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TULF leader’s niece killed in London blast
From Neville de Silva in London
The funeral of Sajjnuja Parathasangari, a British national of Sri Lankan origin who perished in the terrorist bomb blasts here on July 7, was held here yesterday.

Ms. Parathasangari, a niece of TULF leader V. Anandasangari was travelling in the No 30 bus passing Kings Cross when it was blown up by a suicide bomber, one hour or so after the rest of the suicide team had already exploded the devices they were carrying on three different tube trains.

Though Ms. Parathasangari had obtained British nationality, Sri Lanka High Commissioner Kshenuka Senewiratne and the deputy high commissioner visited the residence of her parents on Thursday and spent about half an hour there.
Ms. Parathasangari’s body was released to the next of kin several days after the incident during which her identity was established and forensic examinations were conduct to ascertain the cause of death.

Another person of Sri Lankan origin, Praveen Wijendran, who was injured in the blast at Liverpool Street was under treatment at St Thomas Hospital in London.

Sri Lanka High Commission officials who tried to visit Wijendran in hospital to provide any possible assistance are said to have been told by hospital authorities that they would need to obtain official permission to visit the patient as he was a British citizen.

Meanwhile sections of the Tamil community are worried that the inevitable increase in anti-terrorism surveillance and the targeting of Muslims since the bombings might affect them too.

Since the first-ever suicide bombings in Britain, the pioneering activities of the Tamil Tigers in suicide attacks have figured in British media coverage.
A Tamil resident who did not want to be identified said that a recent reference by a leader of Britain’s Muslim Parliament to the suicide bombings done by the LTTE during an ITN television interview had focused attention on the Tigers and generally on Tamils.

There were also references in the print media such as The Guardian and another report from New Delhi referring to the suicide missions carried out by the Tigers.

The Tamils who spoke on conditions of anonymity said that the recent killings in Northeastern and Eastern Sri Lanka have revived fears of a return to war and therefore the glare of media publicity that will focus on the Tamil community.

“Unfortunately the suicide bombings by Muslims have angered some of the British people. We hear one Muslim has been killed and others attacked. We hope that this anger will not turn against us Tamils too because of the LTTE.”
They said that the Tamil community had come under scrutiny following several killings, criminal frauds and other crimes.

“You must have heard that Scotland Yard has started a special unit for Tamil crimes. Now we might come under surveillance again by the anti-terrorism people,” said one who fears that the Tamils might come under the microscope because of the activities of others of Asian origin.

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