03 Jul 2024 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Karthic Manoharan
It was through the Danish TV and the news. It was revealed that my uncle’s family was dead. But after that, I think two weeks later, we had a phone call. I think this call was from Malaysia or somewhere else and the informant said that my uncle is alive. And then we got a phone call from Singapore saying that he is no more. So it’s quite confusing
Fifteen years after the death of the entire family of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the elder brother of Prabakaran and the family relations of the deceased rebel leader have urged the Tamil people in the world not to be deceived by fraudsters belonging to sections of the Tamil diaspora who are said to be minting money by selling the ‘brand name’ Velupillai Prabhakaran and the names of his family members. This urgent plea is made by Velupillai Manoharan, the elder brother of LTTE Leader Prabhakaran and his family memebrs from the Tamil Diaspora, various Tamil political leaders from India and Sri Lanka.
Casting aside all possible attempts to resurrect Dwaraka, the only daughter of Prabhakaran, the family relations of the late LTTE leader have made a request from the Tamil diaspora to give due respect to the dead. These family relations have also urged people not to make contributions to campaigns raised in the name of Prabhkaran or in the names of deceased family members of the late rebel leader. Following are excerpts of an interview done with Karthic Manoharan, the eldest son of Veluppillai Manoharan. Karthic reaffirms the death of his uncle’s entire family; including his cousins. During the interview he recalled his own family’s journey since they left Sri Lanka in 1983. Born in 1980 in Northern Sri Lanka, Karthic is now living in Denmark and works as an English teacher. In 1983, with the commencing of the war, Karthic’s father Velupillai Manoharan, moved to India together with his family and his parents. Later in 2003 his parents had returned to the North. In 1998 Manoharan along with his family left for Denmark, where they have lived for the past 26 years. While Manoharan settled in the Nordic country one of his two sisters and their families settled in India while the other immigrated to Canada. According to Karthic, neither he nor his family members can meet each other due to distance and visa issues. They have not seen each other since they left Sri Lanka. Karthic, who was in constant touch with his uncle Velupillai Prabhakaran till 2008 (one year before the latter died) maintains that the LTTE Leader never had issues with Sri Lankan people. Prabhakaran’s problems had been with the government. In fact he always said that Sri Lanka was his country and went to the extent of supporting the Sri Lankan cricket team whenever there were matches against rival teams like India.
Excerpts.
Q: So your families journey from Sri Lanka, to India and Denmark in itself shows that your family too are a kind of a victim of the war because your movement has been restricted. How do you feel about it?
True that. We have to live like that. We don’t have any choice because we will be watched. We didn’t have any peaceful life. In India we always have to obtain a resident permit or something like that. Every year we had to get that and we had to live our lives there. My Dad could not stay in India as it was hard to start his own business. He had to move to another country to work and earn for us. He worked in Singapore. He worked in ships as a sailor. He was only able to visit us so many years afterwards. It was not a quiet life for us. Since 1998 we all have lived together peacefully in Denmark.
Q: When did you decide to speak to the public regarding this?
In 2023-after the war ended in 2009- there was a girl posing in society as my uncle’s daughter, Dwaraka. She claimed that she is Prabhakaran’s daughter. After that I appeared on social media and I aired my voice out. I maintained that she is not from my family and she is a fake. After that so many Tamil people have understood us by now. They had the perspective that we are also some bad guys or people with similar traits.
Q: So you imply that not only in India, but initially in Denmark you had an isolated life?
Yes it was an isolated life because I don’t have any friends here in Denmark. I don’t want to create any problems in their families. For example, if they develop a friendship with our family, they could be avoided by others because they don’t want these Tamil Tigers here in Denmark.
And after 1998 we moved here in Denmark and here we have so many Sri Lankan Tamil people and the Sri Lankan people here but we were always treated like OK so you are Prabhakaran's family. Here we were treated in different way because the TCC that is Tamil Tigers in Denmark they didn’t want my Dad to come and interfere in their office.
They don’t want us to inform or to tell about them and what they are doing here in Denmark, against Tamil people or what they are doing with the money. They don’t want all this information to be carried to my uncle. So that’s why they don’t want any Tamil people here in Denmark to talk to us.
When, for example, India and Sri Lanka were playing my uncle used to support the Sri Lankan team. He always told, that’s my country, Sri Lanka is my country, so if they win, we all will win. So it’s like that. So he only opposed the government and not Sinhalese people
Q: Was there any point in your life where your family was given a special place by your community because you are related to Prabhakaran?
