Kethesh Loganathan

Kethesh Loganathan (full name Ketheeswaran Loganathan, 1952–August 12, 2006) was a Sri Lankan Tamil political activist, a Human Rights advocate and deputy secretary general of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP). He was among the fiercest critics of the ethnic separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and the LTTE are widely blamed for his death. The group has neither accepted nor rejected the blame for his assassination. [http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/world/asia/26lanka.html?fta=y]

Biography

Loganathan was born in Colombo,though the Loganathan's family originally from Puloly-Vadamarachchi in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. His father was prominent banker Chelliah Loganathan, the former General Manager of Bank of Ceylon. He studied at St. Thomas’s College Mt. Lavinia and Loyola College, Madras before proceeding to Georgetown University and later the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands. He got a sociology masters in development studies. [Sinthanai. "Address of Devanesan Nesiah." 2007. September 26, 2007. [http://sinthanai.org/aug_nesaiha.html] ]

Political career

After completing his education, Loganathan returned to Sri Lanka and worked as a social science researcher and with Marga Institute in Jaffna. With the outbreak of the Sri Lankan civil war in 1983, he joined the EPRLF, a Tamil militant group that eventually became a rival to the LTTE. Loganathan's role was essentially academic and political, rather than military, and he left the group in 1994. He continued to work as an author and journalist. He, along with his good friend Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu had helped form an independent think tank named the Center for Policy Alternatives and served on its board of directors till March, 2006.

Human Rights advocacy

Loganathan was increasingly critical of the LTTE on human rights grounds; he particularly criticized the rebels for their use of child soldiers and intolerance of political dissent. In March 2006, President Mahinda Rajapaksa offered Loganathan the post of deputy secretary general of the government's peace secretariat.

The assassination

Loganathan was assassinated by a single man who called himself "Cid," according to his family members. [http://www.tamilcanadian.com/page.php?cat=131&id=4352] . [http://www.hinduonnet.com/2006/08/17/stories/2006081706820800.htm] [http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/world/asia/26lanka.html?fta=y] Human Rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch [http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/09/19/slanka14219.htm] , UTHR [http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/world/asia/26lanka.html?fta=y] and other Sri Lanka observers have held the LTTE responsible for this murder. [http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/1524]

Motive

The website Nitharsanam.com, which is connected with the LTTE, accused Ketheesh of being a traitor. Tamilnet and Nitharsanam announced his death before Kalubowila Hospital, where he was admitted after being shot, announced it. [http://www.uthr.org/Statements/Ketheeswaran%20Loganathan%20Killed.htm] [http://www.nitharsanam.com/?art=20106] Soon after his death many commentators on the Sri Lankan civil war, such as David Jeyaraj, Dayan Jayatillake and Rajan Hoole, concluded that Mr. K. Loganathan was killed by the LTTE [http://transcurrents.com/tamiliana/archives/186] . However, such a connection is denied by Nitharsanam.com [http://www.nitharsanam.com/?page=xinfo] .

ee also

*State terrorism in Sri Lanka
*Sri Lankan civil war
*Notable assassinations of the Sri Lankan Civil War

References

* [http://transcurrents.com/tamiliana/archives/186 Ketheesh: Champion of Tamil Rights in United Lanka]
* [http://theacademic.org/feature/155502718056651/index.shtml The killing of Kethesh Loganathan]
* [http://www.uthr.org/Statements/Ketheeswaran%20Loganathan%20Killed.htm A tribute by Rajan Hoole]
* [http://www.lines-magazine.org/Art_May06_Aug06/qadri.htm Honouring Ketheesh by Assoc. Prof Qadri Ismail]
* [http://www.lines-magazine.org/Art_May06_Aug06/sugu.htm A tribute in Tamil by Sritharan]
* [http://www.peaceinsrilanka.org/peace2005/Insidepage/SCOPPDaily_Report/SCOPP_report160807.asp Kethesh Remembered]