One Hundred Tamils of the 20th Century Mamanithar Vanniasingham Vigneswaran
 Mr.Vanniasingham Vigneswaran, President of the Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples' Forum (TDTPF) was shot dead Friday, 7 April 2006 around 9.30 a.m. by an unidentified person when he was about to enter the main branch of the Bank of Ceylon (BoC) located along Inner Harbor Road between the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police and Trincomalee Harbor Police. The assassination of the key Tamil activist has taken place when the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was about to announce the appointment of Mr. Vigneswaran as the national list Parliamentarian to fill the position held by Joseph Pararajasingham MP who was slain in Batticaloa on Christmas eve.
Liberation Tigers Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan, in a letter to the Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission on 7 April 2006, expressed shock over Trincomalee Tamil activist Vigneswaran's slaying and said that the killing, in the context of what is taking place on the ground, rendered Colombo's pledges in Geneva on curbing paramilitary activities "meaningless." Describing Vigneswaran's slaying as a part of Sri Lankan military's "planned killings of Tamil activists in a systematic manner," Thamilchelvan says that the GoSL and its law enforcing authorities could no longer plead ignorance of Tamil activists killings. The slaying of Tamil activist, humanitarian worker and a democrat has put the entire Tamil Nation into deep grief, Thamilchelvan said in his letter to the Head of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). "Tamil human rights activist Mr. V. Vigneswaran's assassination and those of 17 other Tamils in the period from November 2005 to January 2006 clearly shows that the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) will never protect the human rights of the Tamils. Therefore we ourselves have to strive to protect our rights," said Rev. Fr. Kanagaratnam, Director North East Human Rights Secretariat (NEOSHR), paying homage to slain Mr. Vigneswaran whose body was kept for viewing at the Cultural Hall in Kilinochchi Monday, 10 April 2006 Leader of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Pirapaharan, bestowed the title Maamanithar (Great Human being) on Mr.Vanniasingham Vigneswaran, President of the Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples' Forum (TDTPF). "Steadfast and honest, he opposed the genocidal war by the successive Sinhala governments which destroyed thousands of Tamil lives and their property, plundered Tamils possessions and resources, and was intent on destroying Tamil National symbols. Vigeswaran fought to free Tamils from this menace," Pirapaharan said in the statement conferring the award. English Translation of the statement issued by the Leader of Tamil Eelam, Velupillai Pirapaharan
"Tamil Nation has lost today a highly principled man who worked relentlessly towards the freedom of Tamil Nation. A flame of freedom that burnt brightly in our Nation's capitol has been extinguished. A strident voice that fought for the unity and solidarity of the Tamil Nation has gone silent. A Tamil activist who served as a backbone to the rise of Tamil Nationalism has been killed by the cowardice attack by the enemy. Vigneswaran's loss has plunged our Nation into unspeakable grief.
Vigneswaran is a shining light possessed with high ideals. His exemplary qualities attracted everyone towards him. Tamil people held him in high esteem and loved him. His loss is irreplaceable.
Vigneswaran firmly believed that separate Tamil Eelam is the final solution to the Tamil National struggle. Steadfast and honest, he opposed the genocidal war by successive Sinhala governments which destroyed thousands of Tamil lives and their property, plundered Tamils possessions and resources, and was intent destroying Tamil National symbols. Vigeswaran fought to free Tamils from this menace. He embraced fully the ideals and struggle advanced by our movement towards freedom.
His life was closely entwined with Trincomalee soil and lives of Tamil people. He deeply loved his people. While living amidst Sri Lanka Army (SLA) occupation, he raised his voice to the world that the Trincomalee soil belonged to Tamil people. Even while aware of danger to his life, he courageously fought against injustice. As the President of the Trincomalee District Tamil Peoples' Forum, he was instrumental in strengthening Tamil National Alliance (TNA) support in his district.
I am deeply honored to confer the Maamanithar (Great Human being) award on Mr V Vigneswaran recognizing his love for his people and their freedom, and his unprecedented contributions to the Tamil struggle. Death never destroys great men who lived to uphold truthful goals. They will forever live in the psyche of the Tamil Nation."
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