A. Kavikaran, a youth contesting in the local government elections and the son of a victim of the Naranthanai massacre, has called on the public to reject candidates from the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), accusing them of involvement in the 2001 killings.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Jaffna Press Club on 6 April, Kavikaran named EPDP members as perpetrators of the attack that took place during a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) election campaign in Naranthanai. "Madhanarajan, Napoleon, Sethupathi, and Karunakaramurthi, who are members of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), appeared in court. Madhanarajan and Napoleon fled the country," he stated. He added that although Justice Ilanjeliyan sentenced them to death and life imprisonment, they remain at large.
In 2018, the Jaffna Court issued an order to the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence to repatriate the fugitives. However, “after the change of three Presidents, they still have not been found,” Kavikaran said.
The Naranthanai attack, which occurred on 28 November 2001, left two Tamil National Alliance activists dead and at least 20 others wounded, including four candidates. TNA figures such as Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran, and Jaffna Mayor N. Raviraj were among those injured. EPDP members, including Mathanarajan, the then Pradeshya Sabah President, and Napoleon, an EPDP organiser, were named as leading the attack.
Following the attack, TULF Acting President Anandasangaree condemned the violence, accusing EPDP leader Douglas Devananda of orchestrating the incident and calling for the arrest of those involved. “EPDP leaders have now resorted to thuggery and violence because they are certain of their defeat at the forthcoming general election in the Jaffna district,” Anandasangaree said at the time.
The incident drew widespread condemnation, including calls for a hartal across the North-East in protest.
In recent years, international attention has returned to the Naranthanai massacre. In June 2024, the UK’s Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrest of a 60-year-old man under suspicion of committing war crimes, relating specifically to the killing of two individuals during a political rally in Jaffna in late 2001. The attack is believed to be the same one that occurred in Kayts, reportedly carried out by EPDP cadres. This marks the second arrest in the UK under Section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act, 2001, related to war crimes committed in Sri Lanka.
Commander Dominic Murphy of the Metropolitan Police urged witnesses to come forward: “We know that there are people with information about these incidents during the civil war in Sri Lanka who have not yet come forward. We urge those people to contact police – we will support you, and your information will be treated in the strictest confidence.”
These developments come amid increasing calls for accountability for war crimes and the use of universal jurisdiction by states such as the UK. The EPDP’s role as a pro-government paramilitary group during the conflict, and its continued presence in