By the community, no. It’s not like that, but people who loved my uncle, respected us and respected my family, so that’s quite true. But those who are acting here avoided us. They don’t want another person from my family to come to the forefront. We didn’t even like to sit in the front row. We didn’t expect anything from them, but we expected a little respect.
Manoharan’s Wedding - 1979
Q: After 2009, there must have been some commemorations regarding the war, but did you ever get an invitation or were you part of any of these commemorations?
No, they didn’t do anything here in Denmark. I even questioned my parents. They don’t want to tell my uncle or my aunt or sister about Dwaraka’s death. They wanted to hide it from the Tamil people because they used my uncle as a brand and wanted to raise money in his name. They don’t want to announce that Prabhakaran is dead.
But I asked my Dad why they are not even respecting my brothers (cousins) because they both died in Sri Lanka.
So, that’s not a hidden fact. Each and everyone knows that, so why are they not even respecting them. For example, they do it on Maaveerar Day on November 27. So, I always question my parents why their photos are not available there. It’s like 15 years after his death.
Q: How did you reliably come to know that all members in your uncle’s family are no more?
We always had a question like that, but in 2009 we were informed. It was through the Danish TV and the news. It was revealed that my uncle’s family was dead. But after that, I think two weeks later, we had a phone call. I think this call was from Malaysia or somewhere else and the informant said that my uncle is alive. And then we got a phone call from Singapore saying that he is no more. So it’s quite confusing. They confused us.
And even after one year, we found that my grandparents (both) are there in Sri Lanka. After the war we were under the impression that both my grandparents were dead.
But it was in 2010 that my grandpa passed away. And then we got the news from Sri Lanka that he is dead in a camp and he died there and my grandma was still alive. And then we contacted my grandma. My grandma told that my uncle’s family is no more. So we came to know through her.
In 2010 that my grandpa passed away. And then we got the news from Sri Lanka that he is dead in a camp and he died there and my grandma is still alive. And then we contacted my grandma. My grandma told that my uncle’s family is no more. So we came to know through her
Q: So other than from your grandma was there any other way in which you confirmed that this entire family was dead?
Yeah, because from 1998 we had telephone conversations with my uncle’s family.
My aunt used to call my mom and we all talked together. Even after 2003, my grandparents moved to Sri Lanka from India. So we had more conversations with them because they lived with them. My uncle is not that type. He always used to take care for his family.
He used to call and talk to my dad about their parents and he always cared about his family. So many people think that he was away from his family, but wasn’t like that. Because of the situation he was in he wanted us to live a safe life. If they know that he was in contact with us, someone would encounter problems. So, that’s why he avoided meeting us. It was not that he hated us.
So, he was continuously caring for his family. He was caring for his parents. After my grandpa passed away he would have called us if he was alive.
So many people are claiming now that he (Prabhakaran) is talking with them for 3 hours, 4 hours and spearing rumours. If he is alive, he would speak with my dad; at least for 5 minutes.
Q: So, what’s the purpose behind these people who want to maintain that your uncle is alive?
Because in 2009, they collected money for the war and I know that they didn’t send any of these monies to Sri Lanka; to the Tamils or to fund the war. They used it. They dumped the monies here in Denmark. I think they started using these monies from 2012 onwards. So, it’s 15 years now after the war and they have used all the money. So, they need money now. So, they have a brand that’s called Prabhakaran.
So, he will be 70 years old by November 26 this year. And they cannot lie to the Tamil people anymore that he is going to come back and he is going to start a rebellion. This is because of his age. So, they want to and quite obviously, we all know that my brothers, both of them, are dead.
So, they have only one chance to collect money and that’s my sister. So, they have just planned it in a way that if we tell that my sister is alive they can raise funds in her name.
We have asked for a DNA test. If that’s my real sister, what’s the big issue to just take a DNA and prove identity?
That’s simple. Okay. On 27 November a woman who claimed Dwaraka appeared on TV.
Within a week she could have come and do the DNA and she could prove who she really is. She can then continue with her fundraising and everything. But what’s the reason for even not contacting us?
Yeah, and all the money collected in 2009, they didn’t send to Sri Lanka. They had it here. And they waited for a few years. And after that, they started spending it on their own families. We could even see a tremendous difference in their own lives. They struggled before 2009 and immediately they bought houses. They eventually had their luxurious cars and everything
Q: And what’s the last time you made contact with your cousin brothers and sister and also your uncle and the family?
