{{short description|Sri Lankan politician (1938-2000)}} {{Use British English|date=June 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = Maamanithar<ref name="Mamanithar1"/><ref name="Mamanithar2"/><ref name="Mamanithar3"/><ref name="Mamanithar4"/> | name = Kumar Ponnambalam | native_name = குமார் பொன்னம்பலம் | native_name_lang = ta | honorific_suffix = | image = Kumar Ponnambalam.jpg | image_size = | caption = | candidate = President of Sri Lanka | party_election = All Ceylon Tamil Congress | election_date = 20 October 1982 | opponent = J. R. Jayewardene,<br/>Hector Kobbekaduwa<br/>and others | incumbent = J. R. Jayewardene | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1938|08|12}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2000|01|05|1938|08|12}} | death_place = | citizenship = | party = All Ceylon Tamil Congress | other_party = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | alma_mater = {{Unbulleted list|King's College London|University of Cambridge}} | occupation = | profession = Lawyer | website = | footnotes = }} '''Gaasinather Gangaser Ponnambalam''' ({{langx|ta|காசிநாதர் காங்கேசர் பொன்னம்பலம்}}: 12 August 1938 – 5 January 2000; known as '''Kumar Ponnambalam''' or '''G. G. Ponnambalam Jr''') was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He was the son of G. G. Ponnambalam. As the Leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, he was the party's presidential candidate in 1982. He was shot dead on 5 January 2000 in an assassination many suspect to be ordered by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
==Early life and family== Ponnambalam was born on 12 August 1938.<ref name="TT0100">{{cite journal|last=Jeyaraj|first=D. B. S.|title=Kumar Ponnambalam: Tiger in the Lion's Den|journal=Tamil Times|date=January 2000|volume=XIX|issue=1|pages=5–8|url=http://noolaham.net/project/36/3585/3585.pdf|authorlink=|issn=0266-4488}}</ref><ref name="TN050100">{{cite news|title=Kumar Ponnambalam shot dead|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=4469|newspaper=TamilNet|date=5 January 2000}}</ref> He was the son of G. G. Ponnambalam, a leading Tamil politician and lawyer, and Rose Alagumani Clough.<ref name="Arumugam">{{cite book|last=Arumugam|first=S.|title=Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon|url=http://noolaham.net/project/19/1810/1810.pdf|year=1997|page=141|authorlink=S. Arumugam}}</ref> He was educated at St. Patrick's College, Jaffna and Royal College, Colombo.<ref name="TT0100"/> He studied at Aquinas University College, Colombo before joining King's College London, graduating with a LL.B. degree.<ref name="TT0100"/><ref name="TI130101">{{cite news|last1=Fernando|first1=Desmond|title=Kumar Ponnambalam: 1st Death Anniversary Jan. 5|url=http://www.island.lk/2001/01/13/featur06.htm|work=The Island|date=13 January 2001}}</ref> He then proceeded to the University of Cambridge, graduating with an MA degree.<ref name="TT0100"/><ref name="TI130101"/> He was a contemporary of leftist politician Vikramabahu Karunaratne at Cambridge.<ref name="DM270813">{{cite news|last1=Karunaratne|first1=Vikramabahu|authorlink1=Vikramabahu Karunaratne|title=75th birth anniversary of the late Maamanithar|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/34476/75th-birth-anniversary-of-the-late-maamanithar-|work=Daily Mirror|date=27 August 2013}}</ref>
Ponnambalam married Yogalakshmi, a surgeon and eldest daughter of T. Murugesapillai, a former Additional Government Agent for Jaffna.<ref name="TT0100"/><ref name="Arumugam"/> They had a daughter (Mirinalini, a doctor) and a son (Gajendrakumar, lawyer and politician).<ref name="TT0100"/>
==Career== ===Law=== Ponnambalam was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1974.<ref name="TT0100"/><ref name="TI130101"/><ref name="TN120503">{{cite news|title=Pirapaharan felicitates Kumar's family|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=8964|work=TamilNet|date=12 May 2003}}</ref> Returning to Ceylon, he started practicing law as an advocate.<ref name="TT0100"/><ref name="TI130101"/> He was a successful lawyer and became very rich as a result.<ref name="TT0100"/> He learned Sinhala so he could argue his cases in the language.<ref name="TT0100"/>
