M. K. Shivajilingam

Honourable
M. K. Shivajilingam
MP MPC
ம. க. சிவாஜிலிங்கம்
Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament
for Jaffna District
In office
2001–2010
Member of the Northern Provincial Council for Jaffna District
Assumed office
2013
Member of Valvettithurai Urban Council
In office
2011–2013
Personal details
Political party Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization
Other political
affiliations		 Tamil National Alliance
Religion Hindu
Ethnicity Sri Lankan Tamil

Mahalingam Kanagalingam Shivajilingam (Tamil: மகாலிங்கம் கனகலிங்கம் சிவாஜிலிங்கம்) is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician, provincial councillor and former Member of Parliament.[1]

Early life and family

Shivajilingam is from Valvettithurai in northern Sri Lanka.[2][3] He is a distant relative of V. Prabhakaran, leader of the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.[3][4]

Career

Shivajilingam is a member of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO).[5] He served as chairman of Valvettithurai Urban Council.[6]

On 20 October 2001 the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, TELO and Tamil United Liberation Front formed the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).[7][8] Shivajilingam was one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District at the 2001 parliamentary election. He was elected and entered Parliament.[9] He was re-elected at the 2004 parliamentary election.[10]

Shivajilingam contested the 2010 presidential election as an independent candidate. He came ninth after securing 9,662 votes (0.09%).[11] In 2010 Shivajilingam left TELO and TNA. He subsequently formed the Tamil National Liberation Alliance (TNLA) with other dissident members of the TNA.[12] Shivajilingam was one of the LLF/TNLA alliance's candidates in Jaffna District at the 2010 parliamentary election but the alliance failed to win any seats in Parliament.[13][14] In June 2011 TNLA was dissolved and Shivajilingam rejoined TELO and TNA.[15]

Shivajilingam contested the 2011 local government election as a TNA candidate and was elected to Valvettithurai Urban Council.[16] He contested the 2013 provincial council election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District and was elected to the Northern Provincial Council.[17][18] After the election he was appointed to assist the Chief Minister on employment.[19] He took his oath as provincial councillor in front of Justice of Peace Mayilerum Perumal at a beach side Hindu temple in Mullivaikkal, a village on the north-east coast of Sri Lanka which was the scene of the final battle of the Sri Lankan Civil War, on 14 October 2013.[20][21][22]

Shivajilingam contested the 2015 parliamentary election as part of an independent group in Kurunegala District but the group failed to win any seats in Parliament.[23][24][25]

Shivajilingam is considered a maverick in Sri Lankan Tamil politics and was for many years the only prominent Tamil politician to openly call for an independent international investigation into alleged war crimes during the civil war.[26][27] He has openly called for former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka to be tried for war crimes at the International Criminal Court.[3]

Shivajilingam claims that the Sri Lankan military has tried to assassinate him on a number of occasions.[28] In November 2012, during a Canadian refugee hearing, Captain Ravindra Watudura Bandanage of the Sri Lankan Army claimed that an army colonel had ordered him to place bomb at the home of Shivajilingam.[29]

Electoral history

Electoral history of M. K. Shivajilingam
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
2001 parliamentary[9] Jaffna District TNA 17,859 Elected
2004 parliamentary[10] Jaffna District TNA 42,193 Elected
2010 presidential[11] Sri Lanka Ind 9,662 Not elected
2010 parliamentary Jaffna District TNLA Not elected
2011 local[16] Valvettithurai UC TNA 1,165 Elected
2013 provincial[18] Jaffna District TNA 22,660 Elected
2015 parliamentary Kurunegala District Ind Not elected

References

  1. ↑ "Directory of Past Members: M. K. Shivajilingam". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  2. ↑ Ramachandra, Mrinalini (11 December 2008). "Sri Lankan Tamil MP Sivajilingam ordered to "quit India', may seek "political asylum" in Chennai". transcurrents.com.
  3. 1 2 3 Krishnaswamy, P. (26 July 2015). "Sivajilingam takes on MR". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka).
  4. ↑ "Prabhakaran's Distant Relative to Contest Against Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lankan Polls". NDTV. Press Trust of India. 19 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Subramanian, Nirupama; Radhakrishnan, R. K. (20 October 2012). "In Prabakaran's birthplace, a different kind of hero". The Hindu.
  6. ↑ "Jaffna fisherman protest sea ban". TamilNet. 19 March 2001.
  7. ↑ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. "Tamil National Alliance enters critical third phase - 1". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
  8. ↑ "Tamil parties sign MOU". TamilNet. 20 October 2001.
  9. 1 2 "General Election 2001 Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  10. 1 2 "General Election 2004 Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  11. 1 2 "PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – 2010 Official Results - All Island Final Result". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  12. ↑ "New Tamil alliance in Sri Lanka says TNA betrayed Tamils". Colombo Page. 23 February 2010.
  13. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT, No. 1 OF 1981 Notice Under Section 24(1) GENERAL ELECTIONS OF MEMBERS OF THE PARLIAMENT" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1643/07. 2 March 2010.
  14. ↑ "Parliamentary General Election - 2010 Jaffna District Final District Result". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  15. ↑ "Sivajilingam, Sri Kantha decide to join TNA, restructure TELO". Tamilnet. 25 June 2011.
  16. 1 2 "PREFERENCES" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  17. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) ó GENERAL Government Notifications PROVINCIAL COUNCILS ELECTIONS ACT, No. 2 OF 1988 Northern Province Provincial Council" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1829/33. 25 September 2013.
  18. 1 2 "PROVINCIAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS 2013 ñ Results and preferential votes: Northern Province". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
  19. ↑ "Division of Ministries of the Northern Provincial Council & Subjects for Councillors" (PDF). TamilNet. 11 October 2013.
  20. ↑ Balachandran, P. K. (14 October 2013). "TNA member Sivajilingam breaks away, takes oaths at Mullivaikkal". The New Indian Express.
  21. ↑ "PLOTE members take oaths". Daily FT. 15 October 2013.
  22. ↑ "Shivajilingam takes oaths in Mullivaikal". Eye Sri Lanka. 14 October 2013.
  23. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT, No. 1 OF 1981 Notice Under Section 24(1) GENERAL ELECTIONS OF MEMBERS OF THE PARLIAMENT" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1923/03. 13 July 2015.
  24. ↑ "Ranil tops with over 500,000 votes in Colombo". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015.
  25. ↑ "Preferential Votes". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015.
  26. ↑ Hoole, Ratnajeevan (9 December 2012). "Denial Of Asylum To Bandanage And Framing Of Sivajilingam". The Sunday Leader.
  27. ↑ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (7 March 2015). "Imperative Need to Support Tamil Moderates in the Struggle Against Extremists". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
  28. ↑ Bell, Stewart (5 December 2012). "'The government made several attempts to kill me': Tamil MP wants probe of assassination claims by Sri Lankan army deserter in Canada". National Post.
  29. ↑ Bell, Stewart (29 November 2012). "Sri Lankan Army deserter gives 'rare' insider account of government forces torturing civilians". National Post.
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