All the persons who witnessed before the Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) in Ariyaalai and Neerveali in Jaffna Thursday accused Sri Lanka Amy (SLA) Intelligence Unit and soldiers for taking away their family members who had disappeared without trace after arrest, sources in Jaffna said. Hundreds of mothers, fathers and wives of the disappeared persons witnessed before the LLRC in Neerveali where the session continued even after midnight Thursday. The wife of Rangasamy Mahintharaj alias Reka who is said to be the former head of the Medical Wing of the LTTE too witnessed before the Committee in Neerveali, the sources added. Many witnessed directly while others submitted statements and appeals to the LLRC which is to continue sittings Friday and Saturday in Jaffna peninsula.
Mahintharaj Thulasika, the wife of Rangasamy Mahintharaj alias Reka, the mother of two children said that her husband had surrendered to the SLA at Vadduvaakal in Mullaiththeevu and taken away from her. Later SLA soldiers at Oamanthai had shown him to her and announced over loud speaker that the Head of the Medical Wing of Liberation Tigers have surrendered to them and that others too should surrender themselves.
Thulasika said that she had not had any information about her husband since his arrest and appealed to the Committee to take legal action on him if he had committed any crime.
In Ariyaalai, Seevaratnam Sathiyathevi, the mother of Seevaratnam Ranjan told LLRC that her son was taken away by SLA soldiers from home on 07.01.2007 at 8:45 p.m. She added that someone had seen him 5 months ago in Oorezhu SLA camp and that she was certain that his son was alive. She wants only the release of her son and not any compensation, she told LLRC. She cannot reveal the information about her son, she added.
Nagalingam Sathiyaseelan who lives in front of Jaffna University witnessing before LLRC said that his son, Rajivan, an engineer of Jaffna Technical was abducted on 21.08.2006 by a group of 15 SLA Intelligence wing men in uniform led by Officer Shiyal whom he can identify even today. His was abducted a week after his marriage, Sathiyaseelan said.
The wife of Rajivan is an employee of UNHCR and their efforts to trace Rajivan have failed, Sathiyaseelan said.
Tharmartnam Puvaneswary told LLRC that her son Tharmaratnam Sivasooriyan had gone missing after entering the SLA Civil Administration office in Jaffna town where he had gone to obtain pass to travel to Colombo had not come out.
She and Sivasooriyan’s wife who were waiting outside the office had not seen Sivasooriyan coming out of the office. The SLA civil authorities had told that Sivasooriyan had left when they asked them as to where he was, Puvaneswary told LLRC.
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