K.Kanthasamy was abducted in June 1988 by a Tamil 'group' and was
presumed killed. He was a human rights activist who organised practical assistance for
Tamils displaced and dispossessed by the conflict in the island. He also helped to found
the Tamil Information Centre in London. He returned to Jaffna in 1987 after the signing of
the Indo Sri Lanka Accord and was engaged in refugee rehabilitation work in the Tamil
homeland at the time of his abduction.
"...As a Tamil, I must confess to a feeling of shame not unmixed with anger, that a so
called Tamil 'liberation' group should have been responsible for Kantha's abduction and
murder. We, as a people, cannot liberate ourselves from anything by killing those with
whom we disagree. Kantha was an honourable man. He was a good man. And to him, work was
worship - he was the karma yogi par excellence. And when we honour his memory and his
work, we not only strengthen that which is good and honourable amongst the Tamil people -
we also renew our own commitment to the Tamil national liberation struggle to which Kantha
gave his life."
It was more than twenty five years ago, in the early 1960s, that I first met with
Kanthasamy. At that time, he was a young lawyer working in Advocate N. Nadarasa's chambers
at Kollupitiya. But he was already displaying some of the qualities which would stand him
in good stead in the years to come.
He addressed himself, in a systematic and disciplined manner, to whatever task that was
assigned to him. He was dependable. He was a doer - not a talker. His honesty and integrity
were never in dispute. And there was an attractive simplicity about him as he travelled
around in a motor scooter from chambers to Hultsdorf and back. But then, Kantha was a
simple and honest man.
Many years later, I remember meeting him at Saraswathy Hall in Bambalapitiya. It was a
couple of months after the burning of the Jaffna
Public Library in June 1981. That was an incident which had left
its mark on the consciousness of many thousands of Tamils, including myself. Kantha
was at Saraswathy Hall, involved in the campaign to collect books to establish a new
library, writing down carefully the titles of all the books that were handed over and the
names of the donors. It was a time consuming task and not particularly glamorous - but,
typically, Kantha approached his duties with cheerfulness and with dedication.
Kantha had appeared as Counsel before the Sansoni Commission which inquired into the attacks against the Tamil people in 1977, and
this was the period in his life that he was working almost full time in the rehabilitation
of Tamils who had been displaced by such attacks, and who had become refugees in their own
land.
And, it was his involvement in such refugee rehabilitation work that eventually led him
to become a refugee himself and seek political asylum in the United Kingdom.
I met with him in London in late 1983 and he took me with some pride to the newly
established office of the Tamil Information Centre which he had
set up with the help of a few friends. He was full of the work he was doing, despite a
recent heart attack and despite being told that he would need to undergo a by pass
operation.
There was a certain dignity about all that he did - he would tell me " You know,
when I go to funding agencies for donations, I tell them that we are not beggars, but I
know that in a way I am begging - but I beg not for myself but so that we can do something
for our people."
The next few years in London were years of sustained activity for Kantha. There were
occasions when I met with him, early in the morning, at his home in North London, before
he left for the TIC office which was situated in South London. He would be dictating
letters to a typist who had come - and, he would leave home, after the first morning mail
was delivered. It was his way of maximising the efficient use of his time.
And for more than four years, until the signing of the Indo Sri Lanka Accord in July 1987, the Tamil
Information Centre and the Central British Refugee Rehabilitation Fund which Kantha
founded served as important focal points in the Tamil national liberation struggle.
I remember talking with him for more than 6 hours in early August 1987, trying to
persuade him to change his decision to close the Tamil Information Centre and go back to
Sri Lanka. As a refugee who had been granted asylum in the United Kingdom, Kantha could
have stayed in London for as long as he wished but his basic response was that there was a
need for him to go back and work amongst the Tamil people in the North and East of Sri
Lanka - he felt that refugee rehabilitation work was the urgent need of the hour and that
his own contribution to the struggle lay in this field.
A couple of days before he finally left the United Kingdom, Kantha travelled down to
Cambridge to spend a day with my wife and I. We talked for several hours. It was a time
for reminiscences. It was also a time to look at what the future held for us as a people.
Kantha was not unaware of the difficulties that he would face from some political groups
who may see his work amongst the Tamil people as a threat to their own influence and
power. But Kantha was not only a simple and honest man - he was also a courageous one. And
as we embraced each other at my door step, and said good bye, both Kantha and I were not
unaware that we may not see each other again.
As a Tamil, I must confess to a feeling of shame not unmixed with anger, that a so
called Tamil 'liberation' group should have been responsible for Kantha's abduction and
murder. We, as a people, cannot liberate ourselves from anything by killing those with
whom we disagree. Kantha was an honourable man. He was a good man. And to him, work was
worship - he was the karma yogi par excellence. And when we honour his memory and his
work, we not only strengthen that which is good and honourable amongst the Tamil people -
we also renew our own commitment to the Tamil national liberation struggle to which Kantha
gave his life.
