Released Tamil political prisoner pays tribute to Senthuran, vows to stay the course

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 January 2016, 11:58 GMT]
36-year-old Tamil political prisoner Jeneepan Sivarasa, who was released after being ‘pardoned’ by SL President Maithiripala Sirisena, paid a visit to the family of 18-year-old Senthuran Rajeswaran, who sacrificed himself jumping in front of a speeding ‘Sri Lankan’ train on 26 November demanding the Sri Lankan President Maithiripala Sirisena to release all the Tamil political prisoners. In the meantime, Jeneepan's father 62-year-old Nagamuttu Sivarasa condemned the Colombo-based correspondents of international news agencies, who didn't see ‘news value’ in giving coverage to the struggle waged inside the prison by his son and others. “It was only because of the supreme sacrifice of Senthuran and the efforts of Tamil journalists operating from Jaffna, Jeneevan's case got focus,” Mr Nagamuttu told TamilNet.

Jeneevan maintains that he was falsely accused of plotting assassination against Maithiripala Sirisena. There were two cases against him, one in Jaffna and another in Polonnaruwa.

The case in Jaffna was dismissed earlier this week after the grave failure of the Sri Lankan legal system to dismiss his case was questioned in media operated by Eezham Tamils.

The case in Polonnaruwa was dismissed reportedly at the request of SL President Maithiripala Sirisena, who was seeking media publicity through the act. The released prisoner Jeneevan thanked the SL President for releasing him.

However, the continued fight for the release of all Tamil political prisoners was a principled one and should not be allowed to be sidelined through isolated PR stunts of the Colombo regime, the released Tamil prisoner Jeneevan said after paying tribute to Senthuran Rajeswaran on Saturday. His visit to the family of the late Senthruan coincided with the occasion of rites observed on the 45th day for his unnatural death.



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