Ananthi Sasitharan

Ananthi Sasitharan (Tamil: அனந்தி சசிதரன், romanized: Aṉanti Cacitaraṉ; born 10 September 1971 ) is a Sri Lankan Tamil activist, politician and provincial minister. She is the wife of Velayutham Sasitharan (alias Elilan), the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's political head for Trincomalee.[1][2]

Honourable

Ananthi Sasitharan

MPC
அனந்தி சசிதரன்
Minister of Women's Affairs, Rehabilitation, Social Service, Co-operatives, Food Supply and Distribution, Industries and Enterprise Promotion and Trade and Commerce, Northern Province[lower-alpha 1]
Assumed office
29 June 2017
Preceded byC. V. Vigneswaran
Member of the Northern Provincial Council for Jaffna District
Assumed office
11 October 2013
Personal details
Born (1971-09-10) 10 September 1971
Political partyIllankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi
Other political
affiliations		Tamil National Alliance
OccupationManagement Assistant
EthnicitySri Lankan Tamil

Early life and family

Ananthi was born on 10 September 1971.[3][4] Her parents were from Kankesanthurai and Chulipuram in northern Ceylon.[3][4] Ananthi's sister Vasanthi was a member of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front and was killed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1989.[3][4] Her younger brother went missing whilst fighting for the LTTE.[3][4]

Ananthi was educated at Victoria College, Chulipuram.[3][4] Whilst at school she met Velayutham Sasitharan (alias Elilan) who was active in the political wing of the rebel LTTE.[3][4] Ananthi fell in love with Elilan but Elilan told her to concentrate on her studies.[3][4]

Life with the LTTE

After school Ananthi studied accountancy but gave this up in 1992 after getting a job at the Jaffna District Secretariat.[3][4] She worked for Valikamam West Divisional Secretariat between 1993 and 1996.[3][4] After the Sri Lankan military re-captured the Valikamam region in 1996 Elilan and the LTTE re-located to the Vanni.[4] Ananthi followed them and worked as a clerk for the Mullaitivu District Secretariat between 1997 and 2003.[3][4] She worked as a management assistant at Kilinochchi District Secretariat from 2003 to 2013.[3]

Ananthi and Elilan were eventually married, on 6 June 1998 at Mulliyawalai.[3][4] Elilan rose up the ranks with the LTTE and was appointed political head for Vavuniya District.[3] After the 2002 Norwegian mediated peace he was appointed political head for Trincomalee District.[3] After the Sri Lankan military re-captured the Eastern Province Elilan re-located to the Vanni and worked at the Kilinochchi District Secretariat alongside his wife.[3]

The Sasitharan family were amongst 300,000+ people from the Vanni who fled as the Sri Lankan military advanced in late 2008/early 2009.[3] According to Ananthi the family, along with senior LTTE leaders, surrendered to the Sri Lankan military on 18 May 2009 at Vattavaagal.[3][5] Elilan disappeared after surrendering to the Sri Lankan military.[6][5]

Ananthi and her three daughters ended up in the IDP camps before she resumed her work as an Management Assistant in the Samurdhi Department of the Kilinochchi District Secretariat.[3] Her children were sent to live with her family in Chulipuram.[3]

Activist life

Ananthi, who believes that her husband Elilan is in the custody of the Sri Lankan government, has been campaigning to find him and get him released.[7][8] She has also campaigned on behalf of families of others who disappeared during the civil war and war widows.[9][10] She has met with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp during their visits to Sri Lanka.[10][11]

Ananthi contested the 2013 provincial council election as one of the Tamil National Alliance's candidates in Jaffna District and was elected to the Northern Provincial Council.[12][13] During the election campaign she was the target of several attacks. On 20 September 2013 a vehicle carrying Ananthi was attacked by men on a motorbike near Chunnakam.[14][15] On 20 September 2013 a group of around 70 armed men in military uniform attacked Sasitharan's home in Chulipuram, injuring some of her supporters and an election monitor.[16][17][18] On 21 September 2013, the day of the election, a fake edition of the pro-TNA newspaper Uthayan appeared, falsely claiming that Ananthi had defected to the governing United People's Freedom Alliance.[19][20][21] This false story was repeated in pro-UPFA Dan TV and Asian Tribune website.[19][22]

After the election Ananthi was appointed to assist the Chief Minister on the rehabilitation of war victims.[23] She took her oath as provincial councillor in front of Chief Minister C. V. Vigneswaran at Veerasingam Hall on 11 October 2013.[24][25]

