Nediyavan
Perinpanayagam Sivaparan (Tamil: பேரின்பநாயகம் சிவபரன், romanized: Pēriṉpanāyakam Civaparaṉ; born 28 August 1976; commonly known by the nom de guerre Nediyavan) is a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and leading member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka.
Nediyavan | |
---|---|
நெடியவன் | |
Born | P. Sivaparan 28 August 1976 Vaddukoddai, Sri Lanka |
Other names | Nedi, November India |
Years active | 1994– |
Organization | Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam |
Early life and family
Sivaparan was born on 28 August 1976 in Vaddukoddai in northern Sri Lanka[1][2] His family were from Sangarathai near Vaddukoddai.[3][4] He was educated at Jaffna Hindu College.[2]
Sivaparan married to Sivagowry Shanthamohan (Gowry), niece of Captain Ranjan Lala, on 30 October 2005.[2][3]
Career
Sivaparan joined the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1994 aged 18.[2][3] Sivaparan, who was 6 feet tall, was given the nom de guerre "Nediyavan" (tall man).[2][3] After initial training Nediyavan studied at Kittu's police college.[2] He was sent by the LTTE to Russia to study political science but did not complete the course.[2][3]
Nediyavan then joined the LTTE's political wing under S. P. Thamilselvan and took part in various Norwegian mediated peace talks with the Sri Lankan government.[2][3][5] Nediyavan later worked at the LTTE's International Co-coordinating Centre (ICC) headed by Castro (Veerakulasingam Manivannan).[2][3] He was entrusted with managing LTTE's finances and front organisations abroad.[2]
Nediyavan was sent to Norway in 2006 to co-ordinate the LTTE's activities abroad.[3][4] When war resumed between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan military in 2006 Castro appointed Nediyavan to be in charge of the LTTE's international branches.[3][4] In early 2009, as the war escalated, Nediyavan's predecessor KP re-established control over the LTTE's international branches, a move resented by Castro.[3][4] KP took over the leadership of the remnants of the LTTE after it was militarily defeated in May 2009 and its leader V. Prabhakaran killed.[3][4] Castro, Nediyavan and their supporters opposed KP's leadership.[3][4] Nediyavan is believed to have taken over the leadership of the LTTE following the arrest of KP in August 2009 though his wife Gowry as denied this.[6][7][8] Former Sri Lankan diplomat K. Godage has alleged that KP's arrest was the result of betrayal by Nediyavan.[9]
Nediyavan worked in a nursery school in Norway.[6] He was head of the Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC) in Norway.[7] He was questioned by the Norwegian police in August 2009 for unspecified reasons.[7]
Nediyavan was arrested by Norwegian police on 18 May 2011 in connection with financing LTTE activities in the Netherlands.[6][10][11] After being interrogated for two days by a Dutch judge and five state attorneys he was later released on bail.[12][13] The police warned Nediyavan not to engage in or promote violence whilst living on Norway.[3] Nediyavan left Oslo and moved to a place 240 km away.[3]
Nediyavan was amongst 424 individuals designated as terrorists by the Sri Lankan government in February 2014.[14] In April 2014 the Sri Lankan police issued international arrest warrants (Interpol red notice) for 40 LTTE members including Nediyavan.[12][15]
References
- "SIWAPARAN, PERINBANAYAGAM". Interpol.
- Nathaniel, Camelia (13 April 2014). "Nediyavan: On A Mission For LTTE". The Sunday Leader.
- Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (4 February 2017). "Will Norway handover diaspora Tiger leader "Nediyavan" to Sri Lanka?". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
- Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (4 April 2014). "Nediyavan, Vinayagam, Rudra and Fr. Emmanuel Described by Govt. as formidable foes from the Global Tamil Diaspora". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
- Ferdinando, Shamindra (8 March 2010). "LTTE fund raising in Germany led by cadre trained in Vanni He visited Lanka during CFA, accompanied LTTE 'peace' delegation to Thailand". The Island (Sri Lanka).
- Sethurupan, N. (20 May 2011). "New LTTE Leader Nediyavan arrested in Norway and held in custody". Sri Lanka Guardian.
- Jayawardhana, Walter (16 August 2009). "New LTTE leader is questioned by Norwegian Police". The Nation (Sri Lanka).
- "Nediyavan not be new LTTE leader : Nediyavan wife". CNN iReport. 16 August 2009.
- Godage, K. (11 August 2009). "KP yes, but it's the LTTE that is in the dock" (PDF). The Island (Sri Lanka).
- "Nediyawan arrested in Oslo". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 20 May 2011.
- Bell, Stewart (6 June 2011). "Police discover Sun Sea's link to Norway". National Post.
- "Red notice on Nediyavan: Norway still evaluating the request". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 25 April 2014.
- Kamalendran, Chris (19 June 2011). "Dutch officials question KP and 12 others". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
- "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications THE UNITED NATIONS ACT. No. 45 OF 1968 List of Designated persons, groups & entities under paragraph 4(2) of the United Nations Regulations No. 1 of 20" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1854/41: 33. 21 March 2014.
- "Nediyawan'sRed Notice Goes Online". The Sunday Leader. 27 April 2014.