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[Mathan]

<b>Separate state impossible: Karuna </b>

BATTICALOA, MARCH 12. The rebel military commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (a.k.a. `col.' Karuna), says it is "impossible" to create a separate state the battle cry of the Tigers in the decades of a bitterly fought separatist battle against the Sri Lankan Government as there is no international support.

In a wide-ranging interview to The Hindu , deep inside rebel-controlled eastern Sri Lanka, Mr. Muralitharan termed the assassination of the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, the "gravest mistake" committed by the LTTE's intelligence wing. With his departure from the organisation, which he joined as a 17-year-old final year school student, Mr. Muralitharan said the LTTE "cannot continue any longer as a conventional army."

`Col.' Karuna alleges discrimination against the "eastern fighter" by the "northern leadership." He said he "was not even concerned'' about the impact of his departure on the concept of north and east as the "traditional homeland" of the Sri Lankan Tamils one of the three principles held by Sri Lankan Tamil parties for several decades and a basis for the demand for a separate Tamil Eelam. In his 45-minute interview in Tamil, Mr. Muralitharan said the LTTE leader, V. Prabakaran, had made the "monumental mistake" of not sharing powers. Referring to Mr. Prabakaran throughout the interview as "the leader," he said: "Another weakness of his is that he will not like anyone growing up as an equal to him." Mr. Muralitharan was particularly critical of the LTTE's intelligence wing leader, Pottu Amman, and two other administrative heads. The LTTE leader was "being influenced" by them and had "moved away from leadership qualities."

The 37-year-old Mr. Muralitharan, who was the LTTE head for two eastern districts Batticaloa and Amparai before his expulsion on March 6, met this correspondent in a training camp, `Meenagam' yesterday, where, he says, about 6,000 armed fighters are based. At ease with his new situation, `col.' Karuna was in a casual and relaxed mood, with his serious, tough look making way for several smiles and a few chuckles.

Tamil nationalism in Sri Lanka, Mr. Muralitharan said, would "be rescued" when the people of "northern Tamil Eelam discard the Vanni leadership." The LTTE's negotiating team, of which he was a member, was only discussing the possibility of a federal structure, and "certainly" not a separate Tamil Eelam, he said. Even Mr. Prabakaran, Mr. Muralitharan said, had "given up the demand for Tamil Eelam."

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