Joseph Pararajasingham

Joseph Pararajasingham (November 27 1934-December 25, 2005) was a Sri Lankan Member of Parliament and a poet who was known for his pro-Tamil Tiger views and advocacy of human rights. Pararajasingham was a founding member of the NorthEast Human Rights Secretariat NESHOR. Pararajasingham became a member of the Sri Lankan Parliament in 1990 and joined the Tamil National Alliance, a pro-rebel party. UTHR and Inter-Parliamentary Union have both claimed that he was assassinated by TMVP.

Assassination

He was assassinated in 2005 while attending a Christmas midnight mass at St Mary's church in Batticaloa, some 190 miles east of the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo. Gunmen opened fire on Pararajasingham just after he received communion, killing him and injuring eight others, including his wife.

It is unclear who assassinated Mr. Pararajasingham, and the assassination is one of the 15 cases to be investigsated by the Commission of Inquiry into alleged serious human rights abuses warranted by President Rajapakse in September 2006, and whose investigations will be observed by an International Independent Groups of Eminent Persons (IIGEP).

The Government provided details of the case to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, stating that only Mrs Pararajasingham and his personal security officer (who the Batticalao police provided) knew of his decision to attend the Christmas Eve Mass, and this was only revealed when they arrived in Batticalao that morning. [cite paper |author=Inter-Parliamentary Union |title=CASE No. SRI/49 - JOSEPH PARARAJASINGHAM |publisher=Inter-Parliamentary Union |date=2006-10-18 |url=http://www.ipu.org/hr-e/179/Sri49.htm |accessdate=2007-05-10]

They also stated that St Mary's Church is located in a High Security Zone, between 2 military checkpoints and that the church was reportedly "surrounded" by military personnel, concluding that the culprits could only have escaped with the complicity of the security forces. [cite paper |author=Inter-Parliamentary Union |title=CASE No. SRI/49 - JOSEPH PARARAJASINGHAM |publisher=Inter-Parliamentary Union |date=2006-10-18 |url=http://www.ipu.org/hr-e/179/Sri49.htm |accessdate=2007-05-10]

They also noted that Mr Pararajasingham's family gave the name of 3 suspects, yet no action has been taken against them. [http://www.ipu.org/hr-e/179/Sri49.htmIt was also reported, that it was "public knowledge" that a member of the Karuna Group TMVP, was one of the assassins, yet no action has been taken. [cite paper |author=Inter-Parliamentary Union |title=CASE No. SRI/49 - JOSEPH PARARAJASINGHAM |publisher=Inter-Parliamentary Union |date=2006-10-18 |url=http://www.ipu.org/hr-e/179/Sri49.htm |accessdate=2007-05-10]

Further UTHR ,a local human rights organization, claimed the pro governmentTMVP and EPDP cadres were the assailants. cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Wider Significance of the Incidents in Pesalaiand the University of Jaffna | date= | publisher=UTHR| url =http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/spreport23suppl.htm | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-12-06 | language = ]

References

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4558560.stm Gunmen kill Sri Lankan politician]
* [http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2005/9/3423.html Joseph :Mahinda beating war drums]
* [http://www.tamilinfoservice.com/exclusive/art/2005/dec5.htm: Joseph was warned and homage]
* [http://www.nesohr.org: NorthEast Human Rights Secretariat]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2006/05/060519_eu_ltte.shtml EU 'actively considering' Tiger ban, BBC]