The Hindu : International : LTTE suspects paramilitary groups

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 28, 2004

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International

LTTE suspects paramilitary groups

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO, APRIL 27. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) today alleged that ``paramilitary groups working alongside the Sri Lanka Army (SLA)'' could be behind the killing of seven of its cadres in the rebel-held areas of the eastern Batticaloa district on Sunday.

Sri Lankan defence sources denied any involvement and said they had ``kept away from their internal fighting'' for which they were ``criticised by extremist elements for not making use of the LTTE's divide.'' A senior Defence official told The Hindu that the Government was taking all steps to maintain the ceasefire.

In a letter to the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), Trond Furuhovde, the LTTE's political wing leader, S.P. Tamilchelvan, said the killing of its cadres was ``with scant respect to both humanitarian norms and the ceasefire agreement'' (CFA) and ``merits immediate inquiry and remedial action.''

A meeting between the Army and the LTTE representatives has been scheduled by the SLMM in Batticaloa tomorrow. In addition, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Furuhovde and his deputy, Hagrup Haukland, are to meet Mr. Tamilchelvan in rebel-held Kilinochchi on Thursday.

The developments come in the wake of a complaint by the LTTE yesterday that ``seven of its cadres, four of whom were disabled, were killed on Sunday in the rebel-held area of Batticaloa district.'' The Army and the police said they had no information about the incident as it took place inside rebel-controlled Batticaloa.

The LTTE wanted the SLMM to hold an ``in-depth discussion and ensure that no such violation takes place in the future.'' The effort gains ``more significance'' in view of the ``necessity to uphold the integrity of the CFA in the present political context,'' Mr. Tamilchelvan said in his letter.

Military bargain likely

The possibility of the LTTE striking a hard military bargain is not being ruled out as the recent developments come immediately after last week's invitation by the President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, to the Norwegian facilitators to resume the stalled peace process. In addition to political issues such as accepting the rebels as the ``sole representatives of the Tamils'' and the Government's position on its proposals for an interim self-governing authority, military sources feel that the LTTE could seek concessions on pending defence-related matters such as the demilitarisation of the Jaffna peninsula, before resuming talks.

Mr. Tamilchelvan, who complained to the SLMM on Monday that ``cadres loyal to Karuna,'' the LTTE's expelled special commander for two eastern districts, were behind the killings, today said that ``putting aside this incident as one carried out by elements closer to Karuna may be too simplistic.''

The rebels, he said, had ``credible evidence'' that the attackers came from the direction of an SLA camp and escaped in the same direction.

Preparing the ground for a hardening of military position, Mr. Tamilchelvan said: ``making use of the Karuna factor, any paramilitary groups working alongside the Army, whether with the blessing of the SLA or otherwise, may continue to act in this manner and create havoc and confusion.''

Mr. Tamilchelvan's letter to the SLMM is along the lines of the comments made by Kousalyan, the LTTE's political leader for two eastern districts — Batticaloa and Amparai — that the killing was ``the work of criminal elements working with the SLA.''

Signalling the possible spread of the intra-LTTE fighting to Colombo, a Batticaloa Tamil, said to be a supporter of Karuna, was shot dead here last night. The police have not yet identified the killers, suspected to be from the LTTE.

SLFP-JVP crisis resolved

On the political front, a standoff between the two main allies of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) was resolved last night, with the JVP agreeing to join the Cabinet. The standoff was over the allotment of the River Basin Development Ministry. According to current indications, the JVP, which had earlier demanded the Ministry, is likely to share it with an SLFP Minister.

Four JVP members, who had stayed away from Cabinet, are to be sworn in as Ministers tomorrow, Presidential Secretariat sources said.

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