News

News

I am still being haunted: Karuna
Controverisal dissident Tiger leader in exclusive interview with The Sunday Times
"Paramilitary groups have given up arms under the Ceasefire Agreement and entered the democratic mainstream. We are a breakaway group of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Unlike the LTTE, we use weapons only for our defence," says Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna, the renegade LTTE eastern leader.

"The reason why they do not want to return to Geneva is because they do not want to talk. The demand to transport eastern commanders is a convenient ploy," he told The Sunday Times in an exclusive interview.

He said he had been with the LTTE for a long time to understand its motives in agreeing to the CFA in February 2002. "It was only for a temporary respite."
“They are putting the Sri Lanka Government in an awkward position by asking them to do the dirty job for them. The paramilitary issue and our presence in the East are a problem created by the LTTE. They should try and deal with it themselves," he declared. "They did the very same thing for late Ranasinghe Premadasa. After using him to get rid of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) by extracting large sums of money and weapons, they killed him. This is their masterly tactic of deception."

Karuna said, "the major decision making on the political front was always in the hands of Prabhakaran and Anton Balasingham. The latter manipulated the leader knowing well his weaknesses. I heard he lost his cool at the February talks in Geneva. He could not single handed cope with the English-speaking Sri Lanka delegation."

Here are edited extracts of the interview:
Q: The peace process between the Government of Sri Lanka, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been stalled on the basis of the LTTE's insistence that your group be disarmed. What have you to say about this development?
A: The LTTE is a politically and morally bankrupt fascist organisation. They find us threatening as we have served writ on their dictatorial rule. We are a politico-military organisation and are a movement appealing to the masses because we have put forward ourselves to liberate our people from the fascist clutches of the LTTE.

Our position is that the Government must make equal attempt to disarm the LTTE if they ever intend disarming us. The CFA was signed when we were with the LTTE and the government cannot have one rule to disarm us and another rule for LTTE. We carry arms for self-defence purposes.

Q: There was a message from you on the eve of the peace talks resuming, that you will keep away from the contest. But former LTTE cadres who remain loyal to your leadership have been mounting attacks on LTTE cadres, especially in the East. You cannot deny that fact. What do you say to this?
A: We have stated our position very publicly. We will use arms only for defensive purposes. We will consider any intrusion by the LTTE for its overt or covert operation or Pottu's Amman’s (LTTE intelligence wing leader) intelligence effort to pre-empt an attack on us as hostile acts. We will deal with those situations appropriately and according to the prevailing circumstances.

Q: What is your response to reports that your members are operating in Government-controlled areas? Is this true? If not, are you only operating from uncontrolled areas?
A: We are not hostile to the Sri Lankan forces. Therefore, there are no difficulties for us to move around in the controlled areas. We have watchful eyes on Pottu's spies. They are the lethal bit of the LTTE's killing machinery.

Q: A recent SLMM statement to the Government said that their officers have 'spotted' your men moving around in Government-controlled areas, and in fact, in one instance, that they have encountered some of your men - armed - moving in these areas.
A: SLMM is proving to be an agent of the LTTE. They should read our press releases and interviews to know who we are. They are aiding and abetting the LTTE to undermine our politico-military objectives. Have they taken exception to LTTE goons carrying arms and butchering the resenting voices and Sri Lankan armed forces? Look what they are trying to do. We have stated in our press release on April 3, 2006 that Col Banu of the LTTE's Eastern Command including Ilamparithy and Karikalan are war criminals for their part in driving away 85,000 Muslims en masse from the North and East in the early 90s and that we will endeavour to capture them and produce them to face justice.

Q: What is your own assessment of both, the SLMM and more so, the Norwegian role in the peace process in Sri Lanka? What is your response to remarks by former SLMM head Hagrup Haukland that the LTTE are freedom fighters and that the Sri Lanka Army cannot win this war?
A: We consider both Norway and SLMM are playing into the hands of the LTTE. In order to keep them under their influence they are compromising their roles. It is public knowledge that LTTE is funded by the Norwegians.
Norway has also provided the base for the LTTE to operate their international cyber operations.

