Jaffna District Member of Parliament Archchuna Ramanathan has said he expects to be arrested when he returns to Sri Lanka following a speech in India in which he openly expressed support for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and defended its ideology.
Speaking at an event in India, the MP said he anticipated being “compulsorily arrested” upon arriving in the country, saying his remarks and references to the late LTTE leader could expose him to legal action under Sri Lankan law, Newswire reported. The LTTE remains a proscribed organisation in Sri Lanka, and public support for the group or its leadership can attract prosecution under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and related anti-terror legislation.
Archchuna did not specify which law he expected to be charged under, nor whether any complaint had already been lodged. The remarks were not immediately confirmed by Sri Lankan law enforcement at the time of reporting.
The MP, elected from the Jaffna District, has been at the centre of multiple controversies in recent months. He drew sharp criticism in early May after suggesting Jaffna should be “handed over to Tamil Nadu,” a remark he later said had been intended ironically. He was also arrested and remanded in late April over a separate case involving the alleged brandishing of a firearm during a land dispute in Jaffna and was released on bail four days into the remand order.
Any arrest on the LTTE-related speech would compound the firearm case still pending in the Mallakam Magistrate’s Court. The government has also tabled a draft Proscription of Terrorism Act to replace the PTA, with the Justice Ministry currently reviewing the bill.
