New Tiger chief does not pass go
By Sudha Ramachandran
BANGALORE - Selvarasa Pathmanathan's stint as chief of the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been rather short. Barely a fortnight after Pathmanathan
appointed himself as Tiger chief, he was been arrested in Southeast Asia this
week, according to a statement released on Friday by the LTTE.
The arrest has been confirmed by top Sri Lankan officials, including its
Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohana, and Pathmanathan is now reported to be in Sri
Lankan custody. Sri
Lankan media said the arrest took place on Thursday in Thailand, but Thai
officials have denied this.
The Tigers said Pathmanathan was arrested in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and handed
over to the Sri Lankan military, according to the Friday statement. Either way,
Basil Rajapaksa, senior advisor and brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, has said that Pathmanathan "was arrested and has been flown to
Colombo".
Pathmanathan's arrest is yet another blow to the LTTE, which was militarily
defeated by the Sri Lankan armed forces in May. The rebels lost control over
territory and their entire top brass, including chief Velupillai Prabhakaran,
was killed.
The senior-most Tiger alive today is Pathmanathan. With his arrest, whatever
hopes that Tigers and their supporters might have nurtured of reviving the
fortunes of the LTTE have been dashed.
Pathmanathan or Kumaran Pathmanathan, also known as "KP", was the LTTE's chief
of arms procurement. He built the LTTE's arms and shipping network. He also
controlled the LTTE's front organizations abroad and presided over its
overflowing overseas coffers. His contribution to the LTTE was considerable.
If his talent in military strategy helped the LTTE score impressive victories
on the battlefield, it was also Pathmanathan who contributed to building the
Tigers' military muscle. It was his networking with gun runners and arms
merchants that kept the LTTE a well-oiled fighting machine with a seemingly
never-ending supply of arms.
Pathmanathan was a close confidante of Prabhakaran. But in 2002 he was
sidelined when reports of his financial irregularities reached Prabhakaran's
ears. Still, given his impressive experience in procuring weapons, he continued
to be consulted. Then in January this year, even as the LTTE's fortunes on the
battlefield were fading, Pathmanathan's fortunes began looking up. He was
appointed chief of international relations by Prabhakaran. In the months that
followed, it was Pathmanathan who was at the forefront of the LTTE's campaign
abroad to get Sri Lanka to halt the military operations against the Tigers.
Despite his significant, but unseen, role in the LTTE's rise there was
considerable opposition to Pathmanathan's assumption of the leadership of the
LTTE last month. He has been under severe criticism from Tiger hardliners and
sections of the diaspora for confirming Prabhakaran's death and for taking a
political and more moderate approach to achieving Tamil demands. They have
accused him of betraying the LTTE cause.
More importantly, a bitter battle for control over the LTTE's well-endowed "war
chest" has been raging.
It is said that his "appointment" as the LTTE chief by a so-called executive
committee of the LTTE was deeply resented by his opponents in the LTTE and a
section of influential persons in the Tamil diaspora. It is believed that
information supplied to police by one of his rivals in the LTTE played a role
in his arrest.
Pathmanathan was known to be directing the LTTE's international operations from
hideouts in Southeast Asia. His many aliases, multiple identities and
connections with diplomats, police and intelligence officials helped him slip
with ease between borders for decades and evade arrest. Besides, Tigers abroad,
despite their bitter infighting, did not betray him all these years.
That seems to have changed a few days ago, leading to Pathmanathan's arrest.
If the LTTE's military defeat was facilitated by the exit of its former
commander of the Eastern province, "Colonel" Karuna in 2004, the arrest of
Pathmanathan was also facilitated by fellow Tigers, this time by those living
abroad.
In September 2007, Sri Lankan officials claimed that Pathmanathan had been
detained if not arrested in Bangkok. Thai officials denied this. Expatriate
Tamils close to the LTTE told Asia Times Online then that he had been detained
but was subsequently let off. His "connections in high places" was believed to
have helped him walk free once again.
Pathmanathan is wanted by Interpol, Sri Lanka and India. His interrogation is
expected to provide information that many governments will find useful. He,
more than anyone else in the LTTE knows about the LTTE's mammoth overseas
operations - its arms purchases, shipping network, finances.
The LTTE's overseas operations have often been likened to an octopus. It had
operations spread across continents. It was similar to an efficiently run
multinational company, and was hugely successful in making profits from its
many business enterprises. It was an iceberg - with little of its international
operations visible to the world. What is known of the LTTE's international
operations is a fraction of what exists.
That could now change. The questioning of Pathmanathan is likely to provide the
world with a glimpse of the shadowy world of the global terrorist networks.
Pathmanathan's arrest is being celebrated by many in Sri Lanka and the Tamil
diaspora, albeit for different reasons. To Sri Lankans, his arrest will deal a
big blow to the LTTE's fund-raising and arms-procurement operations. It will
undermine further the LTTE's capacity to return to armed operations. As for
hardliners among the Tamil Diaspora, his exit removes an important obstacle in
the LTTE's return to armed struggle.
Although it was Pathmanathan who built the LTTE's military capability, he had
of late turned increasingly pragmatic in his approach. It is believed that in
the weeks before the LTTE's defeat and death of its leaders, he was pleading
with Prabhakaran to call for an unconditional ceasefire, even surrender.
The defeat of the LTTE further crystallized his pragmatism. He appeared to be
moving away from Prabhakaran's path of armed struggle. Days after Prabhakaran's
death, Pathmanathan told the BBC in a telephonic interview that the LTTE had
"given up violence" and would "enter the democratic process" to achieve
self-determination for Tamils. He buttressed this with several statements in
the following weeks when he stressed the LTTE's adoption of political means and
its decision to "silence its guns".
But even as he stressed that the LTTE proposed to change its tactics, he said
the goal of Tamil Eelam remained. He even announced the setting up of a
"provisional transnational government of Tamil Eelam" that would "represent the
political aspirations and will be the voice and conscience of the people of
Tamil Eelam in the international arena". This renewed commitment to Tamil Eelam
is believed to have been aimed at winning over his critics.
His continuing endorsement of Tamil Eelam, however, still did not silence them.
They did not like his adoption of political means. To them abandonment of the
armed struggle would not evoke support of the Tamil diaspora or move them into
making the generous financial contributions that they have made to the LTTE for
years.
Pathmanathan's attempt to transform the LTTE into a political organization, and
to give himself a publicity makeover did not work. Neither India nor Sri Lanka
was willing to forgive or engage with him in recent weeks. His statement
announcing the LTTE's switch to political means failed to move Colombo, which
simply responded by renewing its request to foreign governments to arrest him.
With Pathmanathan's arrest, the LTTE's arms supply lines will be affected. The
Sri Lankan government has one more Tiger to flaunt as a trophy. But it might
have sabotaged the possibilities of the LTTE reinventing itself as a political
organization. That could weaken the quest for a political settlement to the
conflict.
Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in
Bangalore.
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