Perinpanayagam Sivaparan

Perinpanayagam Sivaparan known by his nom de guerre Nediyawan is a prominent figure in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam that some have claimed is the new head^[1] of the organization, after the arrest of Selvarasa Pathmanathan.^[2]

Personal life

Sivaparan was born in the late 1970s during a time of heightened communal tensions in Sri Lanka, with Junius Richard Jayawardene at the helm of the nation. He joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam at age 18, and quickly moved into Velupillai Prabhakaran's close circles. He was sent to Russia for higher education, but did not receive a degree.^[3]

Through his wife Shivagowri Shanthamohan, he is related distantly to the former head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Prabhakaran. His wife's uncle, Ranjanlal Gnanendramohan was one of the founding members of the LTTE and was a confidante of Prabhakaran, enabling him to gain even quicker access into the LTTE inner circle.^[2]

Sivaparan, earned the nickname Nediyawan (meaning "Tall man") during his work in promoting the LTTE among the Tamil diaspora.

Feud with KP

As Nediyawan amassed his money and influence through the black market deals, he came into conflict with KP (Kumaran Pathmanathan), the LTTE's main arms dealer. As the Tigers began losing the Sri Lankan civil war, Nediyavan's boss, Castro, consolidated all the LTTE's diaspora management under Nediyawan.^[4]

After the death of Prabhakaran, Nediyawan refused to admit to his death, thereby undercutting the power of Pathmanathan. Pathmanathan was also defamed on a number of Tamil websites, which were generally controlled by Nediyawan. Nediyawan also publicly opposed the appointment of KP to succeed Prabhakaran.^[5][6][7] Nediyavan allegedly betrayed KP, leading to his arrest in mid-2009.^[8][9]

References