S. Sivamaharajah

Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah (; 28 June 1938 – 20 August 2006) was a Sri Lankan Tamil newspaper publisher, politician and Member of Parliament.

Early life Sivamaharajah was born 28 June 1938. He was from Kollankaladdy near Tellippalai.

Career Sivamaharajah contested the 1989 parliamentary election as one of the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students' (EROS) candidates in Jaffna District. He was elected. However, Sivamaharajah and all other EROS MPs boycotted Parliament because of their opposition to the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka which required them to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for a separate state. After three months of absence, Sivamaharajah forfeited his seat in Parliament on 12 June 1989. Sivamaharajah did however enter Parliament on 17 July 1989, replacing S. Sivnantharaja who had resigned on 11 July 1989. He resigned from Parliament on 7 May 1990.

On 20 October 2001 the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization and TULF formed the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). Sivamaharajah contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District but failed to get elected. He contested the 2004 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District but failed to get elected after coming twelfth amongst the TNA candidates.

Sivamaharajah was the managing director of Namathu Eelanadu, a Tamil language newspaper. Namathu Eelanadu, which started publication on 1 October 2002, was considered to be supportive of Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism. The paper's office in Jaffna was raided by the Sri Lanka Army on 15 December 2005 and its staff interrogated.

Sivamaharajah was chairman of the Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society (MPCS) in Tellippalai and president of the Consortium of Valikamam North Public Organizations. The government backed Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) paramilitary group was blamed for the assassination. The assassination was condemned by Reporters Without Borders and UNESCO. Sivamaharajah's killing was part of a series of killings, abductions and other attacks on the Sri Lankan Tamil media which began in 2005.

On 22 August 2006 the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) conferred the title Maamanithar (great human being) on Sivamaharajah.

Electoral history + Electoral history of S. SivamaharajahElectionConstituencyPartyVotesResult 1989 parliamentary Jaffna District EROS Elected 2000 parliamentary Jaffna District TULF Elected 2001 parliamentary Jaffna District TNA Not elected 2004 parliamentary Jaffna District TNA Not elected