The SLMM, as stated earlier, are undermining its role by conniving with the LTTE. Statistics show that during the past four years of ceasefire the LTTE had violated the CFA disproportionately. It is evident that the SLMM simply acted as recording agent of these violations. What have they done to release the unarmed democratic forces kidnapped in broad day light by the LTTE? An example is the kidnap of the unarmed PLOTE member Ganeshalingam alias Farook in Vavuniya. He is a political worker of PLOTE. What has SLMM done to confirm the fate of Farook? Further, ENDLF, Secretary Mano Master, was also kidnapped from Colombo. The unarmed Tamil democratic forces have fallen victims to the LTTE in large numbers during ceasefire. And the LTTE is asking the Sri Lankan government to disarm those holding arms to prey on them easily. The SLMM is acting like a legitimate spy for the LTTE by pinpointing our cadres who are carrying arms for self defence purposes.

Hagrup Haukland should have desisted from making political comments. Despite his denials, he is badly exposed. This shows the SLMM's partiality and its utter contempt and disrespect towards Sri Lankan people.

Q: Surely, your men cannot survive without some tacit backing from the Armed Forces - otherwise, you will get trapped from both sides.
A: Absolutely not! We are not a hostile force to the Sri Lankan government. This cannot be construed as tacit support from the armed forces. In fact, the LTTE is the one which is getting trapped between us and the Sri Lankan forces. They want this status quo changed so that they will extend their fascist dictatorship.

The LTTE is a disgraceful group which wants the partnership of the Government forces to grab the arms of their enemies whilst playing a despicable role by killing the members of the forces on a daily basis.

Q: Don't you think the tit-for-tat killings must stop at some point, and if so, at what point?
A: It should stop immediately. It is in the hands of the LTTE. So long as the LTTE continues with its murderous regime of killings, tit-for-tat killings are going to take place. This will become worse as our intelligence is saying that frustration among the LTTE cadres is going to become a major problem for the LTTE.

Q: You have now formed a political wing in your stronghold of Batticaloa. Are you seriously going to engage in political work, or is this another move to split the LTTE?
A: As I said TMVP is a politico-military organisation. We did not define our political strategies vindictively to split the LTTE. Our fundamental objective is to democratise our society and to give the power to our people. We want to work towards normalisation of the civil society which has been denied by the fascist LTTE. Our ultimate objective is of course to find a political solution within the framework of a united Sri Lanka under a federal constitution.

Q: Are you bitter with the way the LTTE treated you - is it revenge that you are seeking - or what is it?
A: You have used very strong words 'bitter' and 'revenge'. I regret both are not my dictates and I always wanted to look forward than sink into bitter revenge-taking exercises. I may have been 'hurt' over what the LTTE did to me when they scandalised me as a nasty person. I have gone a long way from that and I know our people now realise who I am. Our work will be forward looking and will be responsive to wishes of our people. I have a mammoth job in my hand. I have made significant progress within the short period.Any military engagement with the LTTE will have political and defensive purposes and they will not be vindictive.

Q: You still believe in a separate Tamil state, do you? Or have you moved on - like the EPDP leadership -- towards a united (or unitary) Sri Lanka
A: The world is progressively becoming a global village. Unity, integration and diversity are theories that could work in this modern day and age. Our people are sick and tired of war and terrorism and they too want peace and live with honour. I wish to go further. Sri Lanka as a nation wants peaceful transition of war mongering politics to much accommodative politics as people are sick and tired of wars and LTTE terrorism.

We are for a united Sri Lanka. We are for a federal solution to the conflict. We are for unity in diversity. We are for all the people to live in this country with dignity, honour and harmony. We are for making Sri Lanka to integrate fully with the fast progressing economic development that is taking place in the sub-continent of India and the world. We are here to see the last of the conflicts in the name of liberation and separation to come to an end like other conflicts around the world recently.

All these could only be achieved with the wise thinking on the part of the Sinhalese. A favourable bi-partisan politics must play an important part on the Sinhalese side on the theme of 'United Sri Lanka' to transform the politics of Sri Lanka into a modern and unique federal system. Let Sinhalese, Tamils and the Muslims become party to a constitution by their positive engagement and let's enshrine a new federal constitution together. Togetherness in changing the constitution will put the foundation for a 'united' Sri Lanka. The strong feeling that we are living under a Sinhalese constitution imposed on us must come to an end.

Q: Under a federal system - like in India?
A: Modalities of a federal structure must be a decision made by consensus politics. The Indian federal system could be a model to start with but it must be open to amendments.

