03-08-2004, 05:57 PM
Renegade Sri Lanka rebel was aide to Tiger leader
By Scott McDonald
COLOMBO (Reuters) - The renegade rebel whose split from the Tamil Tigers threatens Sri Lanka's peace process was a close aide to the rebels' top leader who has been accused of carrying out some of the worst atrocities in the civil war.
Karuna, who said last week he had split from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has transformed himself since the island's ceasefire from a jungle warrior into a peace negotiator who put on a suit to represent the rebels in world capitals.
"Karuna is highly disciplined, a very good military leader," said one official in Colombo who dealt with him often.
"I always found him very polite and he was always smiling. He's broken the sound barrier, he speaks English more when he is on those trips," he said.
There is still confusion surrounding why V Muralitharan -- who is more widely known by his military name, Karuna -- broke with Velupillai Prabhakaran, the reclusive LTTE leader who has had all challengers to his authority murdered in the past.
The smiling Karuna, who took part in several rounds of peace talks with the government and even joined in a friendly snowball fight at one session in Oslo, was the public face of one of the LTTE's top military strategists.
The split further complicates peace efforts already stalled by a row between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that has led to a snap election on April 2.
According to a Sri Lankan government document, Karuna was one of a number of Tiger cadres trained in secret camps in India.
He led seven counter-attacks to take control of the island's main north-south artery, dubbed the "Highway of Death" after 3,500 soldiers from both sides died fighting over it.
Others accuse him of committing war atrocities, saying he was in charge when more than 600 government policemen in LTTE custody in the east were murdered in the early 1990s.
"It is widely believed that it was he who ordered the massacre of more than 600 policemen who surrendered to the LTTE," the Island newspaper said in an editorial on Monday.
The government document said "650 policemen were taken into custody by him".
Only 37, Karuna has reportedly been in charge militarily of the Batticaloa-Ampara districts for 18 years. That is possible considering that many of the top LTTE leaders join the movement in their early teens.
He is one year older than S.P. Thamilselvan, the leader of the LTTE's political wing, who said on Saturday that Karuna had been expelled for "acting traitorously to the Tamil people".
The Tigers have also compared Karuna to Pol Pot, the Cambodian leader who caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people in his country's "Killing Fields".
Many in Colombo predict Karuna, a graduate of Batticaloa's elite high school, St Michael's College, will be assassinated for challenging Prabhakaran.
"Those who know the history of Prabhakaran and the LTTE will say that Karuna has signed his death warrant," the Island said.
By Scott McDonald
COLOMBO (Reuters) - The renegade rebel whose split from the Tamil Tigers threatens Sri Lanka's peace process was a close aide to the rebels' top leader who has been accused of carrying out some of the worst atrocities in the civil war.
Karuna, who said last week he had split from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has transformed himself since the island's ceasefire from a jungle warrior into a peace negotiator who put on a suit to represent the rebels in world capitals.
"Karuna is highly disciplined, a very good military leader," said one official in Colombo who dealt with him often.
"I always found him very polite and he was always smiling. He's broken the sound barrier, he speaks English more when he is on those trips," he said.
There is still confusion surrounding why V Muralitharan -- who is more widely known by his military name, Karuna -- broke with Velupillai Prabhakaran, the reclusive LTTE leader who has had all challengers to his authority murdered in the past.
The smiling Karuna, who took part in several rounds of peace talks with the government and even joined in a friendly snowball fight at one session in Oslo, was the public face of one of the LTTE's top military strategists.
The split further complicates peace efforts already stalled by a row between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that has led to a snap election on April 2.
According to a Sri Lankan government document, Karuna was one of a number of Tiger cadres trained in secret camps in India.
He led seven counter-attacks to take control of the island's main north-south artery, dubbed the "Highway of Death" after 3,500 soldiers from both sides died fighting over it.
Others accuse him of committing war atrocities, saying he was in charge when more than 600 government policemen in LTTE custody in the east were murdered in the early 1990s.
"It is widely believed that it was he who ordered the massacre of more than 600 policemen who surrendered to the LTTE," the Island newspaper said in an editorial on Monday.
The government document said "650 policemen were taken into custody by him".
Only 37, Karuna has reportedly been in charge militarily of the Batticaloa-Ampara districts for 18 years. That is possible considering that many of the top LTTE leaders join the movement in their early teens.
He is one year older than S.P. Thamilselvan, the leader of the LTTE's political wing, who said on Saturday that Karuna had been expelled for "acting traitorously to the Tamil people".
The Tigers have also compared Karuna to Pol Pot, the Cambodian leader who caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people in his country's "Killing Fields".
Many in Colombo predict Karuna, a graduate of Batticaloa's elite high school, St Michael's College, will be assassinated for challenging Prabhakaran.
"Those who know the history of Prabhakaran and the LTTE will say that Karuna has signed his death warrant," the Island said.
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