Before I wrote this, I debated with my conscience. I knew this article would not be popular. But when truth knocks, silence is betrayal. So here it is.
Who is Pillayan?
Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, known as Pillayan, was recruited into the LTTE as a child soldier at just 14. Under Karuna Amman, he became a prominent Eastern commander. A former terrorist, yes—but in 2004, he defected. Not after the war, but during its darkest hour.
Alongside Karuna, he turned against the LTTE and aided the Sri Lankan Army, helping dismantle the separatist grip over the Eastern Province. The LTTE called him a traitor. But to the Sri Lankan state, he was a key ally. Protected by the government, he transitioned into democratic politics, eventually becoming Chief Minister of the East in 2008.
Later, even while in remand—accused in the assassination of MP Joseph Pararajasingham—he won a parliamentary seat. That doesn’t happen without real grassroots support.
Now fast forward to 2024.
Pillayan is arrested again—this time over the 2006 disappearance of Eastern University’s Vice Chancellor. An 18-year-old case, from a time of war. If we’re reopening wartime files, should we not revisit the JVP’s violent past too? Why the double standard?
The real irony? He’s being prosecuted under the same PTA laws that opposition MPs like Anura Kumara once denounced—laws signed into existence with their own hands.
So why is Udaya Gammanpila defending him?
Because someone must. Because Pillayan trusted the Sri Lankan government and renounced separatism. He never once returned to the idea of a divided Sri Lanka. That moral contract must be honored—by Sinhala politicians as well. Justice isn’t popular. But it’s just.
Who really wants Pillayan silenced?
Not the government. Not the people. It’s the remnants of the LTTE diaspora—their billion-dollar propaganda machine—who see him as the ultimate traitor. Because to terror movements, enemies can be forgiven. But defectors must be destroyed.
And that’s why this matters.
If we abandon Pillayan today, we send a clear message to every future militant: never surrender, never trust the state. Fight till your last breath.
That’s not peace. That’s preparing for the next war.
