Anton Balasingham

Anton Balasingham
Balasingham in June 2006
Born	March 4, 1938(1938-03-04) Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
Died	December 14, 2006(2006-12-14) (aged 68) London, United Kingdom
Nationality	United Kingdom
Occupation	Chief Political Strategist, Chief Negotiator for LTTE
Spouse	Adele Ann Wilby

Anton Stanislaus Balasingham (March 4, 1938 – December 14, 2006) (Tamil:ஆண்டன் பாலசிங்கம்) was the chief political strategist and chief negotiator of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam a militant organization. He was a British citizen of Tamil origin from Sri Lanka.

Biography

He was born in Batticaloa on the 4th of March in the minority Sri Lankan Tamil dominated district in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. His father was a Hindu and mother a Christian Roman Catholic. His father also hailed from Eastern province whereas his mother was a native Jaffna Tamil.

Career

After his graduation from school in Jaffna, he worked as a journalist in a Colombo newspaper and as a translator at the British High Commission in Colombo. Balasingham was initially married to a Sri Lankan Tamil. After she died due to the complications of chronic renal failure, he married Adele Ann Wilby in London, UK, in 1978. Adele, an Australian citizen and a nurse by professional training, became a prominent member of the women’s wing of the LTTE.

In the past, Adele herself has been involved in the peace talks, as the secretary of the LTTE delegation. In April 2002 , Anton Balasingaham appeared alongside LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in a rare press conference in the LTTE held town of Kilinochchi in Sri Lanka.

From the Thimphu talks in 1985 to the first round of the Geneva talks held on February 22–23, 2006 Balasingham was the head of the LTTE delegation in all the peace negotiations with the government of Sri Lanka.^[1] However, he could not participate in an October round because of ill health, and in November 2006, Balasingham was diagnosed with cancer. He suffered from diabetes, Motor Neurone Disease, a degenerative disease of the nervous system, and possibly medicine-induced bile duct cancer.^[2]

Reactions to death

LTTE

Rebel leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran said in a rare emotional statements that

^[3]

and that:

^[4]

Government of Sri Lanka

The Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka commented

[1].

State Government of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi who in his condolence message had stated

International Media

According to BBC, Balasingham's death is a loss to both sides of the Sri Lankan civil war. Balasingam was credited as the only moderating force within an otherwise belligerent rebel group and the only man within the group that could criticize and influence the leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Balasingam was known for his relentless attempts to bring the Tigers to the international negotiating arena. It was mainly due to his perseverance that the Tigers acquired a reputation as a progressive organization among certain liberals in the west.

Balasingam was also credited with bringing the attention of the world to a forgotten war in this small island nation. Although Balasingham was plagued with physical ailments he valiantly attended all the peace talks. According to BBC, Balasingam’s death will be a blow not only to the Tamil Tigers but also to many in the south of the country as he provided a thread of hope for a peaceful resolution to the seemingly intractable and escalating conflict of Sri Lanka.^[5]

References

External links

• BBC report on his death
• Obituaries TIMES ONLINE