Veteran Sri Lanka MP who fought for Tamil rights dies

• Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent politicians, has died at the age of 91
• He was a veteran campaigner for the country’s Tamil minority
• Sampanthan, a lawyer and one of the country’s longest-serving MPs, died in the capital Colombo late on Sunday
• Tributes have poured in from across Sri Lanka’s political spectrum

Veteran Sri Lanka MP who fought for Tamil rights dies

Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, a prominent Sri Lankan politician and advocate for the Tamil minority, has died at 91. Sampanthan, a lawyer and one of the longest-serving MPs, passed away in Colombo on Sunday night.

For 23 years, he led the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the main political group representing Tamils in Sri Lanka’s north and east. After the defeat of Tamil Tiger separatists in 2009, he continued to fight for equal rights for his marginalised ethnic group.

TNA leader MA Sumanthiran confirmed Sampanthan’s death on X (formerly Twitter). In 2015, Sampanthan made history by becoming the first Tamil leader of the opposition in 32 years.

In 2022, Sampanthan wrote to the UN’s Human Rights Council, accusing the Sinhalese-led government of oppressing Tamils, detaining political prisoners indefinitely, preventing resettlement of displaced civilians, and militarising former war zones. He urged the international community to condemn the government’s failure to address these issues.

Tributes have poured in from across Sri Lanka’s political spectrum, including from former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who led the country during the end of the civil war in 2009.