parliament the HR violations that have taken place in the NorthEast for the benefit of local and international HR community to initiate the necessary corrective actions
4. He was a member of the NESOHR delegation that visited Geneva in October 2004 to engage and dialog with the International HR Institutions, to shed light on the status of the HR violations in the NorthEast and recommend possible recourse to justice and enjoyment of human rights and freedom. Some of the institutions that met Mr. Nehru as part of the NESOHR delegation included the UN High Commission for Human Rights, Amnesty International, International Commission of Jurists, Human Rights Watch, International Committee of the Red Cross and many other internationally renown Human Rights Activists such as Mr. Ian Martin, the former chairman of Amnesty International.
5. Finally, it is whilst returning to Batticaloa after immersing himself in the relief and rehabilitation endeavors aimed at serving the immediate and long term needs as well as the protection of human rights of the people affected by Tsunami of December 26th, 2004, that Mr. Nehru met with his violent death.
His sudden and tragic end is an irreparable loss for NESOHR, the HR fraternity, both local and International, and the down trodden and helpless citizenry of the NorthEast. It is our considered view that the void created by his untimely death will be extremely difficult to fill, if not impossible. May His Soul rest in Peace and find Eternal Bliss.
Chronology:
12.02.05 Pirapaharan honours slain TNA MP
- லெப்.கேணல் கௌசல்யன் & மாமனிதர் சந்திரநேரு உட்பட போராளிகளின் வீரவணக்க நாள்
- மாமனிதர் சந்திரநேரு-Mamanithar Ariyanayagam Chandra Nehru
- கௌசல்யன் வாழ்கிறான்: அவன் விழிப்பான். மரணித்தது மரணமே. கௌசல்யன் அல்ல.