Will “Col” Karuna Re-Appear Dramatically or Simply Disappear?
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
“Colonel” Karuna the erstwhile Eastern regional commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is reportedly in Europe. Karuna whose real name is Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan revolted against the LTTE in March 2004 and formed the break-away group called the Tamil Eelam Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (Tamil Eelam People Liberation Tigers). Later the word “Eelam” was dropped and the group was officially called TMVP. Popularly the TMVP was called the Karuna faction.
['Col' Karuna, in Jul 2007]
According to some media reports the TMVP is in disarray. Just as Karuna rebelled against LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakharan , the TMVP leader’s second in command Pillaiyan has mutinied against him. Pillaian has reportedly staged a mini coup d’etat and seized the TMVP party machinery in Batticaloa. The 27 member TMVP general council has allegedly charged Karuna of misappropriation and expelled him. Karuna has fled the country to escape punishment.
Meanwhile according to some reports the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) is greatly concerned about innrer divisions within the TMVP. Internecine warfare on a large scale is feared. In a bid to prevet such an outbreak the authorities are engaged in patching up differences and preaching the gospel of unity to those misguided eastern cadres. Apparently wolves do cry when they see goats getting wet in the rain!
According to some reports Karuna boarded a Sr Lankan Airlines flight and reached Paris some days ago. He was received in Paris by a writer cum journalist known as “Gnanam” who himself is an ex – LTTE cadre of the Eastern soil. “Suresh”an intelligence operative attached to the Lankan Embassy in France was also in attendance. After spending a few days in Paris with Gnanam the TMVP leader has vanished into the blue.
There are two versions about what happened.. One is that Karuna has joined his wife Vidyavathy alias Nira and their three children in London. She had already arrived in London some months ago. The other is that Karuna ’s family left London and joined him in Paris. From there the Muraleetharan’s travelling under different names have gone to an undisclosed location in Europe. The family will live incognito there for some time at least.
It is a fact of life that certain claims are projected as infallible truths by interested parties. The reality is that most such claims are fictional. The USA for instance claims that Saddam Hussein hoarded weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; the LTTE claims that Tamils assassinated by it are traitors and collaborators; Defence spokespersons claim that all air strikes are only on clearly identified LTTE targets and deny civilian victims.
Likewise a current piece of interesting fiction is about the intra- organizational conflict within the TMVP. The story circulated varies in form but revolves around a central theme which is that the TMVP is faction – ridden and that the GOSL authorities are trying hard to bring peace.
It is as if these officials are totally independent of the TMVP and are only acting benignly and impartially. The TMVP divisions are depicted as “autonomous” developments over which the GOSL has no control. Recently President Mahinda Rajapakse regaled audiences in the USA with his tales about eight factions within the Karuna faction.
This does not imply that splits are absent within the TMVP and that intra – TMVP violence is non – existent. That is not so. There are “problems” within the TMVP. What is incorrect is the impression that the state agencies had nothing to do with this. It is also wrong to assume that the state officials “handling” the TMVP have no authority over the Karuna cadres. They do!
What is omitted or glossed over in the various accounts planted by vested interests is the fact that the divisions in the TMVP were engineered by the state agencies themselves. In a crude re- play of colonial “divide and rule” policy these agencies have split up the TMVP into factions and are handling them separately. The various factions are mere puppets on a string. The master puppeteer holding the strings is “intelligence”.
It was Sri Lankan intelligence officialdom which helped forge the entity known as Karuna faction. It is the same agency that has now broken up the organization into factions and promotes hostility. This is like the British who unified Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) into one single Country on the one hand and on the other fomented ethnic rivalry among the people through communal representation .
What the British “united” for administrative convenience they “divided” for exploitative governance. Likewise the Intelligence officials have allegedly divided the TMVP which they helped to create. The puppets dance according to whims and fancies of the puppeteer. But spectators are told the puppets have a life of their own.
The ground reality in the East is that no group can function independent of the armed forces. The TMVP cadres cannot move en masse to and from a place without informing the military. Most of the TMVP camps and offices are situated in close proximity to security installations.
The TMVP cadre strength is estimated at 1200 and the organization is paid 12 million rupees per month at a rate of 10,000 rupees per head . The TMVP in most instances acts according to instructions from the intelligence handlers. This being the actual situation it sounds funny when some officials talk as if they have nothing to do with the TMVP
There have been various ups and downs in Karuna’s life after he split with the LTTE . For want of space this article will focus only on the phase after he returned from abroad and assumed direct leadership of the TMVP.
Earlier the loose formation known as TMVP functioned under Pillaian who called himself “supreme commander”. Pillaian co – ordinated TMVP activity in the East.
Apart from money obtained from state agencies the TMVP under Pillaian also ran a profitable abduction for ransom racket in Colombo and other places. This allegedly was in connivance with sections of the politico – military establishment.
The TMVP also extracted “taxes” from Eastern residents.Thus the TMVP under Pillaiyan was a profitable business. Several security officers allegedly shared the spoils.
It was at this juncture that Karuna aka Karuna Amman returned and took control. Karuna provided leadership input to assist the armed forces on the Eastern front. Karuna cadres fought alongside and separately on fronts such as Sampoor, Vaakarai and Kudumbimalai/Thoppigala.
