TULF condemns Maheshwary killing

"I very strongly condemn the assassination of Maheshwary Velautham of the EPDP by the brutal LTTE. This is yet another act of cowardice by a terrorist group that claims to be a liberation movement, says V. Anandasangaree, President, Tamil United Liberation Front in a press release.

He said: "Maheshwary Velautham, a lawyer and a full time EPDP activist now, had been, as I know a very devoted social worker for well over thirty years.

Having given up her practice as a lawyer she worked most of the time with the refugees both in Sri Lanka and in India and with the downtrodden. Knowing her well and would describe as a harmless and a pious lady who loved her country and its people."

"The killing had taken place in her native village Karaveddi where she had gone to see her ailing mother. Maheshwary can be acclaimed as a heroic Tamil woman because as far as I am aware, among the Jaffna Tamils, she is perhaps the only one next to Sarojini Yogeshwaran, to come out openly to do politics at grave risk to her life. Like Sarojini, the ex-mayor of Jaffna Maheshwary was also killed at her residence.

Both of them were unarmed and had no security officers at the time of the incident. Maheshwary will go down in history as a heroic woman. The Tamil people have been deprived of the services of this lady who had the courage to come out defying all threats from the LTTE, to serve her people.

I am sure those who glorify these cowards will put their heads down in shame for killing an unarmed woman in this uncivilised manner."

"While expressing my sympathies to her parents, kith and kin and all her comrades who worked with her for several years and to those who loved her and cared for her and call upon every right thinking person to condemn this brutal killing by this ruthless and atrocious group of terrorists who do not know the value of human life," the release said.