Prabhakaran’s brother slams section of Tamil diaspora for cheating Tamils

Velupillai Manoharan, the elder brother of LTTE founder leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, has come forward to denounce a scam targeting the Tamil diaspora and revealed that a group within the diaspora has been deceiving unsuspecting individuals by falsely claiming that Prabhakaran and some family members are still alive.

"My brother Prabhakaran and his entire family have passed away, achieving martyrdom. It is crucial to acknowledge this truth. I urge you not to be deceived by these fraudsters posing as my brother's family. They are manipulating your sentiments and exploiting my brother's legacy for their own benefit," stated Manoharan, cautioning against falling victim to such fraudulent schemes.

Manoharan told the Jaffna Monitor magazine’s latest issue that he was stating this to end what he said was a huge scam perpetrated by a section of the Tamil diaspora to cheat money from unsuspecting Tamils by insisting that Prabhakaran and some of his family members were still alive.

The interview given to Jaffna's Monitor magazine was rephrased by M.R. Narayan Swamy for Thefederal.com.

“As Prabhakaran’s elder brother, I felt it was my responsibility to end this nonsense,” Manoharan, who is based in Denmark, told the fortnightly journal. “Additionally, there have been false rumours that my brother is alive and living abroad.”

In recent months, a young Tamil woman living in the West had falsely claimed to be Prabhakaran’s daughter Thuvaraga (Dwarka), “deceiving the diaspora out of millions of dollars”, Manoharan said. “As Prabhakaran’s elder brother, I have a responsibility to reveal the truth about what happened to him and his family. If we do not speak out, these false narratives will dominate, and everyone will believe this nonsense,” he said.

Manoharan, left Sri Lanka for good in 1975.

Manoharan told Jaffna Monitor that he often spoke with Prabhakaran on the telephone until the end of 2008, and for the last time a couple of months before the latter got killed, in May 2009. Recalling the final conversations, Manoharan said: “He (Prabhakaran) said the situation was getting out of hand and asked for advice since our parents were with him.”

When asked if Prabhakaran ever admitted that the LTTE’s war was about to end, Manoharan replied: “No, he did not. He said they would continue to fight but acknowledged that the problems were overwhelming.”

Manoharan accused two well-known Tamil diaspora organisations and some Tamils who reside in the West of unleashing lies about Prabhakaran’s family to swindle money. “These individuals and organisations have orchestrated a complex network for deceit. They exploit the emotional and financial support of the Tamil diaspora by falsely claiming that Thuvaraga, Prabhakaran’s daughter, is still alive. This claim is used to siphon funds from well-meaning supporters who believe they are aiding Prabhakaran’s family and the Tamil cause.

“It is all about easy money. By falsely claiming that Thuvaraga is alive, they can potentially earn millions of dollars without having to work hard or do anything significant.”

Manoharan named one of the men involved in the deceit as Sritharan, who he said brought a man in 2004 claiming he was from Sri Lanka and needed to be helped.

“I gave him 25,000 kronor but later found out that the man was actually from Italy, not Tamil Eelam. I even informed my brother Prabhakaran about this.”

Manoharan said he lost touch with his parents after they crossed over to the military-held territory when the war ended in Sri Lanka.

“We reached out to various Tamil nationalist MPs but they didn’t help us. A few MPs indirectly asked for money to facilitate communication with our parents.” Manoharan refused to name any of the MPs, saying “they are still there, occupying their seats in Parliament”.

He said that if anyone wanted to truly honour Prabhakaran’s memory, “focus on helping our people in Sri Lanka. Many Tamils who were affected by the war still live in abject poverty and face daily struggles. Channel your efforts and resources towards rebuilding the lives of these war-affected individuals. The best way to keep my brother’s legacy alive is by working towards the betterment of our Tamil community and ensuring that those who have suffered do not continue to live in hardship.”