Ponnambalam became involved in human rights activism in the 1970s and co-founded the Civil Rights Movement.<ref name="TI130101"/> He would represent ''pro bono'' Sinhalese youths who had been victims of human rights abuses.<ref name="TI130101"/> He opposed the Criminal Justice Commission as it violated the rule of law and the right to a fair trial and two parallel systems of justice.<ref name="TI130101"/> He also opposed the 1982 referendum on extending the life of Parliament by six years.<ref name="TI130101"/> He addressed the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in 1997 and 1999 and the European Parliament in 1998 on the grievances of Sri Lanka's Tamil population.<ref name="TI130101"/><ref name="TN120503"/> He was involved in the Krishanti Kumaraswamy case and was instrumental in bringing attention to the Chemmani mass graves.<ref name="TN120503"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Assessing progress of Chemmani investigations|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=7745|work=TamilNet|date=2 November 2002}}</ref> He was noted for his appearances, ''pro bono'', on behalf of Tamil youth detained by the state under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and emergency regulations.<ref name="TT0100"/> He even took on unpopular work such as defending those accused of the Central Bank bombing.<ref name="TT0100"/>
===Politics=== Ponnambalam joined the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) led by his father in the 1960s and became president of its youth wing in 1966.<ref name="TN050100"/><ref name="BBC050100">{{cite news|title=Tamil politician shot dead|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/592051.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=5 January 2000}}</ref> On 14 May 1972, the ACTC, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, Ceylon Workers' Congress, Eelath Thamilar Otrumai Munnani and All Ceylon Tamil Conference formed the Tamil United Front, later renamed the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF).<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Ross|editor1-first=Russell R.|editor2-last=Savada|editor2-first=Andrea Matles|title=Sri Lanka : A Country Study|date=1990|publisher=Library of Congress|page=51|url=http://cdn.loc.gov/master/frd/frdcstdy/sr/srilankacountrys00ross/srilankacountrys00ross.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Chattopadhyaya|first1=Haraprasad|title=Ethnic Unrest in Modern Sri Lanka: An Account of Tamil-Sinhalese Race Relations|date=1994|publisher=M. D. Publications|isbn=81-85880-52-2|page=33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MRU6QKPBTFQC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Amarasinghe|first1=Samanga|title=Independence to Referendum|date=2011|publisher=Lulu Enterprises|isbn=978-1-105-01908-1|page=188|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iV6AAwAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DA19Df06.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020213084644/http://atimes.com/ind-pak/DA19Df06.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=13 February 2002|chapter=Chapter 23: Srimavo's constitutional promiscuity}}</ref> The TULF failed to select Ponnambalam as one of its candidates for the 1977 parliamentary election.<ref name="TT0100"/> As a result, Ponnambalam stood as an independent candidate in Jaffna but was defeated by TULF candidate V. Yogeswaran.<ref name="TN050100"/><ref name="pe77">{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717002624/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 July 2011|title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977|publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka}}</ref>
In 1978, Ponnambalam re-registered the ACTC as a separate political party. The ACTC contested elections thereafter but with little success.<ref name="TT0100"/><ref name="BBC050100"/> Ponnambalam was the ACTC's candidate at the 1982 presidential election. He came fourth after receiving 173,934 votes (2.67%), though he did win a majority of votes in the Jaffna District, the heartland of the Sri Lankan Tamil population.<ref name="TN050100"/><ref name="pr82">{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/1982%20Presidential.pdf |title=Result of Presidential Election 1982 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328184334/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/1982%20Presidential.pdf |archive-date=28 March 2013 }}</ref> Ponnambalam was one of the ACTC's candidates in the Jaffna District at the 1989 parliamentary election, however the ACTC failed to win any seats in Parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1989%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF|title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1989|publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090304101343/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1989%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF|archive-date=4 March 2009}}</ref><ref name="deSilva">{{cite book|last1=de Silva|first1=W. P. P.|last2=Ferdinando|first2=T. C. L.|title=9th Parliament of Sri Lanka|publisher=Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited|page=183|url=http://noolaham.net/project/148/14715/14715.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623233447/http://noolaham.net/project/148/14715/14715.pdf|archive-date=23 June 2015}}</ref>
