COLOMBO: Leader of Sri Lanka's opposition United National Party (UNP) Ranil Wickramasinghe on Sunday suffered a major embarrassment as a close relative of a Tamil businessman, whom he met in Singapore recently, admitted that her family was a prominent overseas supporter of the LTTE.

In an interview to Sunday Times newspaper, Sharmalee Gnanakone, sister-in-law of Tamil shipping magnet Charles Gnanakone settled in Singapore, said her husband Jayantha Gnanakone was indirectly in contact with the LTTE and supplied medicines and essential food supplies to the Tamils living in rebel-controlled areas.

Sharmalee, a Sinhalese by birth and married to a Tamil settled abroad, was picked up by the police on July 7, to ascertain Charles Gnankone's link with the LTTE.

On the same day, Wickramasinghe, who was taking part in the final round of talks with President Chandrika Kumaratunga to formulate a new constitution, walked out of the meeting alleging that Sharmalee was detained by police to ascertain his suspected links with the LTTE.

She was released after three hours of interrogation. Police later said she was mistakenly picked up, presumed as wife of Charles Gnankone, whom Wickramasinghe reportedly met in Singapore on June 18. The media described Charles as an LTTE agent looking after supply of arms and other materials to the LTTE.

The media reported that Wickramasinghe met another LTTE contact, Devadasan, in Singapore the next day and received a letter purportedly written by LTTE leaders. (PTI)

Wickramasinghe confirmed his meeting with Charles, whom he described as a top businessman close to Singapore premier. He said that by highlighting his meeting, the media wanted to discredit him before the general elections, scheduled to take place this year.
In her interview, Sharmalee said during her three-hour police detention, she denied Gnanakone's funding the LTTE. "But I know that Jayantha (her husband) has collected medicines, clothes, books and other materials to help Tamil people in the north and east".
She said her husband and Wickramasinghe had a long standing relationship. Asked whether Jayantha has direct contacts with LTTE chief V Prabhakaran, she said, "not directly, but indirectly".

Sharmalee, who has now become a staunch supporter of the LTTE despite her Sinhalese origins said her husband turned a rebel and left the country after suffering discrimination at the hands of Sinhalese majority, which she said continued to attempt to subjugate minority tamils.

She said, "even if Prabhakaran was eliminated, the struggle of the rebel group would go on for another 50 years as it had recruited enough children around 10 years of age."

"Recruiting children was the only way to sustain war. We have to sacrifice five to six generations for this war", she said. (PTI)