Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam on Thursday accused the infamous Tripoli platoon, a paramilitary intelligence unit, of involvement in the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019.

Speaking during the debate on the Easter Sunday attacks, Rasamanickam said the group had been involved in a spate of killings since early 2005, long before the Easter Sunday attacks.

The MP said the platoon made up of Muslim, Tamil and Sinhalese operatives was set up in 2005 and persons linked to it such as Police Faiz, Khaleel and Army Mohideen are linked to serious crimes.

He alleged that in 2004, Police Faiz established an organisation called ‘Imanian Enjangal’ as part of a state intelligence operation to foster Islamic extremism in the country. He also noted that Khaleel was one of the main accused in the murder of former MP Joseph Pararajasingham along with Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) MP Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan. “Khaleel was later released from prison during the tenure of Gotabaya Rajapaksa,” the MP pointed out.

He noted that the platoon is accused of being involved in the TRO massacre (2006), abduction and murder of Vice-Chancellor of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka Sivasubramaniam Raveendranath (2006), abduction and murder of Varsha Jude Reggie (2009) among many others.

He noted that TMVP members were implicated in these incidents and accused the military of helping the Tripoli platoon to cover up their crimes. He noted that while TMVP members Mervin and Varadaraja Janadaran along with two others were arrested for the killing of Reggy, the four suspects were allegedly killed by the State just weeks later. The MP said while the platoon carried out Government sanctioned murders, the Army in turn helped the Tripoli platoon to cover up abductions for ransom carried out by them such as in this instance.

According to Rasamanickam, the TMVP tested out an election ploy by engineering a communal clash in 2008 which they later replicated across the country through the platoon. He said during the 2008 Easter Provincial Council elections, intelligence operatives identified as Hussein and Police Faiz shot dead TMVP member Shanthan which led a Tamil group to clash with a group of Muslim youth in Kattankudy which resulted in 13 deaths. “This was carried out by Faiz connected to the Tripoli platoon,” the MP pointed out.

The MP urged the President to arrest MP MP Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan to find the truth about the Easter Sunday attack. “Arrest him to find out the truth without protecting this one MP. They only received 50,000 votes. Do not be afraid. Seek the truth,” he urged.

The MP said the group is now suppressing those such as Hussein who want to reveal the truth about these incidents.

The Opposition has on many occasions accused Chandrakanthan of leading the Tripoli platoon which was also implicated in the abduction of journalist Keith Noyahr in 2008. Chandrakanthan was a former armed fighter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) before breaking away in April 2004 to form the breakaway faction, the TMVP which has long been linked to the Sri Lankan military.

The Election Commission formally announced that the 2024 Presidential election will be held on a day between September 17 and October 16.

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