Warrant And Red Notice Removed On Emil Kanthan Linked To Alleged 'Rajapaksa-LTTE Deal' In 2005

February 01, 2016

The Colombo Special High Court today removed the warrant and Red Notice on Emil Kanthan, a former high-level LTTE member, who is said to have been involved in an alleged deal with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The decision to remove the warrant and Red Notice was taken after a lawyer appearing for Emil Kanthan assured that his client will produce himself before the court in the near future.

Senior members of the government had accused Emil Kanthan of having links with former President Rajapaksa.

It is alleged that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa brokered a deal with the LTTE through Emil Kanthan in 2005 during the Presidential Election. During this election, the LTTE ordered Tamil people in North and East to boycott the election, and a vast majority of the Tamils in these provinces did not turn out to vote.

This helped Rajapaksa win the 2005 Presidential Election by a majority of less than 200,000 votes. It turned out to be the closest of all Presidential Elections in Sri Lanka's history to date.