State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan has recently revealed the reason for joining the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

He had said during a meeting at the Batticaloa District Secretariat on Monday (26 June) that he had joined the LTTE and fought in the war over the lands of Tamil people that had been taken over by the Sinhalese.

The State Minister had urged State officials to take steps against the land grabs taking place in the Batticaloa District, especially in areas under the Mahaweli scheme.

“What’s the current situation in the country? What is the economic situation in the country? The Tamil National Alliance is talking only about one area. I was a member of the LTTE. We fought against the illegal encroachment of our lands by the Sinhalese people. That was the situation then and there is no point in talking about it now. That is why I entered mainstream politics. We need to unite the people and the Government. We need to speak about these issues with the President. We need to try and change some of the laws in the country. We cannot do anything without that,” Chandrakanthan had said.

He had further noted: “There was a struggle demanding a system change, but was there a change in the Mahaweli system? Was there a change in the Government? Did the politicians change? Did the teachers or tuition teachers change? Can we expect equality without changing any of these?”