Pillayan’s arrest:

Douglas feels vindicated

By Ranil Wijayapala

A truth seeking process is a necessity to rectify the mistakes of the past and to apprehend those responsible for some of the most reprehensible acts including political murders, Jaffna District MP and Leader of the Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party (EPDP), Douglas Devananda said.

He told the Sunday Observer that a truth seeking process would reveal those responsible for carrying out targeted killings during the long years of the country’s violent conflict. “There were attempts to sling mud at the EPDP, after fingers were pointed at the party for the murders of Tamil politicians in the past. But now, with the ongoing investigations truth will be revealed for the people to know the real perpetrators of those crimes,” he said.

The TNA has regularly pointed fingers at the EPDP over the murders of Parliamentarians Joseph Pararajasingham and Nadaraja Raviraj, he said, adding, “These allegations were part of a political conspiracy against the EPDP. Now, the truth has begun to surface. ”

He said it was not only the TNA but the former opposition too pointed an accusing finger at the party every time a VIP killing took place. “The EPDP has been accused of killing Major General Denzil Kobbekaduwa and a group of senior military officials in Velanai in Kayts. Except for the assassination of President Ranasinghe Premadasa, all other political murders were credited to my account,” he charged. The former minister pledged his support for a process that sought to establish the truth and identify perpetrators.