After being elected Ananthi has taken her campaign abroad to Denmark, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and the USA.[4] In January 2014 the nationalist Island newspaper reported that the Sri Lankan military was considering sending Ananthi for "rehabilitation", a move that Ananthi has stated she would defy.[26][27][28]

Ananthi was sworn in as Minister of Women's Affairs, Rehabilitation, Social Services, Co-operatives, Food Supply and Distribution, Industries and Enterprise Promotion in front of Governor Reginald Cooray on 29 June 2017.[29][30][31] She was given the additional portfolio of Trade and Commerce on 23 August 2017.[32]

Notes
  1. Minister of Women's Affairs, Rehabilitation, Social Services, Co-operatives, Food Supply and Distribution, Industries and Enterprise Promotion (June 2017 - August 2017)
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References
  1. "UN's Navi Pillay visits Sri Lanka former war zone". BBC News. London, U.K. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  2. "Ananthi to brief Pillay about the disappeared". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  3. Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (18 January 2014). "the Vibrant Wife of Senior Tiger Leader Ezhilan". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  4. Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (1 July 2017). "Ananthy: First NPC woman Minister". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  5. "Relatives of Sri Lanka's Missing Vent Grievances at UN". Voice of America. Reuters. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  6. Haviland, Charles (20 September 2013). "Sri Lanka's Tamil community finally get provincial council vote". The Independent. London, U.K. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  7. Natarajan, Swaminathan (24 September 2010). "Tamil Tiger's wife pleads for help in finding him". BBC News. London, U.K. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  8. Wijedasa, Namini (1 September 2013). "Navi Pillay confronted with 'missing' stories, demos on 7-day visit". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  9. Bastians, Dharisha (30 September 2013). "TNA names councillors for bonus seats". Daily FT. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  10. Palakidnar, Ananth (28 August 2013). "Pillay meets families of the disappeared". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  11. "Stephen Rapp was briefed on structural genocide at Bishop's House in Jaffna". TamilNet. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  12. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PROVINCIAL COUNCILS ELECTIONS ACT, No. 2 OF 1988 Northern Province Provincial Council" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 1829/33. 25 September 2013.
  13. "PROVINCIAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS 2013 – Results and preferential votes: Northern Province". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013.
  14. "TNA candidate Ananthi narrowly escapes attack in Jaffna". TamilNet. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  15. "TNA candidate attacked". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 12 September 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  16. "SL military attacks Ananthi's residence in Jaffna, 8 wounded". TamilNet. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  17. Aneez, Shihar (20 September 2013). "Sri Lankan polls monitor, party workers, attacked in north". Reuters. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  18. "Candidate's home attacked ahead of historic Sri Lanka poll". BBC News. London, U.K. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  19. "Uthayan faked, SL forces focus on targeting Ananthi on election day". TamilNet. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  20. "Sri Lanka holds historic vote in Tamil-majority north". BBC News. London, U.K. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  21. Mohan, Sulochana Ramiah (21 September 2013). "Fake Uthayan in Jaffna". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
  22. Rajasingham, K. T. (21 September 2013). "TNA candidate Ananthi joins the ruling party: ITAK ignores the elections – Uthayan Special Edition". Asian Tribune. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  23. "Division of Ministries of the Northern Provincial Council & Subjects for Councillors" (PDF). TamilNet. 11 October 2013.
  24. "NPC members take oath in Jaffna after honouring fallen Tamil Heroes". TamilNet. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  25. "Northern Provincial Council TNA members take oaths". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 11 October 2013. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013.
  26. Ferdinando, Shamindra (15 January 2014). "MOD ponders rehabilitating NPC member Ananthi". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  27. "Colombo targets NPC member Ananthi for witnessing against Sri Lanka". TamilNet. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  28. Mohan, Sulochana Ramiah (18 January 2014). "If I need to be rehabilitated so should all the Tamils – Sasitharan". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  29. Madushanka, Romesh (29 June 2017). "Two ministers appointed to NPC". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  30. "Two new Northern Provincial Council Ministers". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  31. "PART IV (A) - PROVINCIAL COUNCILS Appointments & C., by the Governors NORTHERN PROVINCE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL Appointments made by the Governor of Northern Province" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 2029/17. 25 July 2017.
  32. "PART IV (A) - PROVINCIAL COUNCILS Appointments & C., by the Governors NORTHERN PROVINCE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL Appointments made by the Governor of Northern Province" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 2033/48. 24 August 2017.
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