Q: What, in your view, went wrong with the struggle for Tamil independence, of which you were a key guerrilla leader at one time?
A: Many things have gone wrong. The primary one of course is that the LTTE had become a killing machine. It lost track of the purpose of its mission and under the guise of national liberation struggle it had even killed the very same people it depended on. The Tamil national struggle has transformed into an LTTE fascist dictatorship. Not only the people, our culture, religions, education which we were one time proud of and our way of life all have fallen victims to the LTTE's dogma. The Tamils started the Tamil liberation struggle to liberate them from the Sinhalese oppression. But unfortunately, we have moved from the Sinhalese oppression to the LTTE oppression. Our people are sandwiched between both now. The LTTE has proved the worst oppressor. They are only surviving on the strength of the gun.

I decided to leave the LTTE as I could not face the pressures from our people over its conduct. The cries of the parents when they lost their siblings started to haunt me and is still haunting me. For the LTTE leadership, it is a never ending game. I am humane. When I started to pressurise Prabha and Pottu they felt that their power base was threatened and did everything nasty to discredit me. Luckily, I did not face the fate of others. It is God's will and I am determined that I reflect the message of the people that made me change and leave the LTTE. Their cries cannot go in vain.

Q: You accuse the LTTE of being a killing machine. Was it not a killing machine when you were their Eastern Commander?
A: The LTTE was a killing machine even when I was with them. I always behaved like a professional soldier and detested killing innocents. There came a point when I could not tolerate the killing machine as it was never ending. I left the LTTE and still regret that I did not leave much earlier. The CFA gave me the opening to find an exit after failing in my effort to change LTTE's direction.

Q: Do you have any regrets?
A: No regrets. I will do everything to build a fair and just society in Sri Lanka. In a major step to correct the blunders made by the LTTE and normalisation of our society, our Tamileela Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) has taken a decisive step to deal with war crimes committed by the LTTE against the Muslims. We have asked the current occupants of Muslim properties to end their occupation by May 4, 2006 and Muslim business premises occupied by the present occupiers to compensate the victims. Come hell or high water, we are determined to implement our decision fully.

Q: How do you explain the current situation in the East? Do you accept the position that the LTTE is in full control? If not, can you explain the situation as you see it?
A: We are extending our hold in the East. We are strengthening the number of cadres to drive out the LTTE from the pockets where they are controlling. We anticipate that the LTTE will find its exit fully from the East soon.

Q: How do you see the recent developments in Trincomalee, particularly in the light of LTTE's plans to have this north eastern port city as the capital of the so-called Eelam?
A: The LTTE is playing the same old game by using the civilian as fodder in its terrorist campaign. Their intention is to create island-wide anti-Tamil violence which they think will help salvage their image to strengthen their territorial hold. Eelam is a white elephant and it is a folly to dream that Trinco will become the capital of Eelam. All these are stories to strengthen its tax and fund collection exercises among Tamils.

Q: At the last round of the Geneva talks, S.P. Thamilselvan accused you of being responsible for recruitment of child soldiers and said that was the reason why you were expelled? Is this correct? If not, who was responsible for child recruitment? Do you believe the LTTE still continues to induct child soldiers?
A: Thamilselvan is His Masters Voice and will say anything and everything. He will say one thing today, another tomorrow. The LTTE always had specialist child recruiters/catchers and to accuse me of indulging in child recruitment is a deliberate attempt to discredit me.

Q: What is the fate of the Tamil civilians under the LTTE control, particularly those living in the East?
A: People are living under the LTTE's Gestapo regime. They face the serious punishment even for a minor offence or conflicts in their family squabbles. They are working very hard to recruit child soldiers from the East as recruitment has depleted in the North. TMVP's hold in the East has made their lives very difficult.

Q: What is your message to the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran? What is your challenge to him?
A: Prabhakaran is a megalomaniac. He gets sadistic satisfaction from killing of people. I have experienced occasions when he celebrated killings of people. His behaviour is progressively becoming selfish and I sometimes wonder whether his eating habits are impacting on him.

Just imagine how many of our own people have been killed by the LTTE under his leadership. It is my estimation that around 5,000 of them had perished which includes the cadres engaged by the LTTE. Many of them were butchered in a gruesome way under his leadership.

He lives in a well fortified house in the Vanni jungle which he has named Punitha Bhumi (Holy Land). A man who runs a murderous regime wants people to worship him and have named his headquarters as Punitha Bhumi.

I feel time is ticking for him to face trial in the International Court in the Hague on war crimes charges like other international criminals. I hope he will act wisely at least from now on and engage positively to resolve this conflict.

Top

Back to News