Initially, Ponnambalam did not support the separatist agenda espoused by Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups and worked closely with the Sinhalese politicians, co-authoring Sirimavo Bandaranaike's manifesto in 1988.<ref name="TT0100"/> But as the Sri Lankan Civil War progressed, he grew disillusioned and distrustful of Sinhalese politicians and began to adopt a more nationalistic stance.<ref name="TT0100"/> Ponnambalam contested in the 1994 parliamentary election as part of an independent group in the Colombo District, but the group failed to win any seats in Parliament.<ref name="BBC050100"/><ref>{{cite journal|title=Tamil Independent Groups Election Manifesto|journal=Tamil Times|date=15 August 1994|volume=XIII|issue=8|pages=19–20|url=http://noolaham.net/project/34/3384/3384.pdf|issn=0266-4488}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1994%20GENERAL%20ELECTION-SM01.PDF |title=Result of parliamentary general election 1994 |publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006015411/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1994%20GENERAL%20ELECTION-SM01.PDF |archive-date=6 October 2010 }}</ref> Thereafter Ponnambalam became a more radical, vociferous supporter of the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and an ardent critic of the Sri Lankan government and moderate Tamil political parties such as the TULF which he branded "quislings" and "collaborators".<ref name="TT0100"/><ref name="BBC050100"/> Ponnambalam travelled the world to promote the LTTE and its cause.<ref name="TT0100"/>
Ponnambalam was a vocal critic of President Chandrika Kumaratunga and unsuccessfully attempted to field a Tamil candidate against Kumaratunga in the 1999 presidential election.<ref name="TT0100"/><ref name="BBC050100"/> Kumaratunga was reelected, and the day after her victory, Kumaratunga gave a speech in which she warned LTTE supporters living in the south (Sinhalese-majority areas) to be aware.<ref name="TT0100"/> A few days later, Ponnambalam wrote an open letter to Kumaratunga saying that he was "an unalloyed, unrepentant supporter of the political philosophy of the LTTE", condemning "the naked threats that dot[ted] [Kumaratunga's victory] speech" and concluding that "a political solution to the Tamil Problem is in the hands of the Tamils themselves and only in their hands and that the Sinhalese and Tamils can continue to live in this island and in peace only if they live in two definite and distinct compartments each minding their own business unfettered by the other".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ponnambalam|first1=G. G.|title=An Open Letter to Kumaratunga: "Your speech reflects your Hatred"|url=http://www.sangam.org/ANALYSIS/GGP.htm|publisher=Ilankai Tamil Sangam}}</ref> The letter is regarded as an epitaph to Ponnambalam's commitment to the struggle for the equality and freedom of the Sri Lankan Tamils.<ref>{{cite web|title=One Hundred Tamils of the 20th Century: Mamanithar G.G. (Kumar) Ponnambalam Jr|url=http://tamilnation.co/hundredtamils/kumar.htm|publisher=Tamil Nation}}</ref>
==Death== On the morning of 5 January 2000, at around 9.05 AM, a female suicide bomber blew herself up in front of the Prime Minister's Office on Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha (Flower Road) in Colombo, killing 13 and injuring 29.<ref name="TT0100"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Sri Lankan suicide bomb kills 13|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/591352.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=5 January 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Thirteen killed in Colombo blast|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=4470|work=TamilNet|date=5 January 2000}}</ref> Shortly afterwards there was tension in Colombo as Tamils feared reprisals.<ref name="TT0100"/> Ponnambalam had been planning to view a Mercedes-Benz car with his son but upon hearing about the suicide bombing they stayed at home.<ref name="TT0100"/> At around 10 AM, a man called "Shantha", who spoke fluent Sinhala, arrived at Ponnambalam's house, Gitanjali, on Queens Road in Colombo, and was shown inside.<ref name="TT0100"/> Ponnambalam and Shantha spoke for about thirty minutes before the pair left in one of Ponnambalam's Mercedes-Benz.<ref name="TT0100"/> Ponnambalam dispensed with his chauffeur and drove himself whilst Shantha sat in the front passenger seat.<ref name="TT0100"/> Ponnambalam told his servants that he was going out but didn't say where he was going.<ref name="TT0100"/> Ponnambalam seemed comfortable with Shantha but had removed his watch, gold chain and other jewellery before leaving.<ref name="TT0100"/>
