| Honourable V. Yogeswaran MP |
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|---|---|
| Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament for Jaffna |
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| In office 1977–1983 |
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| Preceded by | C. X. Martyn, ITAK |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 5, 1934 |
| Died | July 13, 1989 (aged 55) 342/2 Baudhaloka Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Political party | Tamil United Liberation Front |
| Spouse(s) | Sarojini Yogeswaran |
| Alma mater | St. John's College St. Patrick's College |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Ethnicity | Sri Lankan Tamil |
Vettivelu Yogeswaran was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and Member of Parliament. Yogeswaran was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers.[1] [2]
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Yogeswaran was born 5 February 1934. He was the son of S. A. Vettivelu, a medical doctor from Jaffna in northern province of Ceylon, and Parasakthi. He was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna and St. Patrick's College, Jaffna. He later studied law in the United Kingdom. Whilst in UK he was an active member of the National Union of Students, Anti Apartheid League and president of the UK branch of the Ceylon Tamil Overseas League. After graduation he returned to Ceylon and joined the legal profession, becoming an attorney at law and appearing in the Jaffna courts.
Yogeswaran married Sarojini, daughter of Ponnambalam.
Yogeswaran was a strong supporter of the Tamil United Liberation Front. He was a member of the TULF's Action Committee and in charge of youth affairs. He was the TULF's candidate for Jaffna at the 1977 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament.[3]
Yogeswaran's house in Jaffna was burnt down on the night of 31 May 1981 by a mob of Sinhalese policemen and paramilitaries.[4] [5] Yogeswaran and his wife managed to escape by jumping over their back walls. This incident and the Burning of Jaffna library were part of an orgy of violence orchestrated by the Sri Lankan government against Tamil targets.
Yogeswaran and all other TULF MPs boycotted Parliament from the middle of 1983 for a number of reasons: they were under pressure from Sri Lankan Tamil militants not to stay in Parliament beyond their normal six-year term; the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka required them to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for a separate state; and the Black July riots in which up to 3,000 Tamils were murdered by Sinhalese mobs. After three months of absence, Yogeswaran forfeited his seat in Parliament on 22 October 1983.[6]
Yogeswaran and his family, like many families of leading Tamil politicians, fled to Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu. Yogeswaran later returned to Jaffna despite the threats made against the TULF by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The Tamil Tigers kept him under house arrest until the arrival of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in July 1987. In early 1988 Yogeswaran and his wife moved into a house in Bullers Road (Baudhaloka Mawatha) in the Cinnamon Gardens area of Colombo. The house was shared with other leading TULF politicians (A. Amirthalingam, M. Sivasithamparam and Mavai Senathirajah) and their families.
In effort to bring about unity amongst the Tamils, Yogeswaran made contact with the Tamil Tigers and met with them several times. He arranged a meeting between the Tamil Tigers and the TULF leaders at their Bullers Road residence. On the evening of 13 July 1989 three men, Peter Aloysius Leon, Visu (Rasiah Aravindarajah) and Sivakumar (Vignan/Arivu), arrived at the residence. Aloysius and Visu went inside the house whilst Sivakumar remained outside. The two men met with Yogeswaran, Amirthalingam and Sivasithamparam in Yogeswaran's apartment on the first floor. The meeting seemed to be going well when suddenly Visu pulled out a gun and shot Amirthalingam in the head and chest. Yogeswaran stood up but was shot by Aloysius and Visu. Security guards heard the shots and rushed in, shooting the assailants who were injured. The assailants shot Sivasithamparam in the shoulder before running downstairs. They were chased and shot dead by the security guards. Sivakumar was also shot and died later of his injuries. Amirthalingam and Yogeswaran were killed but Sivasithamparam survived. The Tamil Tigers initially denied responsibility for the assassinations but later accepted responsibility.
Yogeswaran's wife Sarojini, who later became mayor of Jaffna, and was also assassinated by the Tamil Tigers.