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[TamilNet, March 04, 2004 09:56 GMT]
Furuhovde and his deputy Hagrup Haughland met Head of the LTTE Political Wing, S.P. Thamilchelvan in Kilinochchi Thursday morning, LTTE peace secretariat website said. LTTE Batticaloa district Head of the Political Wing, Kousalyan, and Director of LTTE Peace Secretariat Puleedevan also participated in the discussions. Thamilchelvan told the SLMM delegation that the "crisis is only a temporary one and a resolution will be reached soon," according to the LTTE site. Thamilchelvan also told the SLMM delegation that Batticaloa-Amparai Special commander Ramesh, Batticaloa district Political Head, Kausalyan, and Senior commanders are discussing matters with the LTTE Leader Pirapaharan and members of the LTTE Central Committee.
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Karikalan condemns Karuna as Pol Pot
"Karuna will be seen as a Pol Pot if he continues to act irresponsibly towards our people", said Mr. Sivagnanam Karikalan, one of the senior leaders in the East to arrive in Kilinochchi Sunday morning for discussions with his leadership about the situation in Batticaloa. Mr. Karikalan is a close confidante of Mr. Karuna, the eastern LTTE leader who was sacked from the Liberation Tigers Saturday on charges of treason. Several heads of divisions and commanders of the LTTE troops in the Batticaloa- Ampara district also arrived in Kilinochchi Sunday for consultations with the leader of the Liberation Tigers. Mr. Karikalan met the press briefly at the LTTE media coordinating office sunday noon. He charged that there were outside elements behind Mr. Karuna's decision to act traitorously.
"Karuna's decision to betray us was a decision that he took on his own without consulting any of his colleagues and senior staff. He is trying to compell commanders and heads of divisions in the Batticaloa-Ampara district to accept his decision. He won't succeed. "Today none of the people in the Batticaloa-Amapara district are prepared to reject our national leader. I want to reiterate this point. Even at the recent Pongu Thamil festival in Batticaloa, thousands of our people carried photos of our national leader with the slogan 'Tamils are tigers. Tigers are Tamils', expressing their commitment to the Tamil national cause and to our national leadership" said Mr. Karikalan. ______________________________________________________________________
"Our leader has given us strict instructions that no harm should befall our people and our fighters in the Batticaloa- Amparai district in dealing with Karuna’s problem. We have devised plans to do this very carefully and with great caution. We have already started to implement these plans. We intend to go back and begin work soon," Commander Ramesh, the LTTE’s military leader for the Batticaloa-Amparai district told TamilNet Sunday. "Karuna’s problem is his personal problem. It is the problem of a single individual. Everyone in the LTTE in the Batticaloa-Amparai district except Karuna is with our leader. Any difficulty should have been resolved through discussions with our Leader. We urged Karuna many times to discuss his problems with Mr. Pirapaharan. We told Karuna that if he is unable to speak directly with our leader we could take up the matter with him on his behalf. But he adamantly refused to heed our advice and he also refused to let us go to meet our leader." Commander Ramesh said that he would deal with the crisis in Batticaloa without having recourse to any kind of coercion. "The people of the Batticaloa-Amparai district have made great sacrifices for our liberation struggle. They have remained steadfast in their commitment to the cause. They will certainly not let our struggle be weakened by divisive forces. They are cooperating with us widely," commander Ramesh said. Referring to the difficulties Tamils living in LTTE controlled areas will face in voting at the polls for Sri Lanka’s parliament in April, Commander Ramesh said: “We consider the elections as a singular opportunity to show the Sri Lankan state and the world that the Tamil people are politically united and stand firm in their commitment to their cause. We would make necessary arrangements for the people from areas controlled by us in Batticaloa Amparai district to vote in the election." ________________________________________________________
[TamilNet, March 05, 2004 08:02 GMT] "We have discussed the situation in Batticaloa with our leader in detail. I am certain that we will resolve the problem smoothly. Our leader will soon clarify the situation to the Tamil people and the world", LTTE's special commander for the Batticaloa-Amparai region, T. Ramesh told TamilNet Friday. Commander Ramesh is Col. Karuna's deputy and commands all the LTTE troops in the Batticaloa-Amparai district.
He said that he, along with all the heads divisons and area commanders from Batticaloa- Ampara district, held discussions with the leader of the Liberation Tigers and decided to approach the situation in positive and constructive manner.
[TamilNet, March 04, 2004 09:32 GMT] "We are functioning with commitment to our cause under the command of our national leader Veluppillai Pirapaharan and the guidance of commander Col. Karuna" a senior official of the LTTE in Batticaloa was quoted as saying in Thursday's edition of the Thamil Alai, a regional daily published from Kokkaddicholai, a large village controlled by the Tigers 15 kilometres southwest of Batticaloa town. "We did not take any decision to leave the LTTE and operate separately", the official told Thamil Alai. "Rumours of the LTTE breaking up have been spread systematicaly to cause panic and fear among the people", LTTE sources close to Col. Karuna told Thamil Alai.
