Sri Lanka: Devananda calls for death of Prabhakaran

A senior Tamil politician in Sri Lanka has said Tamil Tiger rebels' leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is an obstacle to the island country's peace process and he must die for the sake of the peace.

In a statement he wanted delayed until Friday, Douglas Devananda, Social Welfare minister and the leader of the Eelam People's Democratic Party told reporters "As long as Prabhakaran is alive, he won't allow anyone to solve the (Tamil) problem,"

Devananda, who was originally a militant said, "politically or physically", Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Prabhakaran can not survive in a political setup.

As the leader of EPDP which is opposed to the LTTE, and due to his continuing criticism of the LTTE, he has regularly been targeted by the LTTE, and is thought to be high up on their list of targets for assassination.

The LTTE, which is banned as a terrorist organization by a number of countries including the United States, Canada and the 27 member European Union, has undertaken over 10 attempts on his life, including one on July 7, 2004 by a female suicide bomber, and the latest one on November 28, 2007 by another Tamil Tiger suicide bomber, who blew herself up in Devananda's office. Devananda escaped unhurt, but his personal secretary was killed and two security personal were injured in the explosion and the suicide bomber was caught blowing herself up live on a security camera.