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[Mathan]

நான் ஒரு புலி ... புல் தின்ன போவதில்லை - கருணா

Karuna Speaks: I am a Tiger and I will never eat grass even when I am famished.


Karuna continues to speak to the "Asian Tribune": I am one who has never supported any Sinhalese leaders politically or otherwise, up to date. I have not met anyone to have any secret negotiations. There was no need for me to have anything to do with any Sinhala leaders.

Because, I use to adopt a different political approach and a different way of life and the Sinhalese political leaders in Colombo adopt another way of life and approach which was directly opposed to ours. Therefore, we did not get any opportunity to have any interaction with the Sinhala leaders.

But we have a good number of Sinhala populations with us in the Amparai and also in the Batticalao districts. We maintain a very friendly and cordial relationship with them in the district level, because they are one and the same and part and parcel of us in the district.

Some of the Sinhala youths from our region are also with us and working for us politically and militarily.

Similarly we develop a very friendly relationship with the Muslims in the Eastern region.

I am for all three ethnic communities in the East to live peacefully.

On the other hand, It was Prabakaran who was involved in the ethnic cleansing of the Muslims.

On the orders of Prabakaran, on 3 August 1990, and I still vividly remember that it was a Friday and about LTTE cadres from the intelligence group stormed the Meera Jumma and Hussaniya mosques at Kattahnakudy and massacred the innocent Muslims, who were praying at that time. More than 120 Muslims were simply mauled down and more than 100 sustained injuries and subsequently half of those who sustained gunshot injuries succumbed, I was told.

Subsequently, Prabakaran issued an ultimatum on 23 October 1990 that Muslims living in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaithievu and Vavuniya districts should leave on or before 28 of October. Thus Prabaakaran drove out nearly 17,000 and more Muslim families from their traditional homeland.

According to Prabakarans instruction, all gold and valuables should be left at the nearest mosque and could only take with them merely Rs. 2,000.

Accordingly, the Muslims fled and took refuge in Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Trincomalee. Today this is a tragic history of ethnic cleansing.

There are more than 110,000 Muslims from the North at present languishing, for the past 14 years, and living as refugees in 74 camps in Puttalam and also in Anuradhapura and other parts of the country.

This barbaric act of ethnic cleansing could be only equated, may be with that of Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia, who was charged by the international community for war crimes and ethnic cleansing and now facing a trial at UN International Tribunal for Yugoslavia, which was established in 1993.

Unfortunately, so far no international court has been set up to inquire into the ethnic cleansing of the Muslim community by Velupillai Prabakaran.

When the turmoil subsided in the Batticaloa district after 1990, I started working with the Muslim leaders in the region to allay their fears about the Tamils and LTTE, to cultivate trust and better understanding in the region.

One of the Muslim leaders I worked very closely since 1990 in the Batticalao region was Ali Zahir Moulana. We were in touch very closely and I know him since his days in the school.

He married a Tamil lady and that family was also known to me since for a long time.

Ali Zahir Moulana helped me a lot in bringing out a better understanding with the Muslims in our region. Our friendship is not something that emerged after the signing of the ceasefire agreement, as reported by some political pundits of Prabakarans group.

We will deal with these self proclaimed pundits later.

Yes, I went with Ali Zahir Moulana to Colombo and he provided me with the transport facilities. I went to Colombo, because I had something to do in Colombo.

Meanwhile, Ali Zahir Moulana told me that Ramesh spoke to him and requested him to persuade me to leave for any foreign country with my family and friends.

I was also told that Ramesh also conveyed Prabakarans request to Ali Zahir Moulana to arrange him to send me to a foreign country.

Who are they to dictate terms to me?

When Asian Tribune asked Karuna did you meet Ranil Wickremasinghe or any other leaders of the UNP when you went to Colombo with Ali Zahir Moulana, who was one of the UNP leaders and an advisor to Ranil?

Karuna Speaks : I never met Ranil Wickremasinghe or any other UNP or other political party leaders. As I told initially that there was nothing in common for me to meet and discuss with them.

Asian Tribune asked Karuna whether he assured Ali Zahir Moulana, that he will get the support of the five Tamil Members of Parliament elected in the region to support the UNP in case they wishes to form the Government?