More than the active military collaboration on ground the “intelligence” given by Karuna on the psychology of the LTTE leadership and its motivational thinking was of paramount importance.
The defence top brass and upper echelons of the armed forces were very happy with Karuna’s contribution after the East was re – captured. So elated was President Rajapakse that he told an influential Indian editor that he was planning to make Karuna chief minister of the Eastern province. Karuna’s future seemed bright but things did not go along as planned.
When Karuna was initially drawn into the war effort he was promised of being made head of an Eastern interim administration first and later the provincial council. This was done when the LTTE was in control of much eastern real estate.
Karuna’s services were sorely needed then.Now that the LTTE was driven out attitudes began changing. There were at least four major stumbling blocks in delivering the promised “land” to Karuna.
Firstly the TMVP image was tarnished. Credible disclosures had been made by the UN’s Allan Rock and other reputed Human Rights Organizations about the TMVP’s conscription of children and security force complicity in this. The Government vehemently denied such charges and disassociated itself from Karuna.
There was also evidence that the TMVP was involved in abductions and a number of human rights violations. How could the TMVP be given the East to “rule” without the GOSL losing even more credibility?
Secondly there was the hidden agenda of “Sinhalaising” the East. Short term and long term plans were being devised to minimise Tamil presence and maximise Sinhala presence in the East. Sinhala Government officials were being appointed in important positions to facilitate this. Giving Karuna and the TMVP some legal authority and empowering them could hamper this project it was felt
Thirdly there was significant opposition from sections of the armed forces. Though the hierarchy saw Karuna’s utillitarian value others were not willing to fogive and forget what Karuna had done as the LTTE eastern commander. The massacre of 600 Policemen was rankling.
Also incidents like the Mosque massacres had alienated some Muslim politicians. Thus there was opposition from Sinhala security and Muslim political circles to Karuna’s enthronement.
Fourthly there was the question of trusting Karuna himself. Whatever said and done Karuna had led the LTTE for 18 years in the East. Once a tiger always a tiger! Karuna’s political “conversion” was not genuinely caused. It was necessitated for survival reasons. The EPDP pushed this line against the TMVP.
Besides Karuna was an eastern Tamil chauvinist and could not be taken for granted. When the armed forces destroyed the great heroes cemetery in Vaakarai and planted coconut palms Karuna had protested strongly. So there were second thought about giving him absolute power.
Against this backdrop the proposal to grant Karuna dominance was reviewed if not shelved. But it must be said that there are top officials in Colombo who feel that Karuna remains the best bet still.
Karuna however grew impatient and began pressing for what he felt was his due. He was becoming a nuisance and so there was a need to give him his “come uppance”.
The assertion of Karuna’s authority over the TMVP and disputes over sharing ill – gotten gains between Karuna and Pillaiyan provided an opening. Krishnapillai alias Krishnan was brought down from London. Krishnan a former member of the TULF, LTTE, PLOTE and ENDLF was now a free – lancer working with Sri Lankan intelligence. He had contacts with the TMVP too.
Krishnan came down to Colombo and helped widen a chasm between Karuna and Pillaiyan. The bone of contention was essentially money but Karuna was also insecure about Pillaiyan’s field level popularity with TMVP cadres as well as members of the armed forces.
Pillaiyan realised that Krishnan was up to no good and sent assassins to bump him off but the quarry had fled his Colombo hotel to London.
Soon clashes occurred between supporters of Karuna and Pillaiyan. The security forces turned a blind eye and provided safe conduct for both factions. An attempt was made to demarcate two zones in Batticaloa – Amparai for the two factions. But Karuna rejected it and more violence occurred.
Initially Karuna was on top with the bulk of cadres and deputy commanders supporting him. Karuna’s deputies killed a key Pillaiyan deputy Jayakanthan alias Sinthujan and also his father Johnson who complained to the Police. Karuna’s men detained more than a 100 of Pillaiyan loyalists. It appeared that Pillaiyan’s days were numbered.
This was unacceptale to the powers manipulating both factions. So Pillaiyan and his cadres were re – located to Trincomalee district. Pillaiyan set up shop in Trinco along with Markan and soon there was a rise in killings, disappearances, abductions and taxation in Trincomalee.
The confinement of Pillaiyan to Trinco also resulted in a dramatic drop in Colombo abductions. It was estimated that Pillaiyan had 250 cadres and so was given 25 lakhs monthly. Karuna faction got 95 lakhs per month now.
But Karuna was not allowed to rule the Batticaloa – Amparai roost as the sole authority. His faction was now broken up into subordinate groupingss. While pledging overall allegiance to Karuna these different leaders were in charge of sub – regional units.
Iniyabharathi, Sinnathamby, Riyaseelan, Mahilan, Veera, Jeevendran, Mama, Seelan and Mangalan master etc became sub – regional satraps with a certain amount of functional authority. Mangalan master remained independent of both Karuna and Pillaiyan.