About an hour later passers-by found Ponnambalam's car parked at Ramakrishna Terrace in Wellawatte with Ponnambalam slouched in the driver's seat.<ref name="TT0100"/> He had been shot twice, once in the head and once in the chest, at close range.<ref name="TT0100"/><ref name="BBC050100"/> The driver's window had been lowered and it is believed that it was through this that the killer(s) shot Ponnambalam.<ref name="TT0100"/> The gun used to kill Ponnambalam was believed to be a Browning 9 mm and was presumed to have had a silencer as no one in the neighbourhood heard any gunshots.<ref name="TT0100"/> There was no sign of Shantha, though according to the police another person had been sitting in the rear seats of the car.<ref name="TT0100"/> According to Ponnambalam's family, Shantha had been speaking to Ponnambalam on the phone since November 1999.<ref name="TT0100"/> Ponnambalam had told his family that he was discussing a case with Shantha.<ref name="TT0100"/>
Ponnambalam was assassinated in the same area as MP and newspaper publisher Nadarajah Atputharajah (alias Ramesh) was assassinated in November 1999.<ref name="BBC050100"/> Atputharajah's assassination was blamed on the Eelam People's Democratic Party, a government-backed paramilitary group.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jeyaraj|first=D. B. S.|title=Assassinating Tamil Parliamentarians: The unceasing waves|url=http://www.nation.lk/2008/03/16/newsfe1.htm|newspaper=The Nation|date=16 March 2008|authorlink=|access-date=27 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220083850/http://www.nation.lk/2008/03/16/newsfe1.htm|archive-date=20 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> An unknown group calling itself the National Movement Against Tigers claimed responsibility for Ponnambalam's assassination and threatened to kill others who helped the LTTE, directly or indirectly.<ref name="TT0100"/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Sambandan|first1=V. S.|title=Coup bid seen behind attack on Kumaratunga|url=http://www.thehindu.com/2000/01/11/stories/03110004.htm|work=The Hindu|date=11 January 2000}}{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ponnambalam killing claimed|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=4474|work=TamilNet|date=6 January 2000}}</ref> It is widely believed that the assassination was sanctioned by Kumaratunga.<ref name="SL130102">{{cite news|title=Kumaratunga cornered in Ponnambalam murder|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20020113/spotlight.htm|work=The Sunday Leader|date=13 January 2002|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091228164436/http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20020113/spotlight.htm|archive-date=2009-12-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Kumar Ponnambalam remembered on eighth anniversary|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=24191|work=TamilNet|date=5 January 2008}}</ref>
According to ''The Sunday Leader,'' Ponnambalam's killing was organised by Baddegana Sanjeewa, a member of Kumaratunga's Presidential Security Division.<ref name="SL111101">{{cite news|last1=Jansz|first1=Frederica|authorlink1=Frederica Jansz|title=Murder of PSD's Al Capone|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20011111/issues.htm|work=The Sunday Leader|date=11 November 2001|archive-date=16 July 2017|access-date=27 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716103718/http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20011111/issues.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Acting on Sanjeewa's instructions Reserve Police Constable Sugath Ranasinghe, posing as Shantha, became friendly with Ponnambalam.<ref name="SL111101"/><ref name="SL231201">{{cite news|title=CBK's 'bloody' secrets in the house of conspiracy|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20011223/spotlight.htm|work=The Sunday Leader|date=23 December 2001|archive-date=4 March 2016|access-date=27 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065400/http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20011223/spotlight.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> On the day of the killing, Shantha lured Ponnambalam to Wellawatte where gangsters M. A. Kalinga (alias Moratu Saman) and Tharawatte Ajith (alias Sujeewa) were waiting to kill Ponnambalam.<ref name="SL231201"/> After the killing, the killers were alleged to have gone to the office of a deputy minister and shown the murder weapon, which belonged to Mahendra Ratwatte, Kumaratunga's second cousin and son of a deputy defence minister Anuruddha Ratwatte, and Ponnambalam's mobile phone as proof.<ref name="SL130102"/><ref name="SL111101"/> According to ''The Sunday Leader,'' Kumaratunga tried to protect Ponnambalam's killers after the assassination.