POISONOUS CONCOCTIONS

by R Jayadevan

(November, 23, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The article ‘Karuna’s men-their travails’ published in the Asian Tribune has been subsequently reproduced in tamileditors.com, a pro-LTTE website, has leveled some serious and scurrilous allegations against me. The Asian Tribune withdrew this article from its website following the intervention by a concerned third party. However, additional accusations of the same nature have been leveled against me in, ‘tamileditors.com’, purported to be either run or controlled by Nagaratnam Seevaratnam.

While I have no intention of engaging in the game of mutual innuendo, lies and character assassinations, I have to bring the following facts to the attention of the concerned public:
Since my mother and brother were killed during the IPKF operations in Jaffna in 1987, I have been involved in Tamil political activities in London and have supported the LTTE whenever our objectives found confluence. What I did and the results there of are known to those associated with me.

My father was a Senior Divisional Preventive Officer in the Excise Striking Force and ended his career as a Superintendent of Excise after the merger of the Striking Force with the Excise Department. The reasons for his early retirement are not relevant and are not of any interest to the public. He was Senior Research Fellow at the Tamil Research Institute in Madras until a few years before his death. Whether he was an Excise Inspector or Guard has no relevance to matters connected with me now.

Nagaratnam Seevaratnam, who has been bestowed the nick name ‘Embden’ (denoting a devious individual in Jaffna parlance), came into my life in his incarnation as the editor of the ‘Tamil Voice International’ magazine, published by the LTTE. This is the day I rue.

His involvement and subsequent marriage to my divorced sister, against my vehement objections, have formed the basis for his enmity towards me. I will not comment further on this aspect, as it involves my sister.

My sister was an investor in a business venture, along with me and a Chinese individual. This business failed and we lost our investments. Stock worth thousands of pound sterling was also lost in a robbery at our store, aggravating the problems. This period also coincided with the major surgery I had to undergo. The business was on-going at the time Seevaratnam became an acquaintance. Subsequent to our falling out, he did everything possible to undermine it.

Seevaratnam however pursued me relentlessly through various means demanding the money my sister had invested. Several legal proceedings initiated by him demanding this money failed. He also directed LTTE men, including their man-in-charge of finance in the USA to demand the money from me, when they demanded the return of their funds he could not account for.
Seevaratnam orchestrated my incarceration in Vanni through Castro and was instigating them to kill me, while in captivity.

Seevaratnam was the person the LTTE nominated to take over the Eeelapatheeswarar temple from me as their proxy. This attempt also failed due to the intervention of the courts.
The term ‘Undiyalan’ (meaning temple till thief) has been assigned to me by those who were interested in taking over the Eelapatheeswarar temple. The investigation by the Charity Commission in 2002 did not reveal any mishandling of its funds. There was never any need for me to pilfer the temple till and even if I had a need, I have the scruples not to do so. I pay my taxes amounting to 40 % of my earnings and have absolutely nothing to hide in this regard.

I have never claimed I am a Chartered Accountant. This certification and a doctorate have been assigned to me by persons, either out of misunderstanding or ignorance. I am a graduate accountant and have been involved in accountancy and financial services from 1978. I have held senior positions in the field and have been commended on the quality of my work by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales during their regulatory visit. I have also received awards for my services.

I have been slandered in the pro-LTTE websites controlled by ‘Dirty’ Sethu, depicting me and members of my family in doctored pornographic material. How men claiming to fight for the liberation of Tamils can stoop to such low levels is beyond my comprehension.

I have been also accused of being a ‘connoisseur of women’, in other words a womanizer. The websites mentioned in point 11 have been cited as evidence of this! Those who know me are aware how frivolous and false this accusation is. It is really saddening that men will descend to such low levels, to destroy a person’s reputation and public standing... This accusation amounts to charcoal calling milk black.

I have also been subject to incessant harassment through the telephone and e-mail. This matter became a subject for police investigation and remedial action. The publication of my personal mobile phone number and home address in the Asian Tribune, without my permission, is a breech of journalistic ethics and may be even illegal.

It is also claimed that I am the Investment Manager for Karuna. This is a blatant and despicable lie that has no basis. I invite those who have accused me of holding this position to prove it without resorting to innuendo.

It is obvious K.T.Rajasingam the Editor of Asian Tribune, who is unable to answer accusations published in the Morning Leader by Sonali-----------, and my supportive articles, has joined hands with Seevaratnam, to undermine my credibility through blatant falsehood and baseless innuendo.

I am open for a public television debate on the various allegations leveled by elements, who are striving to cast me in their mould, with the intent to silence me from exposing their misdemeanors. The price I am being called upon to pay for being sincerely committed to the welfare of the Tamils in Sri Lanka and in the Diaspora is unimaginable and I pray others with equal commitment would not be called upon to pay the same. The Goebbelesian assertion that ‘When an untruth is repeated over a period of time, it becomes the truth’ has been adopted by the Asian Tribune and other LTTE-supportive web sites as their guiding principle