The Hindu : Front Page : Day after arrest news, Colombo keeps mum

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 13, 2007
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Front Page

Day after arrest news, Colombo keeps mum

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Senior officials could not be reached for new details on the arrest of Kumaran Pathmanathan

“Top brass busy with Rajapaksa’s New York visit”
Defence Ministry web site still features arrest news

COLOMBO: A day after asserting that it had information from ‘other sources’ about the arrest in Bangkok of Kumaran Pathmanathan, considered the chief of the LTTE’s overseas arms procurement, the Sri Lanka Government on Wednesday maintained complete silence.

Efforts to reach senior officials for any new details on the issue were not successful. A senior official in the Ministry of Foreign Office said the top brass of the government were busy with a National Security Council meeting and preparations for President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to New York in the fourth week of September to address the U.N. General Assembly.

Excitement

The news of arrest of Pathmanathan by the Thailand police, first reported in Bangkok Post, led to excitement not only in Sri Lanka but also in India. He is wanted in the two countries in several cases, including in the conspiracy that led to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

On Tuesday, Sri Lanka Foreign Secretary Palitha T.B. Kohona told The Hindu, “We have confirmed the news about the arrest of Kumaran Pathmanathan from other sources. Once his identity is established beyond doubt, the Government will seek his formal extradition.” At the same time, he maintained that Sri Lanka had not received any official communication from Thailand.

Though some international news agencies, quoting unidentified Thailand officials, have contradicted the news of arrest, the Sri Lanka Government appears to stick to its version.

On Tuesday, the Sri Lanka Defence Ministry web site carried a report saying, “Reliable sources from Thailand reveal that LTTE’s chief for cross-border terrorist activities, Kumaran Pathmanathan, alias ‘KP’, has been arrested in Bangkok on 10 September.” The item continues to feature on the web site.

Oldest wing

The Ministry, citing local defence intelligence sources, said Pathmanathan’s division was the rebels’ oldest international wing and was concerned with “procurement.” The news of the arrest came even as the Sri Lankan Navy said it sank three ships of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, packed with weapons and carrying light aircraft. The LTTE has not reacted to the claims.

7 rebels killed

Separately, the military claimed that seven LTTE cadres, who were trying to infiltrate the Forward Defence Line at Muhamalai in Jaffna, were killed in two incidents in the last 24 hours.

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