<ref>{{cite news|title='Show's nuclear bombshell|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20011230/spotlight.htm|work=The Sunday Leader|date=30 December 2001|access-date=27 March 2016|archive-date=14 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214033349/http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20011230/spotlight.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> In December 2000, ''The Sunday Leader'' claimed that it received a sworn affidavit from CDB director SSP Bandula Wickremasinghe, addressed to Kumaratunga, indicating that Mahendra Ratwatte was involved in Ponnambalam's killing.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jeyaraj |first=David |date=2023-06-28 |title=Kumar; “The tiger who growled within the lion's den” |url=https://www.ft.lk/columns/Kumar-The-tiger-who-growled-within-the-lion-s-den/4-750015 |work=Daily FT |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628004526/https://www.ft.lk/columns/Kumar-The-tiger-who-growled-within-the-lion-s-den/4-750015 |archive-date=2023-06-28 |access-date=2026-01-01}}</ref> In February 2002, ''The Sunday Leader'' published a transcript of a telephone conversation between Ranasinghe and OIC Nuwan Wedasinghe of the Criminal Detective Bureau (CDB) which further implicated Mahendra Ratwatte in Ponnambalam's killing.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jansz|first1=Frederica|authorlink1=Frederica Jansz|title=Ponnambalam killers caught on tape|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20020217/spotlight.htm|work=The Sunday Leader|date=17 February 2002|archive-date=17 March 2016|access-date=27 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317202739/http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20020217/spotlight.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Ranasinghe, Moratu Saman and Sujeewa were eventually arrested by the police after which Ranasinghe implicated in Mahendra Ratwatte in Ponnambalam's killing.<ref>{{cite news|title=Political link in Kumar killing?|url=http://www.sundaytimes.lk/000618/frontm.html|work=The Sunday Times|date=18 June 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Palihawadana|first1=Norman|title=Mahen Ratwatte to be quizzed on K. Ponnambalam's killing|url=http://www.island.lk/2002/03/12/news05.html|work=The Island|date=12 March 2002}}</ref> According to the police, the three detainees had confessed to killing Ponnambalam and ''Satana'' editor Rohana Kumara on a contract from a private party/patriotic group.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hoole|first1=Rajan|authorlink1=Rajan Hoole|title=Police Under CBK: The Ponnambalam Murder|url=https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/police-under-cbk-the-ponnambalam-murder/|work=Colombo Telegraph|date=4 August 2015}}</ref> Sanjeewa was shot dead on 2 November 2001, allegedly by Dhammika Perera, a member of the Sri Lankan mafia.<ref name="SL111101"/> His body was found slumped in the driver's seat of his Nissan Serena, with six shots in Pagoda Road, Colombo.<ref name="SL111101"/> Notorious gangster Moratu Saman was shot dead on 18 May 2003 in Moratuwa by gangster Thoppi Chaminda.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Malalasekera|first1=Sarath|title=Moratu Saman shot dead|url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2003/05/20/new17.html|work=Daily News|date=20 May 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Fernando|first1=Tania|title=Moratu Saman escapes death|url=http://www.sundaytimes.lk/020707/news/news.html|work=The Sunday Times|date=7 July 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The end of a Moratuwa gangster|url=http://www.island.lk/2004/11/28/leisure2.html|work=The Island|date=28 November 2004}}</ref> Ranasinghe was shot dead on 20 August 2003 in Moratuwa as he returning from Moratuwa Magistrates's court in a rickshaw.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jansz|first1=Frederica|authorlink1=Frederica Jansz|title=Hidden hands behind mystery killings|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20030824/issues-1.htm|work=The Sunday Leader|date=24 August 2003|archive-date=9 April 2016|access-date=27 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409145653/http://www.thesundayleader.lk/archive/20030824/issues-1.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Mathes|first1=Rohan|title=Recent spate of killings: Authorities must tell public what went wrong— John|url=http://www.island.lk/2003/08/23/news09.html|work=The Island|date=23 August 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Malalasekera|first1=Sarath|title=CID directed to produce death certificates of two suspects|url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2003/09/15/new20.html|work=Daily News|date=15 September 2003}}</ref>
