LTTE press editor to stand trial on Nov.17

Dushy Ranetunge

UNITED KINGDOM: Norway based Nadarajah Sethurupan who is alleged to be the editor of the LTTE Web media Nitharsanam.com is to stand trial in London on the 17th of November, for an incident that took place outside the anti LTTE radio station, the Tamil Broadcasting Corporation.

Sethurupan Nadarajah was one among three LTTE activists arrested by the British police late in the evening on June 8, 2006 outside the premises of the Tamil Broadcasting Corporation (TBC), when police were called to attend to an incident.

Sethurupan is said to have links to the LTTE intelligence wing and often intimidates anti LTTE personalities and even threatens them with death. At a time when the fortunes of the LTTE are at a all time low, Nitharsanam.com plays its part in keeping the spirits up in the Tamil nationalist camp.

The Website celebrated the assassination of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and frequently threatens the TULF leader Anandasangaree MP with assassination.

Mr. Rajasingham Jayadevan against whom the Nitharsanam Website carried out a sustained attack is expected to give evidence together with A.K. Vivekananthan whose life was threatened by Sethurupan during the incident at TBC.

The Daily News interviewed a key witness of the incident, Vivekananthan, formally a senior card carrying leader of the LTTE, who is now opposed to the LTTE and the interview was published in the Daily News on the 16th of June 2006.

After the Daily News gave publicity to this incident, Nadarajah Sethurupan began a campaign of intimidation against the Daily News, its editor and this writer and lodged a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission.

Many in the Tamil community who are against the LTTE and have been subjected to intimidation and harassment by Nadarajah Sethurupan and his Website Nitharsanam.com are observing developments in London with great interest.