Many have expressed their concern that United National Party leader and Sri Lankan Presidential candidate Ranil Wickramesinghe should reveal his connections with the Gnanakoon family before the November elections.

The Sri Lanka Army and the police, for questioning in connection of the assassination of former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, arrested one of the Gnanakoons, Charles Selvakumar, October 10. Close relatives of Tamil guerilla leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, the two Gnanakoon brothers, Charles Selvakumar and Donald Jayantha hail from Velvetiturai, the native village of Prabhakaran and have been actively engaged in the LTTE activities for decades.

Residents of both Singapore and Los Angeles ,both Gnanakoon brothers have also been alleged to have taken part in transporting and purchasing weapons for the rebel group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Before 2001 elections United National Party leader Ranil Wickramesinghe visited Donald Jayantha Gnanakoon and then Charles Selvakumar Gnanakoon in Los Angeles and Singapore, respectively. He had been hosted as an honored guest at the residences of the Gnanakoons many times since then. The discussions ultimately resulted in terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran making a heroes day speech appealing to the Tamils to elect Ranil Wickramesinghe to power before the 2001 elections. Later, Prabhakaran and Wickramesinghe signed the controversial ceasefire agreement under which the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) did not altogether stop their killings. Former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was allegedly was their most famous victim recently.

A United National Party member, led by Wickramesinghe recently told this correspondent that it was the duty of Wickramesinghe to reveal all his dealings with the Gnanakoons over the years, since he should have a very clean record.