04-01-2004, 11:39 AM
[b]<span style='color:red'>True Colours - The turmoil in the east bares ground realities
Apr 1, 2004, 04:45 [Tamil Guardian Editorial]
The fear and loathing amongst Tamils in Batticaloa-Ampara this week in the wake of death threats by cadres loyal to the former LTTE commander, Karuna, have revealed the true nature of his rebellion against the movement. Having invoked a false claim of regionalism to justify his grip on power in the eastern districts in the wake of his sacking from his post for embezzlement and improper conduct, Karuna has given form to his bogus logic by ordering Tamils hailing from Jaffna out of the region. Ironically, although he accuses the LTTE leadership of discrimination, it is Karuna who is now waging a campaign of regional persecution.
In the days immediately after his rebellion began early this month, Karuna paraded before the international press, claiming a moral platform of regional injustice - and then went on to denounce and thereby betray the Tamil cause. This week, as seething Tamil sentiment paves the way for the LTTE's forces to gradually ease control of the eastern districts from him, Karuna is reacting as any self-serving warlord would: with naked force, indiscriminate terror and repression. His claim that he controls a third of the LTTE's forces is - as he himself has always known - false: that several thousand fighters live in the east does not mean they support him - though this has not prevented the anti-Tamil sections of the press continuing to assert this 'truism.' Indeed, whilst the Tamil press is covering the appalling expulsions of thousands of people, other Colombo-based media seem peculiarly unconcerned, with some reporters even propagating the notion that the killing of a Tamil candidate, rather than Karuna's threats broadcast through loudhailers, were compelling those fleeing.
Opponents of the LTTE have been quick to laud Karuna - that he has become the darling of the Sinhala far-right press speaks volumes in the Tamil areas. But emphatic predictions of the demise of the LTTE were, as close observers of the Tamil question were well aware, somewhat premature.
Indeed, as this week's tragic events reveal, Karuna's rebellion is not a regional or ideological fracture within the movement, but merely his lunge for power in the region. The Tamil community takes comfort from the LTTE's repeated calls for calm - and its assurance earlier this month that this is a 'temporary aberration.' </span>
Apr 1, 2004, 04:45 [Tamil Guardian Editorial]
The fear and loathing amongst Tamils in Batticaloa-Ampara this week in the wake of death threats by cadres loyal to the former LTTE commander, Karuna, have revealed the true nature of his rebellion against the movement. Having invoked a false claim of regionalism to justify his grip on power in the eastern districts in the wake of his sacking from his post for embezzlement and improper conduct, Karuna has given form to his bogus logic by ordering Tamils hailing from Jaffna out of the region. Ironically, although he accuses the LTTE leadership of discrimination, it is Karuna who is now waging a campaign of regional persecution.
In the days immediately after his rebellion began early this month, Karuna paraded before the international press, claiming a moral platform of regional injustice - and then went on to denounce and thereby betray the Tamil cause. This week, as seething Tamil sentiment paves the way for the LTTE's forces to gradually ease control of the eastern districts from him, Karuna is reacting as any self-serving warlord would: with naked force, indiscriminate terror and repression. His claim that he controls a third of the LTTE's forces is - as he himself has always known - false: that several thousand fighters live in the east does not mean they support him - though this has not prevented the anti-Tamil sections of the press continuing to assert this 'truism.' Indeed, whilst the Tamil press is covering the appalling expulsions of thousands of people, other Colombo-based media seem peculiarly unconcerned, with some reporters even propagating the notion that the killing of a Tamil candidate, rather than Karuna's threats broadcast through loudhailers, were compelling those fleeing.
Opponents of the LTTE have been quick to laud Karuna - that he has become the darling of the Sinhala far-right press speaks volumes in the Tamil areas. But emphatic predictions of the demise of the LTTE were, as close observers of the Tamil question were well aware, somewhat premature.
Indeed, as this week's tragic events reveal, Karuna's rebellion is not a regional or ideological fracture within the movement, but merely his lunge for power in the region. The Tamil community takes comfort from the LTTE's repeated calls for calm - and its assurance earlier this month that this is a 'temporary aberration.' </span>
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