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The presence of Ramanathan Archuna, an independent MP for the Jaffna District, at the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) rally held at the Anuradhapura Municipal Council grounds on September 12 set off a wave of discussion online. Alongside it, several contested claims about what he said from the stage began circulating on social media. Here is our fact-check of those posts.
Claim 1: The Fabricated Prabhakaran and JVP Quote
One post attributed this statement to MP Ramanathan Archuna: “If our leader Prabhakaran were alive today, he too would join me on this very stage. It was the JVP under Anura Kumara that most wanted this war to end. That is precisely why we stand today on the Pohottuwa stage against the NPP. I am a Ti-ger, and this is a stage even a Tiger can step onto.”
The claim continued to spread in these forms as well.
So, what did MP Ramanathan Archuna actually say at the rally? We set out to check whether he had made the statement the posts put in his mouth.
Mainstream Media Did Not Report the Fabricated Quote
The MP’s remarks at the rally were covered by mainstream media. But no mainstream outlet or credible official source reported the full statement attributed to him in the posts, about Prabhakaran joining him on stage or the JVP wanting the war to end.
He did, however, describe himself as a “Tiger” during his remarks, and that was reported by mainstream media. Related reports are available here, here and here.
What MP Ramanathan Archuna Actually Said at the Rally
“I want to say, when I hear the words ‘Sinhalese people,’ the only name that comes to my mind is President Mahinda Rajapaksa, no one else. In a forest there can be lions and there can be tigers, but you have gone and appointed a fox. You have appointed a fox. Not once in forty years has this country had it otherwise.
Even as a Tiger, I say this to you: you have appointed a fox. That is precisely why I have come and stand before the lion to speak today. Only the North and the South can genuinely speak to each other; there is no speaking to a fox. As for me, I can only speak this much Sinhala. But someone from the North and someone from the South can talk together and say, let us build this country. We gave a huge sum from the diaspora; you do not know this. We gave a large amount to this election, and none of you know it. But that very diaspora told me to go and say this, right there, before the Sinhalese people.
I will say this as long as I live: I will never demand a separate Tamil Eelam. What I want is the Sinhalese people. Remember my face some day when you take on some Tamil man. I told Namal, brother, if anything happens, I will put an end to this Sinhala-Tamil issue by 2029. I will say it plainly: if you do not want that, even if you throw me in prison, whatever you do, Namal Rajapaksa will become President.”
Read in full, his speech was built around a single metaphor: he compared the current rulers to a fox, called himself a Tiger, and referred to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as a lion.
But that same full statement makes clear he made no remark resembling “if our leader Prabhakaran were alive today, he too would join me on this stage,” nor any statement at all about Prabhakaran, the former leader of the LTTE. He likewise made no statement, directly or by implication, that the JVP under Anura Kumara most wanted to end the war.
The “I am a Tiger” remark he made has drawn official attention: the Terrorism Investigation Division has opened an inquiry into it. The complaint was lodged by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), which accused the MP of promoting the LTTE and asked for an investigation. Related reports are available here and here.
Minister Nalinda Jayatissa Rejected the Diaspora-Funding Claim
Answering a journalist’s question at a cabinet decisions media briefing, Cabinet Media Spokesperson Minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa rejected the MP’s claim that the diaspora had funded the NPP. He said complaints about the MP’s remarks had been made to the Police and the Criminal Investigation Department, and that investigations were underway. Further details here.
Background: The MP’s Own Past Statements
These posts have landed against a backdrop of statements the MP has made before, inside and outside Parliament. After his election, he released a video on social media saying that although his father had been a police officer under the Sri Lankan government, he himself joined the LTTE’s police wing in 1987 amid conditions after the 1983 riots, indicating an LTTE-sympathetic background. He also said Prabhakaran was, to him, like a god, and that he was not afraid to say so. More details here, here and here.
Claim 2: The Fabricated ‘Tamil Diaspora NGO’ Quote
A second post, using footage of the MP addressing the rally, claimed he said: “It was I who gave the UN-registered NGO of the Tamil diaspora, so Milinda could go to Geneva and speak on Namal’s behalf.”
No Such Statement Appears in His Speech or Anywhere Else
Had MP Ramanathan Archuna said this, mainstream media would have reported it. We found no such report. We also reviewed his complete rally speech to see whether he made the remark, and he did not. His full statement is below, and our check confirmed he made no such statement on any other occasion either.
Milinda Rajapaksa at the 63rd UN Human Rights Council in Geneva
SLPP political activist Milinda Rajapaksa, Chairman and Convener of the ‘Bahujana Balaya’ organisation, attended the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva in September. There he raised concerns about political persecution and arrests, the proposed 22nd Constitutional Amendment, and Bribery Act bail provisions that he said could allow prolonged detention without trial and affect political activists. He also submitted an official complaint, drafted by European lawyers, opposing Namal Rajapaksa’s arrest to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva. Further details here.
To address a session of the Human Rights Council, official sponsorship or accreditation from a registered NGO holding consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is required. So, we set out to identify the specific international NGO Milinda Rajapaksa represented in Geneva.
Milinda Rajapaksa Represented the Global Sri Lanka Forum United Kingdom
At the start of his statement to the Council, Milinda Rajapaksa clearly named the body he represented: the Global Sri Lanka Forum United Kingdom. His full statement is below.
About the Global Sri Lanka Forum United Kingdom
The Global Sri Lankan Forum is an international network of overseas Sri Lankans and professionals from various fields, with branches in countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Italy, and Switzerland. It advocates protecting Sri Lanka’s unitary state structure, sovereignty, and territorial integrity from foreign influence, and has argued internationally against narratives promoted by LTTE-aligned diaspora groups and against war-crimes allegations levelled at Sri Lanka’s armed forces through bodies such as the UN Human Rights Council.
In 2026 the Forum also petitioned the President to uphold the health and legal rights of detained former intelligence chief Suresh Salay.
Milinda Rajapaksa’s Response
When we contacted Milinda Rajapaksa, he rejected the post’s claims. He said he addressed the UNHRC representing the Global Sri Lanka Forum and named it at the start of his speech. He described the Forum as one of the oldest UN-registered organizations, founded by the Sinhalese diaspora in Europe to counter LTTE propaganda.
He also shared his official accreditation pass for the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC63), which states that he attended representing the UK-based NGO Global Sri Lankan Forum United Kingdom.
We have reached out to MP Ramanathan Archuna about these posts and will update this article once we receive his response.
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Conclusion
Our fact-check found that the posts circulating as remarks by MP Ramanathan Archuna at the recent SLPP rally are misleading. He made no statement that “if Prabhakaran were alive, he too would join this stage” or that “the JVP most wanted the war to end.” He did call himself a “Tiger,” and over that a complaint has been made to the CID, with investigations underway.
He also never said he had provided a Tamil diaspora NGO to get Milinda Rajapaksa to the Geneva Human Rights Council. Our check confirmed that Rajapaksa addressed the Council representing the Global Sri Lanka Forum, a Sinhalese-founded international NGO, which is why the second post too is misleading.
Title: What MP Ramanathan Archuna Actually Said at the SLPP Rally: Viral Quotes Are Misleading
Fact Check By: BP Hansani
Result: False
