Perinpanayagam Sivaparan (; born 28 August 1976; commonly known by the nom de guerre Nediyavan) is a

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...

rebel and leading member of the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

(LTTE), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Early life and family

Sivaparan was born on 28 August 1976 in

Vaddukoddai Vaddukoddai (, ) (also spelt Vatukotai, Vaddukkoddai) is small but important town in the minority Sri Lankan Tamil dominated Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka. This place famous to Cultural Dances & Hindu rituals. It became prominent with the foundin ...

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

Jaffna Hindu College Jaffna Hindu College (; ; abbreviated as JHC) is a National school (Sri Lanka), national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1887 by a group of Hinduism in Sri Lanka, Hindu people who wanted an English language alternative to the Christi ...

. Sivaparan married to Sivagowry Shanthamohan (Gowry), niece of Captain

Ranjan Lala Kanakanayakam Gnanendramohan ( ''Kaṉakanāyakam Ñāṉēntiramōkaṉ''; 2 September 1960 – 13 July 1984; commonly known by the ''nom de guerre'' Ranjan Lala) was a leading member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separat ...

, on 30 October 2005.

Career

Sivaparan joined the

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

(LTTE) in 1994 aged 18. Sivaparan, who was 6 feet tall, was given the

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

"Nediyavan" (tall man). After initial training Nediyavan studied at Kittu'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 (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

but did not complete the course. Nediyavan then joined the LTTE's political wing under

S. P. Thamilselvan Suppayya Paramu Thamilselvan, commonly known as S. P. Tamilselvan, (sometimes transcribed as "Tamilchelvan"),''Sunday Times''Situation Report: SLAF regains its image with powerful strike/ref> was the leader of the political wing of the Liberatio ...

and took part in various Norwegian mediated peace talks with the

Sri Lankan government The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital of Sri Jayawardenepura Kott ...

. 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 gr ...

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 The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (Sri Lank ...

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. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

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

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

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 International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

s (

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

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 Sri Lankan Tamil people