Anton Balasingham

Anton Stanislaus Balasingham (March 4, 1938 – December 14, 2006) (Tamil:ஆண்டன் பாலசிங்கம்) was the chief political strategist and chief negotiator of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a militant organization. He was a British citizen of Tamil origin from Sri Lanka.

Biography

He was born in Batticaloa on 4 March 1938 in the Sri Lankan Tamil dominated district in the Eastern Province of what was then British Ceylon. His father was a Hindu and mother a Christian Roman Catholic. His father also hailed from Eastern province whereas his mother was a native Jaffna Tamil.

Career

After his graduation from school in Jaffna, he worked as a journalist in a Colombo newspaper and as a translator at the British High Commission in Colombo. Balasingham was initially married to a Sri Lankan Tamil. After she died due to the complications of chronic renal failure, he married Adele Ann Wilby in London, UK, in 1978. Adele, an Australian citizen and a nurse by professional training, became a prominent member of the women’s wing of the LTTE.

In the past, Adele herself has been involved in the peace talks, as the secretary of the LTTE delegation. In April 2002, Anton Balasingaham appeared alongside LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in a rare press conference in the LTTE held town of Kilinochchi in Sri Lanka.

From the Thimphu talks in 1985 to the first round of the Geneva talks held on February 22–23, 2006 Balasingham was the head of the LTTE delegation in all the peace negotiations with the government of Sri Lanka.^[1] However, he could not participate in an October 2006 round because of ill health, and in November 2006, Balasingham was diagnosed with cancer. He suffered from diabetes, Motor Neurone Disease, a degenerative disease of the nervous system, and possibly medicine-induced bile duct cancer.^[2] He died soon afterward, in December 2006.

Reactions to death

LTTE

Following Balasingham's death, rebel leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran said in a rare emotional statement that:

^[3]

and that:

^[4]

Government of Sri Lanka

The Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka commented:

.

State Government of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi said in his condolence message:

International Media

According to BBC, Balasingham's death was a loss to both sides of the Sri Lankan civil war.^[5] Balasingam was credited as the only moderating force within an otherwise belligerent rebel group and the only man within the group that could criticize and influence the leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Balasingam was known for his relentless attempts to bring the Tigers to the international negotiating arena. It was mainly due to his perseverance that the Tigers acquired a reputation as a progressive organization among certain liberals in the west.

Balasingham was also credited with bringing the attention of the world to a forgotten war in this small island nation. Although Balasingham was plagued with physical ailments he valiantly attended all the peace talks.

With Balasingham dead the LTTE had no negotiator of comparable stature and the conflict played out to its end in purely military terms.

References

External links

• BBC report on his death
• Obituaries TIMES ONLINE

Sri Lankan Civil War Origins Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism 1956 1958 1977 Sri Lankan riots Burning of Jaffna library Black July Combatants  Sri Lanka Army (LRRP) Navy Air Force Police Special Task Force Home Guards Attacks on civilians Assassinations LTTE Divisions Air Tigers Sea Tigers Black Tigers Attacks in the 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Assassinations Suicide bombings Other militants (list) ENDLF ENLF EPRLF EROS PLOTE TELO  India Indian Peace Keeping Force Paramilitary EPDP TMVP Phases Eelam War I Indian intervention Eelam War II III IV Eastern / Northern theaters Major battles Kokkilai Vadamarachchi Poomalai Pawan Jaffna University Helidrop Balavegaya 1st Elephant Pass Pooneryn Riviresa 1st Mullaitivu Sath Jaya Vavunathivu Jayasikurui Thandikulam–Omanthai 1st Kilinochchi Oddusuddan A-9 highway 2nd Elephant Pass Bandaranaike Airport attack Point Pedro Jaffna Thoppigala Vidattaltivu 2nd Kilinochchi 2nd Mullaitivu Puthukkudiyirippu Major Events Air Lanka Flight 512 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord Expulsions from Northern province Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi Assassination of Ranasinghe Premadasa Assassination of Lalith Athulathmudali Temple of the Tooth attack Lionair Flight 602 Bandaranaike Airport attack Expulsions from Colombo 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo Leaders Sri Lanka Military Army Tissa Weeratunga Nalin Seneviratne Hamilton Wanasinghe Cecil Waidyaratne G. H. De Silva Rohan Daluwatte C. S. Weerasooriya L. P. Balagalle Shantha Kottegoda Sarath Fonseka Navy Asoka de Silva H. A. Silva Clancy Fernando D. A. M. R. Samarasekara H. C. A. C. Thisera Daya Sandagiri Wasantha Karannagoda Air Force Dick Perera Andibuduge Fernando Makalandage Gunawardena Oliver Ranasinghe Jayalath Weerakkody Donald Perera Roshan Goonetileke Civilian Junius Richard Jayewardene Ranasinghe Premadasa Dingiri Banda Wijetunga Chandrika Kumaratunga Mahinda Rajapaksa LTTE Militant Velupillai Prabhakaran Pottu Amman Karuna Amman Political Selvarasa Pathmanathan Anton Balasingham S. P. Thamilselvan India Military Harkirat Singh Ashok K. Mehta Civilian R. Venkataraman Rajiv Gandhi V. P. Singh Aftermath Reactions to end of war (Tamil diaspora) Remembrance Day Alleged war crimes Chemical weapons Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) UN Panel on Accountability in Sri Lanka NPC resolution on Genocide Related topics Casualties Assassinations Massacres Child soldiers Disappearances Human rights Popular culture Terrorism PTA State Sixth Amendment Thirteenth Amendment 1988 Maldives coup d'état 1987–89 JVP Insurrection Sri Lankan Civil War at Wiktionary    Source texts at Wikisource    Textbooks at Wikibooks   Images and media at the Commons    Quotations at Wikiquote    News stories at Wikinews