The leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) R Sampanthan has been admitted to hospital with “tiredness”, reports the Daily Mirror.
A family member was quoted by Daily Mirror as stating that Mr Sampanthan fell ill on Thursday evening.
“The main symptom was said to be tiredness,” said the family member. “He has had long discussions with the party machinery in Trincomalee and this may have led to being tired.”
Mr Sampanthan, who is 84 years old, has been the leader of the TNA since its formation in 2001. He first entered Sri Lanka’s parliament in 1977, on the TULF platform of a separate state for Tamils in the North-East. He served until 1983, when members of the TULF resigned from parliament in protest. Despite contesting in consecutive elections since then, Mr Sampanthan failed to win any seats. He briefly entered parliament in 1997 after the assassination of TULF MP and reported political rival A Thangathurai.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
