Neelan was an Uncompromising Champion of Human Rights by Mike Marqusee
The assassination of Neelan Tiruchelvam by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) on 29th July is a tragic setback for the causes of peace and democracy in Sri Lanka. Neelan was an uncompromising global champion of human rights, a world-renowned expert in constitutional law, and a Member of Parliament for the Tamil United Liberation […]
Sri Lanka Peacemaker’s High-Risk Life, and Death by Celia Dugger
This is an article that appeared in the New York Times on August 24, 1999. In a country where there is no vocation more perilous, indeed more radical, than being a voice for peace, Neelan Tiruchelvam had worked to bring an end to the savage ethnic conflict that has tormented this lush island nation. His […]
A Sharp Mind and Full of Convictions by The Times, London
Neelan Tiruchelvam was a tireless activist in the sphere of human rights and on behalf of ethnic minorities, not least in his native Sri Lanka. He devoted much of his time and energy over the years to an attempt to resolve the often violent relations between the island’s minority Tamil population and the majority Sinhalese, […]
A Senseless Killing of Democrat by Australian Foreign Minister Downer
This is the statement by the Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on 3rd August 1999 delivered in Canberra. Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam, I was deeply shocked to learn of the tragic assassination in Colombo of Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam. Dr Tiruchelvam was a member of the Sri Lankan Parliament representing the Tamil United Liberation Front. He was […]
He was born to Greatness by C Rudra
“Learning by hard study must be won. It never entails from son to son”: said the poet, Gay. Though this holds good in the majority of cases, yet there are exceptions where certain individuals have inherited a wealth of knowledge from their ancestors, besides acquiring it by toiling upwards in the night. One such individual […]
The Legacy of Neelan Tiruchelvam by Jonathan Kay
Jonathan Kay on the legacy of Nee/an Tiruche/vam: The Tamil Tigers have reaped what they’ve sown Posted: May 05, 2009, 12:16 PM by Jonathan Kay in The National Post (Canada) He was a moderate, in other words – the Tamils’ answer to Yitzhak Rabin or Nelson Mandela. And that’s why he was assassinated: […]
Courage Amidst Hatred by Shekhar Gupta
The Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Express wrote this article of that paper on August 1, 1999. COLOMBO (JULY 31 1999) I came here yesterday to speak at a conference hosted by Neelan Thiruchelvam’s centre. I ended up attending his funeral instead.As his body, wrecked by an LTTE suicide bomber, was consigned to the flames amid […]
Tragic Protagonist of Moral Choice in Public Life by R Sudarshan
R. Sudarshan of the UNDP was a close friend of Dr. Tiruchelvam. He published this in India-Seminar.com in 1999. Neelan Tiruchelvam, in whom the elements were so mixed as to make him a virtuous and great human being, was killed on 29 July 1999. He was a man who was gentle and always affirmed the […]
His life was a protest against Chauvinism by Ashis Nandy
Today, 29th July 2001 is the second death anniversary of Neelan Tiruchelvam. Published here are extracts of a tribute by Prof Ashis Nandy. (Sunday Times) One person who I had hoped would write my obituary was Neelan Tiruchelvam, the gifted Sri Lankan public intellectual, institution-builder and practical idealist. He was a few years younger than […]
