The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan

¶ 01 Hon. Minister, I welcome your remarks on the possibility of releasing political prisoners on the basis of a general amnesty. Especially, persons like Kathirgamaththambi Sivakumar, Vigneswaranathan Parthipan, Krishnasamy Ramachandran, Shanmugalingam Suriakumar, Johnson Colin Welentino, Sachchithanantham Ananthasuthakar, A.H. Umar, Selvaraja Kirubakaran, Thambi Aiya Prakash and others have been in prison for long periods—14 to 30 years. Please consider their families. Ananthasuthakar’s wife has passed away; the grandmother who raised his two children has also passed away; the children are without parents. Considering the long periods they have served, I appeal to the Hon. President and to you to arrange their release on humanitarian grounds by way of a general amnesty. I look forward to your response.