EDITORIAL

Packing off Karuna to save face

When Vinyagamurthy Muralitheran, alias Colonel Karuna, broke away from the LTTE in early 2003, it came as a surprise for many. Those who disbelieved the development dismissed it as a ruse by the LTTE to spring yet another surprise. To come to grips with the reality, it took considerable time.

Karuna’s sudden exit from the country with government help and his suspension from the Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP), the party he founded, are more surprises.

These moves coincide with the arrival of UN Human Rights High Commissioner Madame Louise Arbour, yesterday.

Of course there has been intra-party fighting between two factions within the TMVP in the past several months. But some claim the factional fighting has been fuelled by the military.

Karuna helped the military uproot the LTTE from the East, but in the process, he brought disrepute to the government by his human rights violations, including conscription of youth, as pointed out by UN Special Envoy, Allan Rock.

On the human rights score, he became an eyesore for the administration that had to face the brunt at international fora. The international community, particularly the United States and the European Union and a host of other organisations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, urged the government to rein in Karuna.

After initially denying charges, at least until the East was cleared, the government eventually realized that Karuna had to be made the fall guy as the forces were also implicated in assisting his faction in conscripting youth and abducting for ransom. Packing Karuna off was the best thing the government could do to restore its battered and bruised image. Image apart, the government has a responsibility to uphold the Rule of Law and ensure human rights of all communities are respected, protected and fostered.

The military should have no truck with these groups while the police must strictly enforce the laws and restore normalcy, if there is to be any meaning to government claims that Tamils have been liberated from the LTTE. Replacing one terrorist group with another is an exercise in futility.
Simply getting rid of the leader of the TMVP, would not absolve the party of its crimes against humanity.

The new TMVP leadership would have to demonstrate, not just by words, but by concrete action, that it has turned a new leaf and would respect the rights of all communities particularly the Tamils who are the most vulnerable in the east.

The new leader Pillayan has assured that child recruitment would be stopped and underage recruits released. We have heard such assurances by the LTTE time and again, but unfortunately they have been empty words sans corresponding action. This time it must happen forthwith.
Let us also hope that Pilliyan’s promise to end extortion and ensure freedom to other Tamil parties to carry out their political activities is sincerely pursued.

Karuna justified his decision to breakaway from the LTTE in 2003 citing discrimination of eastern Tamils by the Wanni Tigers. The self-proclaimed liberator soon became the tormentor of those he pledged to secure freedom.

The LTTE however charged that Karuna broke away as he was hounded for playing out party funds to the tune of millions of rupees, a charge now repeated by Pillayan.

Successive governments have been accused by the opposition of the day of making billions in commissions by prosecuting the war. For the LTTE, prosecuting a war against the Sinhala government is the only way to secure millions of dollars from the Tamil Diaspora.

Of course, to justify its arms struggle, the LTTE cites discrimination by the Sinhalese government and harassment by the military. But, we may ask: Isn’t the LTTE guilty of these same charges?