Tamil Councillor threatened

(January 16, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) London Newham Council Deputy Mayor Councillor Paul Sathianesan has been threatened by harassing telephone campaigners to cancel the Councils established Annual Tamil Thai Pongal celebrations held on 14 January 2009.

Following election of Paul Sathianesan as Councillor in 1998, he had used his influence to celebrate Thai Pongal celebrations and for the past five years celebrative street lights in East Ham were switched on to reflect the special day in the town of Eastham by the council.

Some ardent LTTE and the LTTE front World Tamil Movement of Pala Nedumaran’s activists in East Ham is said to have carried out the intimidating campaign to cancel the celebrations on the grounds of the current military offensive by the army against the LTTE in Sri Lanka. Their demand was to abide by the public announcement in the LTTE media by an anonymous group not to celebrate Thai Pongal this year.

According to sources close to Cllr Paul Sathianesan and reports published in the Tamil web-media Cllr Sathianesan had explained to them that the local authority has accepted Thai Pongal as an important event in their Calendar as a recognised cultural event and to cancel it for selfish personal or political reason could only lead to removing the event from the Councils calendar for ever. He has also quoted as telling the campaigners not to trivialise an important cultural event for political reasons.

Cllr Paul Sathianesan could not be contacted for comments. But the news has spread across some Tamil shops in East Ham. When inquired as to who is carrying out such a campaign, a shop owner in anonymity said it involved few desperate chaps like Mr Bose who runs the Estate Agency business Select Property Services who is also the Secretary of the World Tamil Movement of Pala Nedumaran, the Tamil funeral service orator Muruganantham and LTTE’s Lawrence Thilagar’s brother Ragu.

Despite intimidations and threats the Thai Pongal celebrations went ahead at the Council with religious service attended by Councillors and hundreds of Tamils. There were two other Thai Pongal events organised by established Tamil organisations and they too went ahead despite threats and intimidations by the LTTE supporters. - Sri Lanka Guardian