I am quite unsure about that. I don’t remember so much because it was in 2008 end or it was in 2009 that we had a new year or something like followed by our conversations. And after that they had some problem there and they had to move from place to another and we didn’t have any union thereafter. So, before that we had some appointments like that.
We would call within 14 days or we would call within 21 days.
After this period, they had some problem there.
We would always wait for the telephone to ring and my parents used to avoid all the visits and outings here in Denmark during such moments. They would sit at home and wait for the phone call because they were both worried about my grandparents because my grandma was paralysed.
She was paralysed and she couldn’t move without help. So, that’s why they were both worried and even my uncle called for the very last time and talked to my dad. He said, “we have a very bad situation here in Sri Lanka and I don’t know what to do with the parents. This is because of their ages. It’s quite unthinkable to send them to India; given this situation”. My dad was very worried about them, but he maintained that they had to decide because they wouldn’t be given special treatment.
Manoharan’s family with his parents. Karthic (Second from Left) and his younger brother, parents and grandparents
Q: How did your family, especially your dad endure this really difficult period?
Especially on that day, my dad went to work and he was at work when we heard all these news. So, we were quite worried because he has high blood pressure and, yeah, it’s a very tough situation. We couldn’t even inform him. So, we had to just wait at home until he returned. He doesn’t have a driving licence.
So, they had to both come back home. So we waited until he returned and we even prayed to God that nobody should tell him before he comes home. Okay. Five of them were dead and we didn’t know anything about our grandparents.
And yeah, so many of them died and we didn’t know how to console him. But anyhow, he returned from work and we informed him. We told that we would wait for some news. So, we were just waiting, but to no avail. We have to accept the truth.
Q: Your father with your family was forced to leave Sri Lanka as far back as 1983 and completely disconnected from Sri Lanka. Does he misses his birth country?
A: Yeah, because of my uncle, my dad, had to leave Sri Lanka. He didn't get a chance to live his own life in Sri Lanka because he has to go away from that country. Otherwise he would have been punished. He would will be caught. He was always taken to the police station and harass because they couldn't get my uncle. So like that, he always had problem, that's why he decided to leave for India in 1983.
But in India too he couldn’t live with us and he went abroad to work as a sailor. Finally he decided to start his life in India but then Rajiv Gandhi's problem came and my uncle was the suspect. So my dad was asked to leave India because of my uncle, so that's why we approached the UNHCR and we told our situation that we couldn't live together because of our family situation. Then we applied to migrate. We had an idea to move to Canada or to United Kingdom because of the language but Denmark is the first country to accept us and so we said yes and we came to Denmark.
My Dad is 76 years now. He left Sri Lanka in 1983. And his wish is to visit Sri Lanka before his death. And he knows that is quite impossible. He's afraid to come there and visit because, he thinks it's not safe for him.So I think this situation has to move on.
Q: And there were also photos of your youngest cousin, Balachandran. First he was alive and then he was no more. Your comments?
Yeah, that’s right. It was a quite hard story to stomach. All four had died and only one was left. He was only 12 or 13 years old. He came to surrender. But anyhow, they weren’t given a chance and he was shot dead. We didn’t expect that. We thought that since he was a child he would be excused and be given a chance to live. We couldn’t see what exactly happened.
Q: But other than what you hear about them, was there any specific information you received related to him? Did you get information from any other reliable source?
My aunt passed away. My sister passed away. And they were all dead and only my youngest cousin was left alone there.
So, somebody was taking care of him. He was taken along with them just to be left in a safe place. I don’t know what would have happened to him.
They could have protected him and taken him somewhere else and I think they would have let us known about him. We could have taken care of him. Anyhow they found out that he is Prabhakaran’s son and he was shot dead. So, that’s what we heard from the source.
He was only 12 years old, so they took him along with them like their own child to protect him. So, when you say them I am refereeing to the people (public) who moved from there.
Q: So, if I may come back to these people who are collecting money this ‘programme’ was started immediately after the war. I suppose it was in 2009.
They were doing this, for example, here in foreign countries.
So, they were supporting the war by giving money to Tamil Tigers. That’s quite normal. But when I came to Denmark, I came to know all these things because in India, I didn’t encounter anything like this.
I think they even asked money from my parents and they supported. And yeah, it’s quite normal here because they have to have food and they have to even help people in Sri Lanka.
So, it’s fundraising was like that. But anyhow, in 2009 they collected a lot of money. It’s like a very big amount they collected here from each family.
Q: And the money collected after the war, I mean, what were they supposed to and where were they supposed to go?
