A new group consisting of ex-LTTE cadres called Crusaders for Democracy insisted that they do not have an ‘Eelam objective’ behind their decision to enter mainstream politics in Sri Lanka.
Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Nadesapillai Vithyatharan, the former editor of a Jaffna based newspaper, said the Crusaders for Democracy, of which he is a member, have denounced violence and the Eelam ideologies and are only keen to enter democratic politics in order to address the issues of the Tamils.
“However, when we approached the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), they refused to allow ex-LTTE cadres to contest under their ticket as they were concerned about their political image. Therefore, we decided to contest independently,” he added.
According to Vithyatharan, the reason why they approached the TNA was because the TNA too has denounced violence and Eelam objectives.
“Even though we respect Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam’s All Ceylon Tamil Congress, we did not approach his party as our position does not comply with theirs,” he said. Further, Vithyatharan said that Crusaders for Democracy has also extended an invitation to Northern Provincial Council member Ananthi Sasitharan to join their front.
By Waruni Karunarathne