Perinpanayagam Sivaparan

Perinpanayagam Sivaparan known by his nom de guerre Nediyawan is a prominent figure in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam that some have claimed is the new head^[1] of the organization, after the arrest of Selvarasa Pathmanathan.^[2]

Personal life

Sivaparan was born in the late 1970s during a time of heightened communal tensions in Sri Lanka, with Junius Richard Jayawardene at the helm of the nation. He joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam at age 18, and quickly moved into Velupillai Prabhakaran's close circles. He was sent to Russia for higher education, but did not receive a degree.^[3]

Through his wife Shivagowri Shanthamohan, he is related distantly to the former head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Prabhakaran. His wife's uncle, Ranjanlal Gnanendramohan was one of the founding members of the LTTE and was a confidante of Prabhakaran, enabling him to gain even quicker access into the LTTE inner circle.^[2]

Violence

Sivaparan, earned the nickname Nediyawan (meaning "Tall man") during his work in promoting the LTTE among the Tamil diaspora. He illegally imprisoned a board member of a London Hindu temple over a dispute in funds. His gangs also assaulted a well-known Sri Lankan political commentator and Journalist Nadarajah Sethurupan and former LTTE supporters in Scandinavia. He is known to have connections with a number of Tamil gangs operation in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.^[2]

Dealings

Nediyawan runs the Tamil Coordnating Committee office in Norway, which handles millions of Norwegian krone stolen from diaspora Tamils, and procured from legitimate and black market businesses. He later took control of a majority of the LTTE's overseas dealings and institutions.^[3] This was done after he was appointed chief of the Diaspora Affairs of the Organization.^[4]

Nediyawan was also responsible for the incarceration of Rajasingham Jayadevan in the LTTE Vanni in January 2005. According R Jayadevan Nediyavan has said, 'he is not worried about the UK terrorism law. Once the LTTE takes control of all the Tamil organisations, the very Terrorism Act will become meaningless'. Jayadevan was incarcerated with his friend A K Vivekananthan and he was released after 62 days following intervention by the British government.

Feud with KP

As Nediyawan amassed his money and influence through the black market deals, he came into conflict with KP (Kumaran Pathmanathan), the LTTE's main arms dealer. As the Tigers began losing the Sri Lankan civil war, Nediyavan's boss, Castro, consolidated all the LTTE's diaspora management under Nediyawan.^[5]

After the death of Prabhakaran, Nediyawan refused to admit to his death, thereby undercutting the power of Pathmanathan. Pathmanathan was also defamed on a number of Tamil websites, which were generally controlled by Nediyawan. Nediyawan also publicly opposed the appointment of KP to succeed Prabhakaran.^[6][7][8] Nediyavan allegedly betrayed KP, leading to his arrest in mid 2009.^[9][10]

References

1. ^ In Sri Lanka, a victory’s worries Daily Pioneer - September 5, 2009
2. ^ ^{a b c} NEDIYAWAN RUMOURED TO BE THE NEXT LTTE LEADER IS QUESTIONED BY NORWEGIAN POLICE SAYS TAMIL WEBSITE IN LONDON LankaWeb - August 14, 2009
3. ^ ^{a b} LTTE CABAL OPPOSES “KP” AS LEADER OF RE-STRUCTURED TIGERS Sri Lanka Daily Mirror - July 25, 2009
4. ^ KP is Asia's biggest human rights violator Sri Lanka Daily Mirror - August 13, 2009
5. ^ Pro-Tiger diaspora in a post-Prabhakaran scenario David Jeyaraj - June 19, 2009
6. ^ KP-speak: What the captured LTTE leader revealed on the Web The Hindu - August 7, 2009
7. ^ “CONTROVERSIAL” ARREST OF NEW TIGER CHIEF KP Lanka Journal - August 9, 2009
8. ^ Infighting may have done KP in Times of India - August 8, 2009
9. ^ KP yes, but it’s the LTTE that is in the dock The Island - August 11, 2009
10. ^ New Tiger Chief “KP” arrested and brought to Sri Lanka David Jeyaraj - August 6, 2009

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Name	Nediyawan
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Date of birth	1976
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