Karuna Speaks: The issue was never broached to me either by Ali Zahir Moulana, or by anyone to reply. That was a non-issue.

Furthermore, I wish to stress that It is I who has to decide what is best for me and for my people and nobody can dictate terms to me under any pretext.

I started my career as a rebel militant not to find comfort and solace for me and to my family. Everybody knows about it and it is I who has to decide what is best for those cadres who rely in me and depend on my leadership. I cannot betray them and flee to a foreign country to save my skin.

My life is not that dear to me, when compared with my cadres who believe in me and trust and place confidence in my leadership.

When I revolted against Prabakaraan, I knew what I was up to? I knew the dangers and the consequences that may ensue when I oppose the most ruthless terrorist in the world.

Nobody knows anything about Prabakaran except me. I know his strength as well as his weakness. I know well where I should hit him to make him squirm. I also know where I should hit to make him hurt and I will do it at the right time.

Initially, I had some teething problems and I was not fully organized. So he had the opportunity to strike me and prevent me from getting organized. He did it because; he was fully aware what a formidable foe I will be, once I am organized.

He sends his men all over the country hounding for me, my family and my friends. He has succeeded once or twice in doing away with my friends, but not all.

I know that he has also put a price to my head - Rs. 25 million (2.5 corers). He can do whatever he wants, similarly we will also retaliate in the very way he tried to attack me, my family and my cadres. He must understand this.

Prabakaran should know that attack is not a one way traffic affair.

But he had initial success, because we were in the beginning, not organized. Now it is too late for him. Thank God, by now I have already in the verge of completion of my organization.

Our cadres are almost regrouped and they are ready, willing and able to take the Vanni group at any given movement.

Earlier we were against the fratricidal war and that is why we withdrew from fighting and allowed them to come into the region. Now they have come in and showed their true colors.

The mercenaries of Prabakaran are on a rampage, on a killing spree and are killing even the mothers of the cadres. See what an inhuman and draconian approach adopted by these mercenaries in the name of Peace and Tamil.

Now the mothers of numerous cadres have sent words through our contacts to fight to finish the Vanni group and drive them out of the region.

They have been terrorized by the Vanni group and lot of tension prevailing in the Eastern region.

During the period of the observation of the cessation of hostilities, Vanni group is on a rampage to kill each and everyone opposing them.

Vanni group is under the impression that the ceasefire agreement they entered with the Government of Sri Lanka had provided them the License to Kill.

Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission is simply an observer of all these atrocities. Hapless Scandinavians and their hands are tied.

Meantime, Vanni group managed to spread all sorts of wild rumors about me. They went to the extent of alleging that I work with the Army intelligence group and working against them.

Prabaharan and his cohorts know very well what sort of a person I am. I never believed in the strength of others. I believe in me and in my cadres. I am a Tiger and I will never eat grass even when I am famished.

I fought the Sri Lankan army and how can these people come to the conclusion that I will join hands with them and collaborate with them?

This is nonsense. A very cheap propaganda ploy to discredit me and this is what we can expect from people like Thamilselvan.

They know and even Prabakaran knows that I will never work with the Sri Lankan Army, but they keep on making noises, may be to win a political a mileage, I am not sure.

But one thing I have to stress and proclaim at this point of time is that, I am indeed working against the Vanni group in the Batticalao Amparai districts and I will definitely dislodge them very soon from the region.

I dont need Sri Lankan army to drive away the mercenaries of Prabakaran. I only need the support of my people and the resolve of my cadres. That is all what I need and both are now in abundance in supply to me.

I feel pity for those women cadres- Nilavini, Premini Lavanya and Theenthamil. They were sent back to their homes by me.

They were forcefully abducted and threatened and their scripts were prepared by Pottu Ammans intelligence operatives and paraded in front of the Vanni controlled Propagandists no they are not journalists. And the Propagandists were instructed what to write and what not to write.

Today all these young ladies are taken to Vanni and thrown into the jail over there and punished.

Regarding Karikalan it was a different story.

Karuna posed.

Not concluded -


- Asian Tribune -