Sathasivam Kanagaratnam (Tamil: சதாசிவம் கனகரத்தினம்; born 28 December 1946) is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former Member of Parliament.
S. Kanagaratnam | |
|---|---|
ச. கனகரத்தினம் | |
| Member of Parliament for Vanni District | |
| In office 2004–2010 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 December 1946 Nallur, Ceylon |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Political party | United People's Freedom Alliance |
| Occupation | Driving instructor |
Early life and family
Kanagaratnam was born on 28 December 1946 Nallur, northern Ceylon.[1][2] He was educated at Senkuntha Hindu College.[2] He had two brothers (Chelvanayakam and Rajaratnam) and two sisters.[2] Lieutinent Chelvanayakam (alias Amman, Chandran, Chellakili) was a member of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who was killed in the Thirunelvely ambush on the Sri Lankan military in July 1983.[2]
Kanagaratnam has two sons (Aathithan and Shanseevan) and a daughter (Niruththana).[2]
Career
After school Kanagaratnam worked in various jobs including as a salesman and a chauffeur.[2] He joined the Ceylon Transport Board in 1978 as a bus driver at the Mattakkuliya depot.[2] He transferred to the Mullaitivu depot in 1980.[2] After retirement in 2000 he worked part-time for the Vanni Private Bus Operators’ Association.[2] He lived in Suthanthirapuram near Udayarkaddu in Mullaitivu District.[2]
Kanagaratnam was selected by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to be one of the Tamil National Alliance's (TNA) candidates in Vanni District at the 2004 parliamentary election.[3] He was elected and entered Parliament.[4]
Kanagaratnam and his family were amongst the 300,000 civilians trapped in the No Fire Zone during the final months of the civil war.[5] He disappeared after the end of the civil war in May 2009.[6] He was picked by the police at the Menik Farm IDP camp and taken to Colombo.[7][8] He had been detained on the orders of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for allegedly violating emergency regulations and assisting the LTTE.[9][10][11] After eight months of detention Kanagaratnam was released in January 2010 in return for agreeing to support Mahinda Rajapaksa in the presidential election.[3][12][13] He was provided with a newly built bungalow inside the Northern Province Governor’s residential complex in Vavuniya.[14][15]
Kanagaratnam left the TNA and joined Rajapaksa's United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).[16] He contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the UPFA's candidates in Vanni District but failed to get elected after coming sixth amongst the UPFA candidates.[17]
Electoral history
| Election | Constituency | Party | Votes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 parliamentary[4] | Vanni District | TNA | 30,390 | Elected |
| 2010 parliamentary[17] | Vanni District | UPFA | 3,570 | Not elected |