03-08-2004, 12:06 PM
Expelled LTTE's Eastern Commander getting isolated
Colombo, Mar 7 (UNI) The LTTE's deposed commander of the East, V Muralitharan, suffered yet another blow as one of his close confidante and senior leader from the East, Sivagnanam Karikalan, arrived in Wanni today for discussions with the rebel leadership about the worsening situation in the Eastern Batticaloa district.
Speaking to selected media at the LTTE's media coordinating office in Kilinochchi, Mr Karikalan has said this morning that Muralitharan, well-known as 'Colonel Karuna', took the decision to betray organisation without consulting any of his colleagues and senior staff.
It was only yesterday that the reneged Eastern rebel commander desperately appointed Mr Karikalan, as in-charge of political wing head of his faction in the East, a move that could have given a stronger message to the LTTE leadership in the Wanni, with regard to Karuna's plans to fight back militarily the decision to sack him.
Charging that there were 'outside elements' behind Mr Karuna's decision to act traitorously, Mr Karikalan has said that Karuna was "trying to compell commanders and heads of divisions in the Batticaloa-Amparai district to accept his decision".
''Karuna will be seen as a Pol Pot if he continues to act irresponsibly towards our people,'' the Taminet website has quoted Mr Karikalan as saying, adding that the people and the cadres in the East were fully supportive of the LTTE leader and his leadership and any attempts by Karuna to defy the orders would not succeed.
''Today none of the people in the Batticaloa-Amaparai district are prepared to reject our national leader. Even at the recent Pongu Thamil festival in Batticaloa thousands of our people carried photos of our national leader with the slogan''Tamils are tigers. Tigers are Tamils'', expressing their commitment to the Tamil national cause and to ''our national leadership'', he has pointed out.
It is not immediately known as to how the reneged battle-hardened Eastern rebel commander is going to put his acts and ideas together with the newly-appointed leaders and area commanders returning to the East to implement the decision by the leadership.
It will not be a surprise, even if there is intense gun-battles between the two factions, with Karuna reportedly holding nearly 5000 trained cadres with him and wanted to go it alone.
Karuna, who joined the LTTE in 1983 and trained in India, Karuna was one of the LTTE's toughest military commanders and was holding number two position in the LTTE's military wing, next to leader V Prabhakaran.
He was in shoulder-to-shoulder with the elusive leader in planning out military operations and led several battles successfully against the Sri Lanka's armed forces, including the overrunning of the Elephant Pass military complex.
Karuna (36) was also a key member of the LTTE's peace negotiating team that has had six rounds of talks in various capitals of European and Scandinavian countries. Thanx: UNI
Colombo, Mar 7 (UNI) The LTTE's deposed commander of the East, V Muralitharan, suffered yet another blow as one of his close confidante and senior leader from the East, Sivagnanam Karikalan, arrived in Wanni today for discussions with the rebel leadership about the worsening situation in the Eastern Batticaloa district.
Speaking to selected media at the LTTE's media coordinating office in Kilinochchi, Mr Karikalan has said this morning that Muralitharan, well-known as 'Colonel Karuna', took the decision to betray organisation without consulting any of his colleagues and senior staff.
It was only yesterday that the reneged Eastern rebel commander desperately appointed Mr Karikalan, as in-charge of political wing head of his faction in the East, a move that could have given a stronger message to the LTTE leadership in the Wanni, with regard to Karuna's plans to fight back militarily the decision to sack him.
Charging that there were 'outside elements' behind Mr Karuna's decision to act traitorously, Mr Karikalan has said that Karuna was "trying to compell commanders and heads of divisions in the Batticaloa-Amparai district to accept his decision".
''Karuna will be seen as a Pol Pot if he continues to act irresponsibly towards our people,'' the Taminet website has quoted Mr Karikalan as saying, adding that the people and the cadres in the East were fully supportive of the LTTE leader and his leadership and any attempts by Karuna to defy the orders would not succeed.
''Today none of the people in the Batticaloa-Amaparai district are prepared to reject our national leader. Even at the recent Pongu Thamil festival in Batticaloa thousands of our people carried photos of our national leader with the slogan''Tamils are tigers. Tigers are Tamils'', expressing their commitment to the Tamil national cause and to ''our national leadership'', he has pointed out.
It is not immediately known as to how the reneged battle-hardened Eastern rebel commander is going to put his acts and ideas together with the newly-appointed leaders and area commanders returning to the East to implement the decision by the leadership.
It will not be a surprise, even if there is intense gun-battles between the two factions, with Karuna reportedly holding nearly 5000 trained cadres with him and wanted to go it alone.
Karuna, who joined the LTTE in 1983 and trained in India, Karuna was one of the LTTE's toughest military commanders and was holding number two position in the LTTE's military wing, next to leader V Prabhakaran.
He was in shoulder-to-shoulder with the elusive leader in planning out military operations and led several battles successfully against the Sri Lanka's armed forces, including the overrunning of the Elephant Pass military complex.
Karuna (36) was also a key member of the LTTE's peace negotiating team that has had six rounds of talks in various capitals of European and Scandinavian countries. Thanx: UNI
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