Plot seen in former Tiger turning MP
By IPS Correspondents
COLOMBO - When Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, then eastern commander of the
militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), turned renegade in 2004, he
could not have dreamt he would one day be sworn in an a member of Sri Lanka's
parliament.
Muralitharan, known as Colonel Karuna, has fled his native Batticaloa in Sri
Lanka's east, lost his brother to internecine violence between the LTTE and his
followers, and withstood an internal putsch in the intervening years since his
2004 defection to the government.
He returned from Britain in July after serving a prison sentence
there for possessing a false passport, and is still condemned by rights groups
for alleged human-rights violations including torture, mass murder and
recruiting child soldiers.
But Karuna, leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), or Tamil
People's Freedom Tigers, was sworn in on October 7 as member of parliament for
the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The appointment has
triggered controversy and claims it is politically motivated.
"There is a very obvious political motive behind him [Karuna] coming to
parliament. It will definitely help the ruling coalition during elections in
the east," Austin Fernando, Sri Lanka's defense secretary during the 2002-2003
negotiations with the LTTE, told the Inter Press Service.
"But leaving aside the allegations against the man - the ordering the mass
murders of policemen, recruitment of child soldiers and other rights violations
- Karuna now has a great opportunity to deliver on his promises to the people
of the east," said Fernando, who interacted frequently with Karuna as a member
of the LTTE negotiating team.
Karuna served the LTTE for more than 20 years, at one time being a bodyguard to
the group's reclusive leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, but he defected in 2004,
claiming that the interests of the eastern province were being neglected in the
war to carve out a Tamil homeland in Sinhala-majority Sri Lanka.
The LTTE, during peace talks with the government in Geneva in 2006, repeatedly
accused Colombo of arming and supporting Karuna and the TMVP - the talks failed
over the issue.
Yet Colonel Karuna, 42, has said he will use his new political role to dispel
the ghosts of the past and shape a new future for the east. "This [appointment]
is an honor to the Tamils and an opportunity to develop the east, which has
been devastated by years of war," he said on Friday.
"Let us forget the unpleasant incidents of the past, and live in brotherhood,"
he said.
Fernando feels Karuna may also now be in a better position to consolidate his
leadership of the TMVP. In mid-2007, he faced a challenge from Sivasuntharai
Chanthrakanthan, alias Pillayan, who was elected as chief minister of the
eastern province after it was wrested from LTTE control by the Sri Lankan army
last year.
"Karuna can now start his work in the east. Without this MP position he risked
being marginalized,'' Fernando said. Fernando, who once served as an
administrator in Batticaloa, said Karuna had always enjoyed support from the
eastern Tamils. "He was always considered a son of the soil; he was always the
man from the east."
Observers said Karuna's defection to the government camp in 2004 not only
reduced the LTTE's sway over the east but also considerably reduced its power.
"Prabhakaran recognized Karuna's talents and appointed him as a frontline
commander in the most difficult battles. But Karuna knew the right time to quit
the LTTE and join mainstream Sri Lankan politics. If there are five other
Karunas the LTTE will be dead," said international terrorism expert Rohan
Gunaratna.
Karuna first joined the LTTE in 1983 and played a key role in major battles in
the north, including the overrunning of the army's Elephant Pass garrison in
2000, and in peace negotiations with Colombo.
The Sinhala nationalist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna party (JVP) has challenged his
appointment in the Supreme Court. "This is daylight robbery by the government,
we have no issue with Karuna being appointed to parliament, but the seat he now
holds is rightfully ours," said Tilvin Silva, general secretary of the JVP or
People's Liberation Front.
Karuna was appointed to into a vacancy left following the resignation of JVP
lawmaker Vasantha Samarasinghe. The JVP's request that one of its own members
be appointed to the seat was ignored and the party has now petitioned the
Supreme Court against Karuna's appointment.
A second petition, seeking nullification of Karuna's appointment and
restraining him from attending parliament, has been filed by Jayasinghe
Arachchige Somasiri, naming leaders of the ruling coalition and the speaker as
respondents.
According to the local media, the Supreme Court on October 13 dismissed the
petition.
But there are more serious charges being leveled against Karuna by rights
groups both from before and after he defected from the LTTE.
"Karuna should stand trial," Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific
director, said in a statement soon after the appointment.
"The fact that a suspected war criminal should be entering parliament sends an
appalling message - that war crimes, rather than being investigated and
punished, are actually rewarded. It also contributes to endemic impunity, which
has characterized the approach of all parties to the conflict for decades."
Karuna clearly faces tough challenges. Gunaratna said that despite his
popularity in the east, Karuna will find it difficult to appeal to northern
Tamils. "The divisions between northern and eastern Tamils have been acute. The
traditional leadership of Tamil politics has always been northern oriented and
Karuna will have some problems trying to achieve a footing in the north."
Fernando feels that the former Tiger will also have to walk a fine line in
order to maintain his political independence. "If Karuna tries to go with the
southern [Sinhala-dominated] polity, he will risk support with the Tamil
political power base. He has to chart his own course."
The former defense secretary said Karuna could use ethnic divisions within
eastern Sri Lanka to his advantage.
"There are a lot of divisions along ethnic lines in the east," Fernando said
indicating the fact that three communities, Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim have
large representations in the province. "No politician or elected official has
tried to appeal to the eastern community as a whole. He has the chance now. But
it will be a slow process."
Karuna has appealed for patience, "You cannot expect immediate change. The east
has just been recovered from the clutches of the LTTE. It has so far had two
successful elections. It will take some more time to develop the area. This is
a great start though."
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