Lakshman Kadirgamar - Misplaced Pages

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File:Laskhman Kadirgamar.jpg

Kadirgamar on a diplomatic visit to France, January 1996.

Hon. Lakshman Kadirgamar (April 12, 1932 – August 12, 2005) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was foreign minister of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2001 and again from April 2004 until his assassination in August 2005 which was suspected to have been by the LTTE.

Early life

A Jaffna origin Tamil from Manipay and brought up his early childhood in the southern part of the Island. An alumnus of Trinity College, Kandy, he captained the college first eleven cricket team in 1950 while also competing in the college athletic and rugger teams. In recognition of his all round performance in academic and extra curricular spheres he was awarded the Ryde Gold medal for the best all round student.

Kadirgamar went on to study law at the University of Ceylon, graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Honors) degree in 1953 and became the top student in the First Class at the Advocates Intermediate Examination in 1953. In1954 he won the Scholarship for the candidate placed first in the First Class at the Advocates Final Examination of the Ceylon Law College and was awarded prizes for the Law of Evidence and the Law of Persons and Property. He was admitted to the Ceylon Bar in 1955. Later, at Oxford University, UK, he received his B.LITT degree. Kadirgamar, like several other Sri Lankans, was elected to serve as President of the Oxford Union.

Kadirgamar was the author of a number of scholarly articles published in international legal journals such as the Modern Law Review, The South African Law Journal and The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer, etc. An ardent international civil servant, Kadiragamar, held many positions in numerous international organizations including the ILO, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) and South Asia Foundation (SAF). In 1963, he was the Special Commissioner of Amnesty International to investigate Buddhist-Catholic clashes in Vietnam.

Political career

Although he had never been elected before, and had never even addressed a political rally, he was selected as national list MP in 1994 on the People's Alliance list. He was Foreign Minister in the PA government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga. After the defeat of the government in 2001, he became special adviser on Foreign Affairs to the President. Despite being a Tamil, he strongly supported the Bandaranaike government's policy of not negotiating with the Tamil Tigers insurgents in northern Sri Lanka. He has also been critical of the Norwegian mediators in the period 2001 to 2004, claiming they have been biased towards the Tamil Tigers.

In 2003 Kadirgamar was a candidate for the position of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, but was defeated by Don McKinnon of New Zealand.

Following the victory of the United People's Freedom Alliance in the April 2, 2004 Sri Lankan legislative elections, he was mentioned as a candidate for Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, but on April 6 President Kumaratunga appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa to the post. Four days later, however, he became foreign minister again in the new cabinet.

Religious

Kadirgamar was born a Christian but he brought a proposal to the UN to make Vesak Day as an international celebration day. Vesak is the full moon day on which Lord Buddha was born, and later obtained Enlightenment and entered Nirvana.

Humanitarian

During a BBC interview he was asked if he thought he was a traitor to the Tamil people since he was a minister in a majority Sinhalese government. He said "People who live in Sri Lanka are first and foremeost Sri Lankans, then we have our race and religion, which is something given to us at birth". "We have to live in Sri Lanka as Sri Lankans tolerating all races and religion" .

Controversial Statements

He seemed at times to be a legal interpreter justifying then Government's activities contrasting to his intellectual genius and once went to say, "UN should be concerned with malaria and mosquitoes and should not try to expand its mandate".

Death

On August 12, 2005, around 2300 (UTC+6), Kadirgamar was shot by a sniper in Colombo as he was getting out of the swimming pool at his private residence. Early reports indicate he was shot twice in the head, once in the neck, and once in the body. He was rushed to the National Hospital, where he instantly died. His hospital report indicates that he died as a result of his wounds.

It is widely believed all over the world that Kadirgamar's assassins belong to LTTE. A overwhelming majority of Sri Lankans hold them responsible due to the fact that Kadirgamar was responsible for getting the US among many countries to classify the LTTE as a terrorist organisation. The Tamil Tigers have denied responsibility for the killing, and have stated that any damage Kadirgamar had made to their international reputation by Lakshman Kadirgamar was already done, and they would not risk the cease-fire agreement by carrying out this assassination. This was seen merely as an expected statement from the LTTE after it had carried out a deadly attack and was not taken seriously by the International community.

Kadirgamar on many occasions mentioned the LTTE's threats to his life. Speaking to The Hindu, he said "They can get me anytime. I get very serious reports things are hotting up".

The Hindu editorial on 15/08/2005 strongly condemned the LTTE and held it responsible for the assassination. "There is not the slightest doubt that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam planned and executed this fiendish crime. The highly accomplished Mr. Kadirgamar was known to be at the top of the LTTE's hit list, just below President Chandrika Kumaratunga"

On September 5 Sri Lankan police arrested two Tamils, Muttiah Sahadevan alias Devan (Kadirgamar's neighbour's gardener) and Isidor Arokya Nathar alias Babu. They have confessed to having met Charles of the LTTE intelligence and helping out two alleged assassins. This is seen in some quarters in Sri Lanka as proof that the LTTE was behind his assassination.

International reaction

Neighbouring India condemned what the foreign ministry described as a "terrorist crime" and offered its full support.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who last met Mr Kadirgamar in June, condemned the assassination of Sri Lanka's foreign minister as a "senseless murder and vicious act of terror" and urged Sri Lankans not to let it lead to resumed civil war. She praised Kadirgamar as a man of "dignity, honour and integrity, who devoted his life to bringing peace to Sri Lanka".

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in a statement quoted by the AFP news agency: "Sri Lanka has lost a deeply respected statesman dedicated to peace and national unity."

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer paid tribute to Kadirgamar saying he played a key role in bringing forward the peace process in Sri Lanka. "Lakshman Kadirgamar was an eminent statesman and a distinguished representative of Sri Lanka," he said. "He was a man of moderation who sought the path of peace and worked tirelessly for his country."

Peace brokers Norway also condemned the assassination, with Foreign Minister Jan Petersen describing it as "an atrocious crime and a tragedy for Sri Lanka."

Anecdotes

Kadirgamar was known for his combative and ready wit. When Shane Warne justified Australia's decision to not play in Colombo during the 1996 Cricket World Cup due to the terrorist threat by saying that he can be targeted by a drive-in bomber while he is shopping, Kadirgamar is reported to have said "Shopping is for sissies."

Kadirgamar commented later "There was a storm of protest in Australia. A TV interviewer asked me whether I had ever played cricket. I said I had played before he was born - without helmets and thigh guards, on matting wickets that were full of holes and stones, and I had my share of broken bones to show of it. My friend the Australian foreign minister was drawn into the fray. He phoned me. We decided to cool things down... When the whole episode was over I sent a bouquet of flowers to my Australian counterpart. Flowers are also for sissies."