Karuna was housed in an army camp in the Western province. He would travel amidst tight security by air to the east frequently and meet cadres and members of the public. Thileepan was made political commissar for Batticaloa – Amparai by Karuna while Pillaiyan appointed Eelamaran as political commissar for Trincomalee.
[Karuna seated at the meeting venue in his left Supreme Commander Pillaiyan and in his right Senior Commander Jeyam TamilGuardian]
In Colombo the husband and wife duo of Padmini and Mahesh ran the TMVP office. Padmini was the daughter of Rajan Sathiyamoorthy the TNA Parliament candidate murdered brutally by the LTTE along with his brother in law. Mahesh was the son of Sathiamoorthy’s murdered brother in law.
They were seen as Karuna confidantes. The TMVP spokesperson was Azad Moulana a brother of Ali Zaheer Moulana the former UNP Parliamentarian who helped Karuna move to Colombo in April 2004.
[in April 2004]
As time progressed it became evident that Karuna was waning and Pillaiyan waxing. The security forces on ground found it easier to work with Pillaiyan. There was prejudice against Karuna but the rank and file liked Pillaiyan who treated them lavishly.
Pillaiyan was also a “robot” who would do as he was told. This endeared him to officers too. Karuna on the other hand fancied himself as the “eastern Tamil national leader” and made demands. He was also persistent about political office being given to him as pledged.Karuna began falling out of favour.
Slowly Karuna’s physical movements were restricted in the name of security. He was unable to travel often to the east as before. Karuna was forced to rely more and more on the telephone alone to communicate.
With Karuna becoming more of an “absentee landlord” his deputies began establishing greater control over their fiefdoms. Their respective handlers encouraged this autonomy.
Karuna was now more of a name brand. A motley crew of sub-regional satraps were functioning independently in his name.
Meanwhile the name of Karuna and the TMP was getting blackened furher amidst Human rights circles. Sir John Holmes of the UN urged that the TMVP be dissolved.
The time was ripe for Karuna to fade away or made to fade temporarily. Domestically there was strong pressure from his wife that he join up with the family abroad.
With Pillaiyan going his own way and other eastern deputies becoming more and more independent Karuna was getting marginalised and isolated. His claim to fame was only his brand name.
It was decided by those in control that Pillaiyan be allowed to re-establish his writ while Karuna went abroad.
The TMVP would function like a loose coalition comprising different factions active in specific areas alone. They will be handled by different officials. However much the TMVP does the dirty work for their masters it is felt that a solely Tamil organization with a militant history should not be permitted to operation as a monolithic entity.
Also a certain amount of dissension and inner -strife within the TMVP will be promoted to prevent any unity or co-operation. Divide and Rule tactics will be employed. The state and its operatives will pretend to be a unifying force.
The danger in this is that divisive policies have a tendency to go beyond limits at times. The Indian intelligence officials did so with the Tamil groups at one time. This “divisive” tactics resulted ultimately in large-scale fratricidal conflict
This could happen among TMVP factions too but the powers that be are not too worried about internecine warfare among Tamil groups or factions. In any case the State will have no use for the TMVP after the LTTE is “vanquished” and after Eastern demography is transformed. All collaborators are expendable after being used.
It is within this context that recent events are unfolding. Karuna goes to an undisclosed European Country with family. Pillaiyan moves down to Batticaloa from Trincomalee. Some Reports appear that Karuna has misappropriated money and has been expelled.
Other Reports also appear that no such incident has happened and that Karuna though abroad remains TMVP leader. There are also reports that internecine clashes among TMVP factions are on the cards and that Govt officials are trying to prevent it by resolving differences.
The chances are that attempts will be made to give the TMVP a natural death. It is not even registered as a political party. By propagating the line that Karuna is now inactive an impression is sought to be conveyed that his faction too is no more..
A political makeover of sorts could be attempted.Old wine in new bottles! Pillaiyan could be substituted for Karuna and the past will be downplayed. It remains to be seen whether this rather crude device will deceive internationally and deflect criticism.
Meanwhile what of Karuna? It would be a mistake to write off the great survivor. Besides the importance of being colonel Karuna cannot be underestimated.
Among all the Tamil political parties and leaders it is only Karuna of the TMVP who strongly opposes the North – East meger. All Tamil leaders at least pay lip service to the concept but Karuna has forthrightly opposed it and wants a separate East.
Karuna’s fantasy is about being an Eastern supremo but his political stance is conducive to those elements who want to separate and Sinhalaise the east.
Thus Karuna’s name and services may be necessary in the future to push through the Sinhala supremacist project. There may also arise a need to whip up anti-Muslim and anti-Jaffna mass hysteria among eastern Tamils.
Anti-Muslim and anti-Jaffna violence could also be fomented. For all these tasks TMVP’s various factions will prove useful but the re-appearance of Karuna may be of greater value and importance.
Nothing therefore can be anticipated with certainty. The unpredictable course of events will determine Karuna’s future. If deemed necessary for Colombo “Col” Karuna will suddenly emerge and re-appear in Sri Lanka again.
Otherwise he will remain off the radar for a while and simply disappear from the public eye.
As time goes by Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan in his new “avatar” may try to lead a normal life abroad. But can he? or more importantly will he be allowed to do so?
55 comments October 13th, 2007