WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Tamil Diaspora issued a formal statement today calling for international intervention to address a systemic narcotics crisis in Northern Sri Lanka. The organization alleges that the “drug culture” currently ravaging the region is a direct result of a post-war strategy by the administration of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to neutralize Tamil youth through addiction and moral degradation.
The Diaspora highlights the horrifying murder of Dr. Thayalini Thileepan, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Jaffna, as a catastrophic example of this social collapse. Dr. Thileepan was allegedly strangled in her Chundikuli home by her own 19-year-old daughter and the daughter’s partner, both of whom were apprehended in Trincomalee.
Drugs as a Weapon of Control
“The murder of a mother and scholar by her own child—driven by a relationship involving an individual with a known history of drug offenses—is the ultimate proof of the ‘cruel thinking’ behind the Rajapaksa era,” said a spokesperson for the U.S. Tamil Diaspora. “By flooding the North with ‘Kerala Ganja’ and other narcotics, the state successfully elevated drug use to dismantle the traditional family unit and stop any potential youth revolution against the Sinhala establishment.”
Allegations of Political Complicity
The Diaspora further alleges that this crisis was exacerbated by:
- Political Inaction: The late Tamil leader R. Sampanthan is accused of quietly approving these developments to maintain his own political status and suppress the influence of the armed youth struggle.
- The Kerala Connection: Certain political factions in Kerala, India, are alleged to have facilitated the smuggling of narcotics (KG) into the North, fueled by historical animosities and criminal profit.
Demand for Punishment and Accountability
Following the recent admissions by the current Sri Lankan government regarding links between senior ministers and drug syndicates, the U.S. Tamil Diaspora demands:
- An International Tribunal: To investigate the specific post-war policies of Gotabaya Rajapaksa that targeted the social and psychological health of Tamil youth.
- Prosecution of Facilitators: The immediate arrest and punishment of all politicians and security officials who profited from or protected the “Kerala Ganja” trade.
- Community Restoration: Urgent international funding for drug rehabilitation and the protection of academic leaders in Jaffna who are now living in a state of high-risk social instability.
“The blood of Dr. Thileepan is on the hands of those who turned our homeland into a narco-state for political gain,” the statement concluded.
“We will not stop until these politicians are held accountable for the lives they have destroyed.”
About the U.S. Tamil Diaspora:
The U.S. Tamil Diaspora is a leading advocacy group committed to the human rights, justice, and social integrity of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka and globally.