Kiddinan Sivanesan was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and Member of Parliament. He was killed by a roadside bomb placed by the Sri Lanka Army's Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (Sri Lanka)

The Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol is a covert operation unit of the Sri Lanka Army. This unit is also known as the Deep Penetration Unit of the Sri Lanka Army and also as the Mahasohon Brigade...

 (Deep Penetration Unit).

Early life

Sivanesan was born on January 21, 1957 and spent his early life in Karaveddy

Karaveddy

Karaveddy is a town located 7 km from the City of Point Pedro, Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. In local Tamil Language it translates to Coastal Strip, although it is few km from the coast....

, Jaffna District

Jaffna District

Jaffna district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Jaffna city. Parts of the district were transferred to...

. He studied at Nelliyadi Maththiya Mahaa Viththiyaalayam. He established a number of Palmyrah Development Societies and Coconut Development Societies in Jaffna peninsula

Jaffna Peninsula

The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna and comprises much of the former land mass of the ancient Tamil kingdoms of the Nagas and the medieval Jaffna kingdom. The peninsula is mostly surrounded by water, connected to...

. Sivanesan and his family moved to Mallavi

Mallavi

Mallavi is a town in the Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka. It is located about from Mankulam & from Thunukkai. It has a population of about 5,000 and a crude education and heathcare system....

 when the A9 highway was closed. Between 1996 and 2004 he was general manager of Northern Region Palm Development Co-op Society.

Political career

At the April 2004 parliamentary election

Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 2004

Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 2 April 2004. The ruling United National Party of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was defeated, winning only eighty two seats in the 225-member Sri Lankan parliament. The opposition United People's Freedom Alliance won 105 seats...

 Sivanesan was elected to represent the Jaffna District

Jaffna Electoral District

Jaffna Electoral District is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district covers the administrative districts of Jaffna and Kilinochchi in the Northern province...

 in Parliament.

Assassination

On March 6, 2008 Sivanesan was travelling north along the A9 highway to his home in Mallavi

Mallavi

Mallavi is a town in the Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka. It is located about from Mankulam & from Thunukkai. It has a population of about 5,000 and a crude education and heathcare system....

 after attending Parliament in Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

. He crossed the frontline checkpoint at Omanthai

Omanthai

Omanthai is a little town in North Sri Lankan district of Vavuniya. The last Sri Lankan army check point which divided the Government and LTTE controlled areas used to be in Omanthai for many years.- Transport :...

, Vavuniya District

Vavuniya District

Vavuniya district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Vavuniya town...

 and entered territory controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...

. Thirty minutes later, at around 1.20pm, Sivanesan's vehicle was near Maankulam

Maankulam

Maankulam or Mankulam is located in northern Sri Lanka, about 3.5 hours drive south of City of Jaffna.- Transport :Major road A9 and a railway line connecting North and South of Sri Lanka goes through Maankulam. Maankulam is also located few hours drive south of Kilinochchi and few hours drive...

, Mullaitivu District

Mullaitivu District

Mullaitivu district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Mullaitivu town...

, some 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) north of the Omanthai checkpoint. Four claymore mines exploded in a row. Sivanesan's driver Periyannan Maheswararajah was killed on the spot. Sivanesan was taken to Maankulam hospital but died of his injuries.

The Tamil National Alliance

Tamil National Alliance

The Tamil National Alliance is a powerful minority Sri Lankan Tamil political alliance in Sri Lanka. It was formed as an amalgamation of moderate Tamil parties as well as number of former rebel groups...

immediately blamed the Sri Lankan government security forces for the assassination. They claimed that Sri Lankan Army's Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol had carried out the attack. Sivanesan had alleged that he had been harassed by Sri Lankan Army earlier. His vehicle had previously been targeted by claymore mines in 2007. The Army has denied the allegation.

On March 7,2008 the Tamil Tigers conferred the title Maamanithar (great human being) on Sivanesan.