On 8 January 2000, the LTTE posthumously conferred the title Maamanithar (great human being) to Ponnambalam.<ref name="Mamanithar1">{{cite news|title='Mamanithan' award for Ponnambalam|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=4490|newspaper=TamilNet|date=8 January 2000}}</ref><ref name="Mamanithar2">{{cite journal|title=LTTE Expresses Shock and Confers Honour|journal=Tamil Times|date=January 2000|volume=XIX|issue=1|pages=8–9|url=http://noolaham.net/project/36/3585/3585.pdf|issn=0266-4488}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Special Report No: 19 – The Curse of Impunity Part II Defiance, Hope and Betrayal – The Times of Sivaram|url=http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/spreport19ptII.htm|publisher=University Teachers for Human Rights|date=9 September 2005}}</ref><ref name="Mamanithar3">{{cite news|title='Great man' award to Tamilnet editor|url=https://www.bbc.com/sinhala/news/story/2005/05/050501_sivaram_award|newspaper=BBC Sinhala|date=1 May 2005}}</ref> His funeral was held on 9 January 2000 at the Kannate Hindu cemetery.<ref name="Mamanithar4">{{cite news|title=Ponnambalam's funeral held|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=4493|work=TamilNet|issue=9 January 2000}}</ref>
Ponnambalam was one of Colombo's wealthiest residents, owning a fleet of Mercedes-Benz cars.<ref name="BBC050100"/> Following his, death his sister Vijayalakshmi got into legal disputes with his widow and children over ownership of property and companies in the United States and Singapore.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yogal uchshmy Ponnambalam, etc., et al., plaintiffs, v Gajendrakumar Gangaser Ponnambalam, et al., appellants-respondents, v Vijayaluchshmi Sivaprakasapillai, et al., respondents-appellants, et al ., defendant|url=http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/ad2/calendar/webcal/decisions/2006/D13073.pdf|publisher=New York Supreme Court}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Vijayalakshmi Sivaprakasapillai v Mrinalini Ponnambalam and Others|url=http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/high-court-judgments/13788-vijayalakshmi-sivaprakasapillai-v-mrinalini-ponnambalam-and-others-2009-sghc-183|publisher=singaporelaw.sg|access-date=27 March 2016|archive-date=10 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410020701/http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/case-law/free-law/high-court-judgments/13788-vijayalakshmi-sivaprakasapillai-v-mrinalini-ponnambalam-and-others-2009-sghc-183|url-status=dead}}</ref> No one had been brought to justice for Ponnambalam's killing.<ref>{{cite news|title=No justice for assassinated human rights lawyer Kumar Ponnambalam, 15 years on|url=http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=13341|work=Tamil Guardian|date=5 January 2015}}</ref>
==Electoral history== {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;" |+ Electoral history of Kumar Ponnambalam ! scope=col|Election ! scope=col|Constituency ! scope=col|Party ! scope=col|Votes ! scope=col|Result |- | 1977 parliamentary<ref name="pe77"/> || Jaffna || Ind || align=right|{{Nts|9960}} || Not elected |- | 1982 presidential<ref name="pr82"/> || Sri Lanka || ACTC || align=right|{{Nts|173934}} || Not elected |- | 1989 parliamentary<ref name="deSilva"/> || Jaffna District || ACTC || align=right|{{Nts|2866}} || Not elected |- | 1994 parliamentary || Colombo District || Ind || || Not elected |}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{cite book|title=Kumar Ponnambalam: A Tribute|date=12 August 2000|publisher=Kumar Ponnambalam Commemoration Committee|url=http://noolaham.net/project/33/3214/3214.pdf}}
{{Sri Lankan Civil War}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponnambalam, Kumar}} Category:1938 births Category:2000 deaths Category:All Ceylon Tamil Congress politicians Category:Alumni of King's College London Category:Alumni of St. Patrick's College, Jaffna Category:Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge Category:Assassinated Sri Lankan activists Category:Assassinated Sri Lankan politicians Category:Ceylonese advocates Category:Maamanithar Category:Members of Lincoln's Inn Category:Politicians from Colombo Category:People killed during the Sri Lankan civil war Category:People from British Ceylon Kumar Category:Sri Lankan Hindus Category:Candidates in the 1982 Sri Lankan presidential election Category:Sri Lankan Tamil activists Category:20th-century Sri Lankan lawyers Category:Sri Lankan Tamil politicians Category:Sri Lankan terrorism victims Category:Terrorism deaths in Sri Lanka Category:Asian politicians assassinated in the 2000s Category:Politicians assassinated in 2000