Perinpanayagam Sivaparan ( ta, பேரின்பநாயகம் சிவபரன், translit=Pēriṉpanāyakam Civaparaṉ; born 28 August 1976; commonly known by the nom de guerre Nediyavan) is a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and leading member of the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

(LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka.

Early life and family

Sivaparan was born on 28 August 1976 in

Vaddukoddai Vaddukoddai (also spelt Vattukkottai, Vatukotai, Vattukotai) ( ta, வட்டுக்கோட்டை, si, වඩුකෝඩයි) is small but important town in the minority Sri Lankan Tamil dominated Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka. I ...

in northern Sri Lanka His family were from Sangarathai near Vaddukoddai. He was educated at

Jaffna Hindu College Jaffna Hindu College ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணம் இந்துக் கல்லூரி, translit=Yāḻppāṇam Intuk Kallūri; si, යාපනය හින්දු විද්‍යාලය, translit=Yāpanaya Hindu Vidyāl ...

. Sivaparan married to Sivagowry Shanthamohan (Gowry), niece of Captain Ranjan Lala, on 30 October 2005.

Career

Sivaparan joined the militant

(LTTE) in 1994 aged 18. Sivaparan, who was 6 feet tall, was given the nom de guerre "Nediyavan" (tall man). After initial training Nediyavan studied at

Kittu ''Kittu'' ( te, కిట్టు) is a 2006 traditionally animated Indian feature film. It is the first animated film to be made in the Telugu language. It won the National Film Award and is also credited with AP state award (Nandi Award) as ...

's police college. He was sent by the LTTE to Russia to study

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

but did not complete the course. Nediyavan then joined the LTTE's political wing under S. P. Thamilselvan and took part in various Norwegian mediated peace talks with the

Sri Lankan government The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the isl ...

. Nediyavan later worked at the LTTE's International Co-coordinating Centre (ICC) headed by Castro (Veerakulasingam Manivannan). He was entrusted with managing LTTE's finances and

front organisation A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gro ...

s abroad. Nediyavan was sent to Norway in 2006 to co-ordinate the LTTE's activities abroad. When war resumed between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan military in 2006 Castro appointed Nediyavan to be in charge of the LTTE's international branches. In early 2009, as the war escalated, Nediyavan's predecessor KP re-established control over the LTTE's international branches, a move resented by Castro. KP took over the leadership of the remnants of the LTTE after it was militarily defeated in May 2009 and its leader V. Prabhakaran killed. Castro, Nediyavan and their supporters opposed KP's leadership. Nediyavan is believed to have taken over the leadership of the LTTE following the arrest of KP in August 2009 though his wife Gowry as denied this. Former Sri Lankan diplomat K. Godage has alleged that KP's arrest was the result of betrayal by Nediyavan. Nediyavan worked in a nursery school in Norway. He was head of the Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC) in Norway. He was questioned by the Norwegian police in August 2009 for unspecified reasons. Nediyavan was arrested by Norwegian police on 18 May 2011 in connection with financing LTTE activities in the Netherlands. After being interrogated for two days by a Dutch judge and five state attorneys he was later released on

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

. The police warned Nediyavan not to engage in or promote violence whilst living on Norway. Nediyavan left

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

and moved to a place 240 km away. Nediyavan was amongst 424 individuals designated as terrorists by the Sri Lankan government in February 2014. In April 2014 the Sri Lankan police issued

international arrest warrant An Interpol notice is an international alert circulated by Interpol to communicate information about crimes, criminals, and threats by police in a member state (or an authorised international entity) to their counterparts around the world. The in ...

s (

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

red notice) for 40 LTTE members including Nediyavan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nediyavan 1976 births Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College Living people Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam members People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil emigrants to Norway Sri Lankan Tamil rebels