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Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader and Jaffna District parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has condemned the killing of 32-year-old Ethirmanasingham Kapilraj in Mullaitivu, describing it as a “planned murder by the Sri Lankan Army” and a stark example of the military’s ongoing hostility towards Tamils in the North-East.
முத்தையன் கட்டு இடதுகரையில் ராணுவத்தினால் படுகொலை செய்யப்பட்ட இளைஞன் கபில்ராஜ் அவர்களின் இறுதி நிகழ்விற்குப்பின்னர் ஊடகங்களிடம் தெரிவித்த கருத்துக்கள் pic.twitter.com/qK0T3BiKkl
— Gajen Ponnambalam MP (@GGPonnambalam) August 11, 2025
Speaking during Kapilraj’s funeral rites, Ponnambalam pointed to witness testimonies as proof that the killing was premeditated. “We can identify this through this issue’s witnesses’ statements. Regarding this murder, we can see that Kapilraj has been affected to a great extent by the military,” he said.
He recounted how, on the Thursday Kapilraj was first attacked, family members and villagers had gone to see him and were confronted with the army’s “misbehaviour and lack of integrity,” which left “everyone in doubt.”
Ponnambalam accused the Sri Lankan military of harbouring a “murderous rage” towards Tamils and said there had been no accountability for its actions. “The very responsible military responsible for the Tamil genocide have today given no responsibility to their mistake. They continuously see the Tamil people and treat them as enemies, especially the army camp based in the Mullaitivu.”
He also condemned the role of the police, which he stressed is “meant for the safety of the public.” Instead, he said, officers had “disregarded Kapilraj’s relatives with no care at all, for around 5 hours,” calling it “absurd and wrong.”
“Kapilraj’s situation has happened 16 years after the war. This continuous hatred can be demonstrated through Kapilraj’s unjust murder,” he said, stressing the need for the Tamil people to bring these statements forward and for the international community to take note
“Like the formalities of Geneva that have the semblance of authority, the work at hand should be taken importantly and show the presence of our civilians. These crimes committed by the Sri Lankan government towards the Tamil people should be felt by the authorities. We hope that everyone feels this injustice and behaves in a respectable way.”
