Premakumar Gunaratnam

Premakumar Gunaratnam is a former JVP leader and political activist in Sri Lanka who later became an Australian citizen.^[2]

Early life

Gunaratnam was born on 18 November 1965 to an ethnic Tamil mother and a father in Kegalle. He was educated in St. Mary's College, Kegalle, and Pinnawala Central College, Rambukkana.^[3] He entered the University of Peradeniya Faculty of Engineering and became a student leader within a short while after entering the university.^[2] He did not complete his degree; although his profession is stated as an "Engineer". He is married to a Sinhalese doctor, Champa Somaratna, a resident in Australia.^[3]

Politics with JVP

During 1988–89, Gunaratnam functioned as the Trincomalee leader of Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya (DJV), he was also the contact point between the JVP and Tamil groups of Marxist orientation, mainly the TELO. Touted as an explosives expert, he allegedly masterminded the JVP attack on the Pallekele army camp and IPKF camp at Kallar.^[2] After the death of Ranjitham, Prema- kumar operated under his brother’s name. He was arrested and imprisoned at Bogambara Prison but escaped tunnelling his way out of prison on 13 December 1988.^[3] Subsequently, he fled the country, reportedly via the sea route as the military launched a manhunt.

Post-JVP politics

Gunaratnam was an elusive leader and JVP leaders denied the existence of a party member as "Premakumar Gunaratnam". In April 2012, internal crisis within the party heated up between the hard core socialist Gunaratnam and the party leader Somawansa Amarasinghe. As a result, the party’s media unit was shut down once a majority of the members extended their support to Gunarathnam. The women’s wing and a majority of the students’ and youth wings have extended their support to Gunaratnam group. A former politburo member, Dimuthu Attygalle, who is now an active member of the dissident group, was the former head of the JVP women’s wing and the party leader for several districts. Another former politburo member Pubudu Jagoda was an active member in the youth movement that includes the education wing. He also played a key role in the JVP newspaper, Lanka. Several student union leaders like Duminda Nagamuwa, Udul Premaratne and Chameera Koswatte have also sided with Gunaratnam group.^[4] In the same month Gunaratnam and the dissident group formed new marxist party named Frontline Socialist Party (FSP).^[5]

Locating Premakumar Gunaratnam

Gunaratnam's wife, Champa Somaratna, was detained by State Intelligence Services (SIS) at Bandaranaike International Airport from a flight originating from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport.^[6] Shortly after that, Gunaratnam family living in New South Wales, Australia came under intense surveillance of Sri Lanka's foreign intelligence service operatives, for a kill only-NO-capture mission.^[7] However, intelligence gathered indicated Gunaratnam was already in Sri Lanka since 3 September 2011 under an alias Noel Mudalige; this resulted in the mission's objectives being changed to a kill-or-capture mission.

The exact details of Gunaratnam's capture remain highly classified; however, sources indicate he was captured in the early hours of 7 April 2012, by the Terrorism Investigations Department with collaboration from agents attached to the State Intelligence Services.^[8] Kumar Gunaratnam appeared on a part of a Sri Lankan Political Television program "Sathyagaraya" aired 30 April 2015 on ITN Sri Lanka.^[9]

Organization

Front Line Socialist Party

References