synopsis
Former Congress leader Pazha Nedumaran has claimed that LTTE chief Prabhakaran is still alive and is living with his family.
In what is expected to spark a massive row, KS Alagiri, Tamil Nadu Congress Chief, on Monday stated he was 'happy' to learn that Velupillai Prabhakaran, the supremo of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, is alive. The reaction came moments after a top Tamil nationalist leader claimed that the LTTE chief was doing well and said a conducive atmosphere prevails for him to appear now.
In a press conference at the Mullivaikkal Memorial in Thanjavur, Pazha Nedumaran, the head of the World Confederation of Tamils, prefixed his declaration as a 'true announcement' and said the international (political) atmosphere and fierce opposition to Rajapaksas by the Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka had created the right conditions for the leader of the Eelam Tamils, Prabhakaran to emerge.
Reacting to the former Congress leader's announcement, KS Alagiri said, "I am very happy. If Pazha Nedumaran shows me Prabhakaran, I will go and see him."
Asserting that the LTTE leader is doing well, Nedumaran had earlier said the announcement would end 'planned' suspicions spread about him. The former Congress leader said that Prabhakaran is all set to announce a plan for the dawn of the Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka soon.
He appealed to Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Tamils living in all other parts of the world to stand together and extend him their full support. He said that until the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was powerful, they did not allow any forces inimical to India to find a toehold in the regions held by them in Sri Lanka.
They not only opposed such forces but also have not received any support from such nations opposed to India, he added.
It may be recalled that Prabhakaran was killed in 2009 in the war between Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE. 'Eelam' in Tamil denotes the homeland of the Tamil people.
(With inputs from PTI)