[TamilNet, March 05, 2004 03:48 GMT] "Please let us function independently under your direct leadership. We are not leaving you. We are not opposed to you. I do not want to commit the historical mistake of not pointing out to you the aspirations of our people, disregarding their feelings and those of our fighters here. If you love the people here and if you trust the fighters here please let us function independently and directly under your leadership," said Col. Karuna, senior commander of the Liberation Tigers in a letter addressed to the leader of the LTTE, Mr. Velupillai Pirapaharan Friday. In the letter published Friday in, Thamil Alai, the daily published by the LTTE from Kokkaddicholai, 15 kilometres southeast of Batticaloa town, Col. Karuna, suggests an administration structure for Batticaloa parallel to the other divisions of the LTTE functioning directly under Mr. Pirapaharan's command. "In the current opportune situation, I want to do my duty by the people of Southern Thamil Eelam. It is my final goal that I should fight for these people and die at their feet. I do not want anyone to interfere in this." "I want function directly under you, avoiding the divisional heads of Thamil Eelam," Col. Karuna says in his letter to his leader. ______________________________________________________________________
[TamilNet, March 06, 2004 11:19 GMT] Talking to journalists during the press conference at the Peace Secretariat Saturday, LTTE Head of Political Wing, S.P.Thamilchelvan said that LTTE will maintain its firm committment to the peace talks and the Ceasefire Agreement and that LTTE leader Pirapaharan is always ready to provide amnesty to those who realize their mistakes. T.Ramesh, Special Commander for Batticaloa-Amparai district said "the events in Batticaloa are caused by a single individual. The decision Karuna has made is his own. He has not discussed this with the leadership. The commanders, officials and fighters do not accept the decisions he has made on his own." Excerpts from the press conference follow:
Press: What will happen if Karuna refuses to relinquish responsibilities? Ramesh: Decisions in our movement are made by our our leader Pirapaharan. So, if this continues to be an issue, we will consult our leader for actions to be taken for next stage. Press: What is your response to Karuna's allegations that important administrative positions are not given to eastern cadres? Ramesh: This is an isolated opinion of Mr. Karuna. There are many sections in our organisation and our important office is the Head office which administers all other sections. Mr. Puthiyavan leads this head office. It is important to note that he is from Batticaloa. Not only that, and you are all aware that Karuna is a central committee member and he was functioning next to our leader. Press: You have said that the matter has been precipitated by some malicious elements opposed to the Tamil Eelam liberation struggle. Can you elaborate? Ramesh: We cannot comment on this at this time. Press: People in Batticaloa are shocked and confused, what do you have to say to them? Ramesh: This is why we have come to Vanni. Our fighters and people wanted us to approach our leader to resolve the matter expeditiously. We are discussing ways to avoid unnecessary losses to our people and fighters. I have served under Karuna amman as a deputy and I know the ground realities well. I am very well aware that our fighters and officers are sincere to our national leader. Press: How would you respond to the charge that there is uneven development focus between Vanni and Batticaloa-Amparai districts? Thamilchelvan: There is no question that there are differences. The development in North East as a whole is delayed. The International community is well aware of this and our people are cognizant of this. I made a recent visit to European countries to stress the need for development focus in the North East. The reality is that there is no development in Northeast. Karuna himself is on record as saying that the development in Northeast as a whole is not satisfactory. It seems like Karuna is using such arguments to use regional sentiments in his favour.
Press: Karuna has said that he was asked to send 1000 fighters to Vanni. He has also said that political murders have been carried out by the intelligence wing. What is your comment? Ramesh: Our leader has not asked to send fighters from Batticaloa to Vanni. There is no truth in this. When we were there, Karuna didn't mention that he suspected the intelligence wing for the murders. The Intelligence wing is under direct control of our leadership like other key sections in our movement. Leader Mr. Prabakaran has been concerned about disturbing events towards the elections on a continuous basis and he also has raised the issue internally repeatedly. Several times we requested Karuna Amman to investigate the murders. Thamilchelvan: Our leader has been very firm in keeping a atmosphere conducive for a genuine and democratic elections. Our leadership is saddened by the disturbing events at a critical juncture where the whole Tamil community is working together towards the elections. Our leader has given strict directions to ensure that there should be no violence during the days leading to the polls. We also think Karuna's actions were intended to cause damage to the democratic process. Press: Karuna, in his letter has said that Pirapaharan is like a god to him. Can you comment? Thamilchelvan: Our leader doesn't like himself being described as 'God'. Our leader respects and adores people who have an undisputed commitment to the cause, the policies, nation and the people. Press: Will the LTTE leadership provide amnesty to Mr. Karuna if he apologises? Thamilchelvan: Our leader is always ready to provide amnesty to those who realise their mistakes and I have high hopes that Karuna will be given amnesty. Press: Can you comment on the future of peace process? Thamilchelvan: Our leadership and our structures remain with firm commitment to the peaceful negotiations and the cease-fire agreement, and this isolated issue will not affect the peace initiatives. Our leadership will decide upon who is going to participate in the negotiations in the next phase ______________________________________________________________________ vg;gpbapUe;j ehd; ,g;gpb Mapl;ld;.
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