JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan police questioned two members of a Tamil music troupe this week after performers sang a song associated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during a temple festival in northern Sri Lanka, according to police.
The two performers, identified as Gokulan and Darwin, sons of the late Tamil singer S.G. Santhan, were summoned to the Kopay Police Station following the incident at a festival in Urumpirai, in Jaffna district.
Police said the song performed during the event contained Eelam-themed content associated with the LTTE, which remains banned under Sri Lankan anti-terrorism laws nearly 17 years after the end of the country’s civil war. Officers deployed for security duties at the event intervened and halted the performance midway, according to police and local reports.
No charges had been announced as of Wednesday, and the government has not publicly commented on the incident.
The troupe takes its name from S.G. Santhan — born Sellappa Gunaratinam Santhalingam — a singer, dramatist, and one of the LTTE’s best-known cultural figures during Sri Lanka’s civil war. Santhan, who died on Feb. 26, 2017, remained among the most recognizable Tamil musical figures to emerge from the conflict years. The troupe is now run by members of his surviving family.
Santhan recorded approximately 150 songs associated with the LTTE, many of which became emblematic of the armed struggle. Among his most recognized songs are “Kallarai Meniyar Kan Thirappargale Karthigai Naalile” (“On Karthigai Day, those lying in the graves will open their eyes”) and “Ullukkulle Nerupperiyum” (“A fire burns within”).
Santhan himself surrendered to Sri Lankan security forces during the final stages of the war in 2009. According to people familiar with events at the time, Douglas Devananda — the former Tamil militant who later became a cabinet minister — intervened following Santhan’s detention and lobbied for his release. Santhan was subsequently freed.
In the years that followed, Santhan publicly performed songs praising Mr. Devananda, a move that drew criticism from sections of the Tamil diaspora and pro-LTTE supporters.
