COLOMBO Thaya Master, once known as the media coordinator of the LTTE, is today the director of news at a pro-government TV station in Point Pedro near Jaffna.
Sources in Jaffna told Express on Sunday that Velayutham Thayanithi, alias Thaya Master, is head of news services at DAN TV said to be close to the pro-government Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Front led by Cabinet Minister Douglas Denananda. DAN TV is run by a Sri Lankan Tamil settled in France who was earlier a journalist with the Jaffna daily Eelanadu.
Thaya Master and the LTTE official translator, George Master, had fallen out with the militant group in the final phase of Eelam War IV. They daringly escaped from the LTTE’s clutches and surrendered to the Lankan forces. They were arrested and sent to Colombo for interrogation. Soon, the duo appeared on state-TV denouncing the LTTE. Though cases were registered against them they were released from detention.
Thaya Master, along with Karuna Amman, former Eastern commander of the LTTE, were flown to Nanthikadal lagoon on May 19, 2009, to identify the body of the slain Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.
A heart patient, Thaya Master was earlier treated at Apollo hospital in Colombo and is now being monitored by cardiologists at the government hospital in Point Pedro, Jaffna. According to The Sunday Leader, he is building a good house in Point Pedro at a cost of SLRs 5 million, which is big money in Point Pedro.
Thaya Master was an English teacher at a government school before he resigned and joined LTTE’s media wing. His wife, however, continued to be a government school teacher in Kilinochchi right through the war. She is now teaching at a Point Pedro government school and is reportedly hoping to be its principal, using her husband’s new-found clout with the Rajapaksa regime.