Top LTTE operative Parithi killed
Nadarajah Mathithiran alias Parithi alias Reegan was killed on 09 November 2012 as a result of rivalry among LTTE/pro LTTE Tamil youth groups in Europe,that had been existing since the military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009 . Parithi was identified as a key terrorist activist in France who was engaged in many antisocial and criminal activities in Europe.
Parithi joined the LTTE in 1980.After basic military training he served under Mannar leader Victor in the Mannar district and subsequently was appointed as a deputy leader for JAFFNA Island. He moved to India for treatment after being wounded in an IPKF attack in the 1989/1990 period. After treatment he was sent to France by the LTTE leadership. Subsequently in 2003, he was promoted to be in charge of France for the LTTE organization and later on he joined the Coordinating committee of Tamils in France (CCTF) which is an umbrella organization of LTTE that meant to promote LTTE operations in the West,perticularly propeganda and fundraising.
Arrest by the French authorities in April 2007
In April 2007, French police raided the TCC office and other establishments run by the LTTE in Paris and arrested 19 LTTE suspects .Parithi was the key activist among this arrested group. Nadarajah Mathithiran alias Parithi was sentenced to 7 years in prison while 14 other top LTTErs also received prison sentences. The charges against the defendants included intimidation, extortion, collection of ransom under duress and threat, money laundering and funding a terrorist organization.
Initially nineteen persons were arraigned on multiple charges including “extorsion, violences physiques et sequestration contre des Tamouls installes en France” (Extortion, physical violence and illegal confinement against Tamils settled in France). They were also charged with “financing terrorism” and for “criminal association with a terrorist enterprise”. The LTTE was cited as the terrorist organization concerned.Although nineteen persons were produced in court four of them were released unconditionally.
It was came to light that families were asked to pay up 2000 Euros each and Businesses 6000 Euros each on a regular basis each year. It is estimated that 6 million Euros were collected every year.In addition there were several Special collections where massive amounts were collected on a one – time basis. Each special collection was said to yield around 20 million Euros at a time. In recent times the LTTE had enlisted criminal elements to collect money on a commission basis. 20 % of the money collected was paid out as commission to the collectors.
Parathi was able to get released from jail and continued his earlier activities, once more as the key representative of CCTF in France under TCC. With the end of the conflict, the confrontations between the factions (mainly between Nediyawan(TCC) faction and Rudrakumar factions) grew to a high level.To become the sole representative of Tamils was the aim of both factions on 07 August 2010 there was a clash between the these factions at a Kovil festival in OSLO and several cadres were arrested by the authorities. Commemoration of Martyr’s week and fundraising were the two main reasons for clashes between the these groups.
Last year Parithi was stabbed by an unknown group and it was suspected that the clashes had occurred as a result of the rivalries between these two groups. On 30th October 2011 Parithi and two of his aides came out of the TCC office in Paris and were heading out to their parked vehicle when a gang of six surrounded them. Three of them were wearing balaclava and exposing only the eyes ,mouth and parts of the face.They had weapons and begun using them where as the other three simply watched.Parithi has identified two of them as former members of the LTTE in Paris.
It is evident, then, that there has been continuous antagonism between pro-LTTE factions in Paris and that there has been no love lost between Parithi and the others. This antagonism led to the stabbing of Parithi. Reports indicate that the main reason was the dispute over Hero’s day celebration in Paris where both the Rudrakumaran faction and the Nediyawan faction opposed the organization of a common event.It is also reported that all attempts made by GTF which work closely with TGTE(Rudrakumar faction) to get Nediyawan faction to hold a common event with TGTE to commemorate the Hero’s day programme in Paris were failed.This is a clear example of how LTTE/pro LTTE elements in Europe continue to operate in Europian soil thus becoming a potential threat not only to Sri Lanka but also to the world at large.
(Courtesy Defence Ministry)
