“I want to remind those who have labelled LTTE a terrorist group. It was never a terrorist group but the members were freedom fighters who fought for the oppressed Tamils in Sri Lanka,” he said while debating the royal address at the Dewan Rakyat.
The Cameron Highlands MP said they were just like other freedom fighters who continuously strive to uphold their rights.
He also urged the public not to analyse history according to their wishes “which makes other people angry. We live in a multiracial society and we must respect each other.”
On July 20, about 300 people protested against Ramasamy and rallied in support of fugitive Muslim preacher Dr Zakir Naik at the compound of a mosque in Dato Keramat in Penang.
The group demanded that Ramasamy should be arrested for “being an active member of a terror group” in Sri Lanka and also called on everyone to stop criticising Naik.
Ramasamy has been targeted by several Muslim activists, including Perlis Mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, in the wake of the controversy over the government’s handling of Naik, the Indian-Muslim preacher wanted by New Delhi over allegations of terrorism.
On July 28, a peace negotiator and former member of LTTE confirmed that Ramasamy was not associated with the group.
This was contained in an email sent to Ramasamy by Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, who is now practising law in New York.
Visuvanathan, in the email, said that the deputy chief minister was one of the members of a Constitutional Affairs Committee set up during the peace process to explore the modalities for peaceful resolution of the conflict in Sri Lanka.
He stated that in 2002, a peace process was initiated between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government, under the auspices of the Norwegian government, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.
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