A commemoration event held Tuesday in Thavadi, Jaffna, marked the 41st anniversary of the killing of V Dharmalingam, a former parliamentarian and prominent leader of Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK). Dharmalingam was abducted and assassinated by armed militants in 1985 at the very site where the remembrance was held.

During the ceremony, one speaker suggested that the true perpetrators behind Dharmalingam’s killing had not yet been conclusively identified. However, D. Siddarthan, Dharmalingam’s son and former parliamentarian, publicly named the rival militant group Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) as responsible for the assassination, which also claimed the life of fellow parliamentarian M. Aalaalasukandaram.

Siddarthan, who once led the militant group People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), addressed questions from his supporters about his continued political alliance with TELO despite their alleged involvement in his father’s death. He explained that Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi’s history of cooperation with former adversaries for shared political objectives had influenced his approach. Siddarthan specifically cited ITAK’s engagement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following the 1989 assassination of the senior Tamil leader A. Amirthalingam as a model of pragmatic collaboration.

Currently, Siddarthan’s party is a key member of the Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA), which includes TELO. The DTNA was formed after splitting from the larger Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in recent years, reflecting shifting alliances within Tamil politics.

The commemoration underscored the complex and sometimes contentious history among Tamil political and militant groups, highlighting ongoing challenges in reconciling past conflicts while pursuing common political goals in Sri Lanka’s Tamil community.