Kinniya Urban Council Tamil member assassinated

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 January 2007, 08:30 GMT]
The only Tamil member of the Urban Council of Kinniya, Thangarajah Ithayarajah, a Tamil National Alliance Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) member, was shot and killed Friday around 10:30 a.m. while he was on his way to Kinniya from his village, Alankerni. A friend of Mr. Ithayarajah was wounded. The assassins who shot and fled the area, came in a motorbike. The assasination comes three months after the assassination of the only Tamil TNA member of the Sinhala dominated Seruvila Pradeshaia Saba in the district. Meanwhile, 10 Tamil members who had won the Trincomalee Urban Council have received death threats, Thurairatnasingham MP said.

Mr. Ithayarajah, a father of two, was shot and killed by gunmen at Idiman, bordering the Tamil and Muslim area, when he parked his motorbike near a shop with his friend.

The gunmen had followed the two to the shop located at Idiman.

Tricomalee District Tamil parliamentarian, K. Thurairatnasingham, charged that the assassinations and death threats were part of a planned terror-campaign with a political agenda by the forces that seek to suppress the democratic representation of Tamils in Trincomalee district.

Kopalasundaram Pathmakalapan, 26, a pass out from the Eastern University, who was the only Tamil National Alliance (TNA) member of the nine member Seruvila Pradesiya Sabha was assassinated on October 30.

In the elections held at the end of March 2006, The TNA alliance party ITAK had won one seat each in Kinniya UC, Seruvila PS, Morawewa PS, Kantalai PS, and two in Thamplakamam PS, three in Kuchchaveli PS and four in Muttur PS in addition to capturing power in the Trincomalee UC with 10 seats, Trincomalee Town and Gravets PS with 6 seasts and Verugal PS, uncontested, with 7 seats.