Yeah, and all the money collected in 2009, they didn’t send to Sri Lanka. They had it here. And they waited for a few years. And after that, they started spending it on their own families. We could even see a tremendous difference in their own lives. They struggled before 2009 and immediately they bought houses. They eventually had their luxurious cars and everything. So, we thought, okay, how is that possible for them to get all these money from? Then we realized.
So, they want someone to be there to show them, like okay, he is alive.
We pay tax and we get all those things like education free from government. So, if my uncle’s family, for example, if they live here in a European country, so why collect money? They will even get all these benefits from the government. So, they don’t have to collect money and live here in this foreign country.
So, I don’t have any point in collecting money in their name. That’s why we wanted to put an end to this. And we did this on May 18, 2024.
My father respected my uncle’s family. He wanted to stop all this nonsense. Hence no more collecting money in the name of my uncle’s family. If they need money they can go and beg for money.
Otherwise, they can state that their family is suffering and ask for help instead of stating that my uncle is suffering. I say this because he is no more.
My uncle didn’t have a single thing. He didn’t buy anything.
He didn’t ask for anything. You know how he lived in Sri Lanka, in the forest and everywhere like that. So, he doesn’t need money.
So, they don’t understand that. And if he is still alive, he won’t even live using this type of money. And if that is my own sister, she will not do such things. So, it’s not in our blood.
Q: Then who are these people? I mean, there are so many diaspora organisations. Do you know who these people are and can you name them?
Yeah, he is a joker. I hope so. His name is Sriskantharaja, the one who is always representing this fake girl. And for example, he will talk for 45 minutes in his YouTube video and he will have a sentence. My uncle is alive and he will talk for 45 minutes; focusing on a single sentence.
So, he is talented. Even he said in the SRF TV documentary or interview, that “I believe” that they are alive. So, if he is quite sure and if he is in touch with them, he has to say, I know they are alive because I talked to them.
I have a source, he should have told like that. But he tells like, I believe that they are alive. So, nobody has seen them. I think they are hallucinating.
Q: But the only issue is with people like Nedumaran and the Indian Tamil leaders. So, he too continued with the same story?
For example, in India, one Danish kroner is equal to, I think 11 or 12 Indian rupees. So, if you send money to Nedumaran, he will talk for you. So, he is not speaking; it is the money.
If my sister was alive, he should have told us and he should have spoken to my father. He made an announcement this February 13, 2023. His birthday was on March 10, so I called him and he didn’t tell anything. He didn’t say a single word about my uncle. If it is true he would have told me. So I told my parents that this is not real and he is doing something fishy there because if that is true he would have told me Karthic tell your Dad that your uncle is alive and your sister is alive and they are living in Europe. That was March 10, 2023. He announced on February 13, 2023. So he didn’t tell anything on March 10 and so I got the news that that it is fake news.
Q: We all have a place in our heart which we call our home and that’s our country. For you and your family, where is that?
Yeah, that’s a big question because I was just three years old when I left the country. And I’m 44 now. So I have never been there since 1983. So I would be really happy if I can come to Sri Lanka and have a normal passage to Sri Lanka.
But that’s quite unthinkable. I say so because of the situation I’m in. So I’m quite afraid because what happened to my younger brother, could happen to me. So that’s the reason I’m not coming back. So I don’t have a home. So I lived in India and now I live in Denmark.
Q: Do you associate with any other Sri Lankans like Sinhalese, Muslims in Denmark?
Oh no, not quite here, We have some Sinhalese friends or Sinhalese people who live in Copenhagen and we used to conduct some dance classes for them. I met a couple of families there, such nice people and yeah, so here we don't have any discrimination between people. We all are together here.
Q: What do you want to tell the people who are willing to give money to these fraudsters?
So many people say that my uncle is their God. They have a huge respect for my uncle. So I appreciate that and I respect that and everything is fine. But we have to accept a person’s death. So my uncle died along with his own family.
All five, they were all dead. So we have to move on. So we have to live our own life. So nobody is going to come and take care of everyone. So we have to take care of ourselves. So what my uncle wished for the Tamil people was for them to live a happy life and be safe. People living here can help people suffering in Sri Lanka.
Q: So now that it has been proved that the girl who appeared online posing as your cousin sister or Prabhakaran’s daughter Dwaraka and made a speech on the LTTE’s “Maaveerar Naal” or Great Heroes Day on November 27 2023 was a fake and a duplicate. Who is behind this scam?
Yes it is fake and they proved that there was fundraising and there was a video right? It’s the same person 95.3% of the time.
