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Wednesday, Jun 30, 2004

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THE KARUNA FACTOR

MUCH AS THE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) would have wished physically to liquidate Karuna, its former military commander in eastern Sri Lanka who led an internal rebellion in March, it failed to lay hands on him. But it did seem as if it had overcome one of its most serious crises when Karuna fled his base following a military operation against him by the Tigers. For a while, this enabled the LTTE to claim that it remained the "sole representative" of the Tamil people and would brook no challengers. But it is increasingly clear that Velupillai Prabakaran's organisation cannot simply wish Karuna and his supporters away. The continuing incidents in the East show that the region remains a battlefield for the two factions of one movement. Cadres loyal to Karuna have taken out LTTE cadres and supporters in the region. Significant sections of the Tamils in the area are in political sympathy with the rebel commander who brought out into the open the resentment of eastern Tamils against the discrimination practised by what Karuna terms the "Wanni leadership." Recent reports indicate that the rebel commander may even have carried out a military operation against the LTTE. Its petulant denials of the fighting have only reinforced the impression that both politically and militarily, it is on extremely shaky ground in eastern Sri Lanka.

Predictably, the "Wanni leadership" has reacted by accusing the Sri Lankan Government of using Karuna to try and weaken it and has warned that this could have "grave consequences" for the peace process. The Government has denied it is assisting the rebel, but has said a few "individuals" in the army may have helped him. But even if the Government is instrumental in the resurrection of Karuna, it is doubtful that the LTTE can do much, with its emaciated eastern flank, by way of retaliation. Getting into a full-scale war with the Government may not be a real option for it any more. Resorting to terrorist attacks will not get it any mileage either. Internationally, the LTTE will face further isolation if it returns to fighting. Instead of sabre-rattling, it would be on the whole better for the "Wanni leadership" to look into the mirror that Karuna has held up to it and consider its future in a context that may be congenial to the evolution of a democratic and pluralistic leadership for Sri Lankan Tamils. Karuna represents a section of the Tamil people who are clearly fed up with the Pol Potist ways of the organisation. If it continues to suppress dissent within its ranks and in the Tamil community in general — witness its conduct with Karuna and during the parliamentary election in Jaffna — sooner than later the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabakaran, will find himself besieged by Karuna clones.

However, in order to provide a meaningful alternative to the "Wanni leadership," there is no doubt that first, Karuna himself needs to change. Very much a product of Tigerism, he has in these early days of his rebellion fallen back on the methods he knows best. He was evidently behind the killing of two intellectuals who spoke against him — a university professor and a journalist. By having them eliminated, Karuna's group has done disservice to its own cause and provided an excuse for the use of violence against dissent. Those who have the interests of Sri Lanka's Tamil people at heart must encourage Karuna to enter the country's democratic mainstream. In this may well lie one of the keys to finding an inclusive solution to Sri Lanka's longstanding conflict — one acceptable to all Sri Lankans, Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslim and Burgher.

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