Army executed some LTTE cadres who surrendered – SB

Rebel UPFA MP S.B. Dissanayake has reiterated that the army executed some LTTE personnel including one-time LTTE Eastern Commander Thambiraja Thurairajasingham aka Ramesh after they surrendered to the advancing troops.

The declaration was made in response to a media query at the residence of former Deputy Speaker and National List MP Tilanga Sumathipala last week. Although, MP Dilan Perera tried to intervene on several occasions, Dissanayake, a Cabinet member of the previous Rajapaksa administration said that the media, too, were aware of some of those executed after they had surrendered though they remained silent. "Both you and we don’t talk about those who had been executed," the National List MP said.

Dissanayake and Perera are members of 15 member rebel group that quit the government after having voted for a No faith motion moved by the Joint Opposition in April 2018 against Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe over treasury bond scams perpetrated in 2015 and 2016. Dissanayake revealed that he knew Ramesh and received a telephone call from him about ten minutes before he surrendered to the Army on the Vanni east front.

The unexpected statement was made close on the heels of President Maithripala Sirisena revealing move to take up accountability issue at the forthcoming UNGA in New York. Dissanayake said that the Army may have killed some surrendered persons but Prabhakaran killed more than hundred times than that. Towards the end of the conflict, Prabhakaran behaved in a very brutal manner towards his own people. Ramesh, who served him after Karuna switched sides was subsequently detained by Prabhakaran and was about to be shot by the LTTE when he escaped and surrendered to the Army.