During peace talks between President Ranasinghe Premadasa and Prabakaran, President Premadasa expressed to the LTTE’s deputy leader that he would like to see him become the Chief Minister of the North-East. The LTTE deputy leader, Mahathaya, came from a modest background, much like President Premadasa. The President mentioned that if Mahathaya became Chief Minister, he would assist in the development of the North and East.
Before President Premadasa arrived at a tea party organized for the LTTE and Sri Lankan government delegates, his personal assistant, Mohideen, arrived and ate a cutlet from the tea table. The LTTE delegation noted Mohideen’s behaviour around Premadasa and realized the influence he had. Prabakaran, guided by information from LTTE agents who had been spying on Premadasa during the talks, decided to use Mohideen without his knowledge to assassinate Premadasa.
While the LTTE deputy leader Mahathaya, theoretician Anton Balasingham and his wife, and political wing leader Yogaratnam Yogi were involved in discussions, Prabakaran devised the plan to assassinate Premadasa. In his final days in London, when asked by a journalist, Balasingham admitted that Prabakaran’s decision to assassinate Premadasa was a mistake. He acknowledged that, unlike other Sinhala leaders, Premadasa had engaged in the discussions with genuine intentions.
Recently, the ITAK central committee voted in favour of supporting Premadasa’s son, Sajith. However, the ITAK leader, while in London, announced his support for a Tamil candidate. Before departing for London, he had met with the ambassadors of South Africa and Canada, who inquired about the Tamil candidate. The ITAK leader clarified in London that neither ambassador tried to influence his decision to support the Tamil candidate.
In the context of supporting Sajith Premadasa, TNA MP Sumanthiran appears to be playing a role similar to Mahathaya and Balasingham, while Sridharan takes on the role of Prabhakaran.
For the first time in Sri Lanka’s presidential election history, a Tamil candidate from the North, Kumar Ponnambalam, contested in 1982. However, the opposition candidate Hector Hector Kobbekaduwa received more votes than him in the North. Another Tamil candidate, Shivajilingam, a relative of Prabhakaran, contested in the 2010 presidential election. On that occasion, Suresh Premachandran and Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam supported Shivajilingam, but the opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka received more votes than him in the North. This time, Suresh Premachandran and Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam are again supporting a Tamil candidate, despite opposition from the international community.
The international community also opposed the LTTE’s decision to boycott the 2005 presidential election, a decision that led to the LTTE’s downfall. If Sajith succeeds in winning the North’s votes with ITAK’s support, it could mark the end of Sridharan’s influence. Conversely, if the Tamil candidate secures more votes in the North than Sajith, it could put in danger Sumanthiran’s political career.