My uncle fought for the Tamil people right? And now he is afraid of the Tamil people. Why he is not showing his face to Tamil people?
For example, these fundraisers, this is a mafia gang. But if my uncle was alive and with them, would he permit these people to do the things they are doing?
So, my uncle will be 70 years old on November 26 this year if he lived. So, they cannot lie to the Tamil people anymore that he is going to come back and he is going to start a fight. I say this because of his age.
So, they have only one chance and that’s my sister. So, they’ll say that my sister is alive and they can fundraise in her name and then they can get back to a luxurious way of life.
Velupillai Manoharan
Q: But there are well-known people from India and Sri Lanka with a political background who say that they are in contact with your uncle and his family members?
These people, those who say that they are in contact with my uncle. So how is that possible? How would he appreciate all those things? So that’s the main question. So the single thing can say is that he is no more.
If he is alive, he would have questioned them. And he would not travel with them. And the sad thing is, Nedumaran and Kasi Anandan. Sivajilingam is in Sri Lanka. I don’t know how that’s possible for him to travel. For example, what Sri Lankan Government has to do is, they have to punish Sivajilingam because he knows, if they catch him, he would show my uncle, because he saw him, right? He has spoken to my sister.
And how is that possible for him to travel from Sri Lanka to India, from India to England and then back to base. He is telling that he spoke to my uncle, he is going to meet him, and that he has contacts. Is he engaged in human trafficking? Because he even told in an interview that he is the one who helped my aunt’s mom and even my grandma. He helped them to travel from Sri Lanka to Malaysia.
Another thing is, my aunt, my uncle’s wife, she has an elder brother, elder sister and a younger brother. The younger brother is already dead. But Sivajilingam told that along with her mother, he had taken my brother’s family and he left all of them in The Maldives.
Is he engaged in human trafficking?
Yeah, but I don’t know how he took her along with him. I don’t know the family because my elder brother and elder sister are living in Denmark.
The younger brother is dead. But Sivajilingam told that he even helped my aunt’s brother to leave with his family. So, I don’t know.
The Sri Lankan government has to take some steps. I think these people are creating the trouble for Tamil people. They have to be punished.
Q: What was your uncle’s view on other communities in Sri Lanka?
He didn’t hate the Sinhalese people. For example, I have even heard from so many people that he used to see cricket matches. When, for example, India and Sri Lanka were playing my uncle used to support the Sri Lankan team. He always told, that’s my country, Sri Lanka is my country, so if they win, we all will win. So it’s like that. So he only opposed the government and not Sinhalese people.
He wanted all to live together. He even told me, I think they had some problem at that time, that if Tamil people move to Colombo or somewhere else, they would be ill-treated or something like that.
My uncle used to say that living in harmony didn’t happen during his period, but in my period things would change and not to have fear. He maintained that I, during my time, could travel the whole country without having any fear that I am a Tamil.
And he even said that the Sinhalese should have the same feeling when they visit us. So if they come here, they will have a safe journey here and they can visit Tamil areas and go back safely. So that’s what he needed.
Q: What are the dangers that the Tamil people can be exposed to if the news that Prabhakaran is alive is true?
It is quite obviously that Tamil people living in Sri Lanka will face a lot of trouble if this news is true. If the war is concluded and if my uncle is not anymore they will live peacefully in Sri Lanka. But if my uncle is alive then the Indian Government will impose a ban on Tamil Tigers and they will do something, so that the Tamil people living in Sri Lanka and India are going to suffer because of these kind of false statements that are made.
So we live here in foreign countries and we don’t face such problems here, so it’s only Tamil people in Sri Lanka who are going to suffer a lot because of these things. So they have to realize what they are doing, so if they don’t want to help them, just leave them to have a peaceful life.
Q: On behalf of the family, what do you have to tell the Tamil people who are sending money to various groups?
Yes, my special message to the Tamil people living all around the world is if they want to help the people suffering in Sri Lanka, visit the island on a vacation and help the people in need. So help them directly, instead of wasting your money. Don’t give any money to people operating in our family’s name. If my uncle is alive, we will take care of him. My dad is there. He has two elder sisters here and we have so many people here. We will take care of them, so you don’t have to believe all these people abroad.
So you don't have to believe what all these people here in abroad say. They are all cheating you. Instead of wasting your money here, use that for yourself. Instead of giving it to other people, just use for your own family, have a vacation or go and enjoy yourself. Let the others earn their own money and enjoy their money, instead of getting money from you. That's what our message is.
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