Rajasingham Jayadevan vs Douglas Devananda - Another Chapter

by S. Indran

(November 24, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Dr.T.C.Rajaratnam and his client Douglas Devananda have set the hounds on R Jayadevan, following his recent reply asking several key questions and welcoming their threatened legal recourse. Rathika Murugesu and S.T.A. Pillai, should understand that R Jayadevan is living in a democracy where the rule of law prevails and there are multiple avenues of legal recourse to any one who seeks it. Any one who has cause to accuse him of anything can easily seek legal recourse and I am sure Jayadevan will welcome it. Knowing Jayadevan, calling him names and accusing him of multiple felony will not detract him from dealing with issues as he deem fit. This tactic will not work.

Terrorism with the gun is no different from terrorism with the pen! Douglas Devananda is a leader of a shady paramilitary group, serving the government. His operations as the head of a paramilitary group supporting the war against the LTTE, is his choice. This does not qualify him to assume the leadership of the Tamils. He is no Charles De Gaulle- the resistance leader or Fidel Castro- the revolutionary or Subhas Chandra Bose- who chose to fight the British!

We want educated, cultured and democratic leaders elected by the people of their free-choice to be our leaders, not someone with Douglas Devananda's background. Douglas Devananda may have been of tremendous help to Mr.Pillai and many like him (and the Sri Lankan governments), but this does not detract the fact that the group that he leads has been the nemesis of many innocent people. Douglas Devananda is no saint and he could not have survived as a saint, in the business he has chosen as a profession.

The attempt to project Douglas Devananda as a saint, martyr, royalty, hero and a popular Tamil leader are disgusting to say the least. The Tamils need not be hoisted with this petard at this point in their history. There should be a moral limit to sycophancy. Jayadevan being what he is being accused of being does not mitigate this fact. - Sri Lanka Guardian