Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam
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Honourable Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam MP |
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|---|---|
| சிறீ ரங்கா ஜெயரத்தினம் | |
| Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament for Nuwara Eliya District |
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In office 2010–2015 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 January 1971 |
| Political party | Citizen's Front |
| Other political affiliations |
United People's Freedom Alliance |
| Alma mater | University of Colombo |
| Occupation | Broadcaster |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Ethnicity | Sri Lankan Tamil |
Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam (Tamil: சிறீ ரங்கா ஜெயரத்தினம்; born 22 January 1971) is a Sri Lankan Tamil broadcaster, politician and former Member of Parliament.
Jeyaratnam was born on 22 January 1971. He was educated at Vavuniya Tamil Madhya Maha Vidyalayam and Jaffna Hindu College. He then entered the University of Colombo where he was captain of the football team.
After university Jeyaratnam joined MBC Networks, presenting the Erimalai (volcano) programme on Shakthi FM. He later moved to television, presenting the Minnal (lightning) programme on Shakthi TV. This programme was very popular amongst the Up-country Tamils, particularly the youth. He is leader of the Citizen's Front (CF).
Jeyaratnam has close ties with President Mahinda Rajapaksa's family and is a close friend of his son Namal Rajapaksa. According to leaked U.S. diplomatic cables the president's brother, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, was "incensed" by the way Jeyaratnam handled abductions carried out by government backed paramilitary groups, such as the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), on his TV programme. According to the cable the president told Jeyaratnam to leave the country, offering him a diplomatic position in Oslo, otherwise EPDP leader Douglas Devananda would have Jeyaratnam killed. The cable also claims that Jeyaratnam feared being assassinated by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who considered him to be a Rajapaksa stooge.
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