Veerasingham Anandasangaree

Veerasingham Anandasangaree (born 1933), commonly known as V. Anandasangaree or Sangaree [D.B.S. Jeyaraj. [http://transcurrents.com/tc/2008/06/post_1.html "Last TULF Leader Standing: Sangaree at Seventy Five."] TransCurrents.com. 14 June 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2008.] is a highly respected Sri Lankan Tamil politician. He is the leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front.

Anandasangaree worked as a teacher and lawyer before taking to politics. He became the president of the TULF in 2002.

He was the only TULF Member of Parliament who refused to join the Tamil National Alliance, a coalition of Tamil parties allied with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), for the 2004 elections. He is an outspoken critic of the LTTE [http://www.tamilcanadian.com/page.php?cat=132&id=1712] and advocate of a federal solution to the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. His outspokeness and forthrightness in criticising the LTTE [http://www.srilankansabroad.com/news-events-hot-topics/27-no-doubt-ltte-behind-sri-lanka-bus-attack-anandasangaree.html] which is a rarely seen among Tamil politicians in Sri Lanka has earned him the respect of the Sri Lankan's [http://lankapage.wordpress.com/2006/03/12/veteran-tamil-leader-anandasangaree/] especially the sinhalese community and put his life in danger from the LTTE. He is viewed by many Sri Lankan citizens as a Tamil statesman who is genuinely interested in finding a lasting solution to the civil war that has devastated the country.

In 2006 Anandasangaree was named as the winner of the 2006 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence. The UNESCO statement said ‘As an indefatigable advocate of democracy and peaceful conflict resolution, he has contributed to raising awareness of the Tamil cause in a spirit of dialogue, while seeking to promote non-violent solutions to Sri Lanka and opposing terrorism’. [http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/14/stories/2006091408891200.htm]

Notes

References

*"The Hindu" (2005/02/25), [http://www.hinduonnet.com/2005/02/25/stories/2005022506371200.htm Only a federal solution in Sri Lanka: Anandasangaree] (interview)
*"The Hindu" (2007/09/13), [http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/13/stories/2007091359551400.htm Anandasangaree for a political solution within united Sri Lanka]

External links

* [http://www.anandasangary.com/ Veerasingham Anandasangaree website]
* [http://www.tulf.org/ltte.shtml Open letter from Anandasangaree to LTTE leader Prabhakaran]