September 24, Colombo (LNW): The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) has requested an urgent meeting with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake as it seeks to broaden diplomatic efforts to obtain a pardon for 26-year-old Sivarasa Anojan, a Sri Lankan national sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia.
In a letter dated September 22, ITAK President C.V.K. Sivagnanam and General Secretary M.A. Sumanthiran PC asked the President to meet party representatives to discuss possible steps towards securing Anojan’s release.
The party said the seriousness of the case required swift action and proposed that Ampara District MP Kavendran Kodeeswaran be included in a Sri Lankan delegation expected to travel to Saudi Arabia.
ITAK said the nomination followed an announcement in Parliament by the Foreign Affairs Minister concerning plans for a delegation to engage with Saudi authorities over the matter.
The party is also seeking to build support through diplomatic channels outside Sri Lanka. In a statement issued on September 23, ITAK said its MPs had recently held discussions with several foreign diplomatic missions in Colombo, briefing representatives on the information available to the party regarding Anojan’s case.
According to Batticaloa District MP and ITAK Parliamentary Group Leader Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, the party has asked diplomatic representatives to support efforts to obtain a pardon and ultimately secure Anojan’s release.
The party has also been working with Tamil diaspora organisations, which it says have approached governments and relevant authorities in countries where they operate in an effort to generate additional diplomatic and humanitarian support.
Rasamanickam said these discussions had opened up further diplomatic possibilities that the Sri Lankan Government could consider as it engages with Saudi Arabia.
The MP said ITAK now wants to brief President Dissanayake personally on the contacts already made and put forward further proposals for possible government action.
One avenue being explored is the involvement of countries with close relations with both Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, with ITAK hoping that such governments could assist Colombo in its diplomatic engagement with the Saudi authorities.
The party has stressed the importance of pursuing multiple channels simultaneously, including the Sri Lankan Government’s existing consular and diplomatic efforts.
Rasamanickam said ITAK was prepared to work alongside the President, the Foreign Ministry, foreign diplomatic missions, diaspora organisations and other relevant stakeholders in pursuing the case.
The party’s immediate objective is to secure wider diplomatic backing for Anojan and explore every available avenue that could contribute to a pardon and his eventual safe return to Sri Lanka.
ITAK is now awaiting a response from the President regarding its request for a meeting, which the party considers an important next step in coordinating the diplomatic initiatives already under way.
