Guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have suddenly become conspicuous by their absence in government-held areas in the eastern district of Batticaloa after a long, long time.
This, Tamil sources say, could only mean that the rebels have been pulled back to LTTE-controlled areas in the east or even in the north, probably for further training or military regrouping.
The absence of LTTE cadres in areas held by Colombo was noticed just before the LTTE appointed 'Colonel' Bhanu, head of its mortar regiment, in place of Ramesh, the Batticaloa-Amparai chief who succeeded Karuna, the former regional commander who revolted in March against Tigers boss Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Karuna made his way to Batticaloa from the LTTE-held north along with Ramesh on the weekend of Sep 11-12 after extensive consultations with Prabhakaran.
The LTTE leadership is clearly unhappy with Ramesh, probably on more than one count.
Ramesh was Karuna's deputy when the latter revolted. Ramesh did not side with Karuna and instead fled to the Prabhakaran-held north. In the first public protest in Batticaloa then, Karuna supporters had burnt Ramesh's effigies and ridiculed him for "running away".
There were reports then that Ramesh had quietly asked Karuna to leave the region for his own good and safety.
The Karuna revolt ended in early April. By May, there was intense speculation that Ramesh would be replaced by Karikalan, a former close associate of Karuna who too had sided with Prabhakaran. That did not happen.
Since then, however, remnants among Karuna's supporters who are said to be regrouping, in all possibility with the tacit backing of Sri Lanka's military intelligence, have carried out some notable attacks on LTTE personnel and the group's high-profile supporters.
According to Tamil sources, the LTTE feels that Ramesh has failed to check the growth of Karuna (whose present whereabouts are a mystery) and the collusion between Karuna's men and the Sri Lankan military intelligence that can prove destabilising in the long run.
In contrast, LTTE hit squads have been much more successful in Colombo, eliminating Karuna's men and other anti-LTTE activists at will.
The appointment of 'Colonel' Bhanu is a firm sign that the LTTE is planning something deadly. Simultaneously, one senior LTTE activist who had become very active in the region is Ramanan who also enjoys same rank as Bhanu's and is a hardcore Prabhakaran loyalist.
"The fact that the LTTE has to appoint a northern man to manage the east also shows the group's desperation," a Colombo-based diplomat told IANS.
Norwegian special envoy Erik Solheim has clearly failed to persuade Colombo and the LTTE to resume peace talks, which have been stalled since April 2003. This is the task he came to achieve when he visited Sri Lanka last week.
The Tamil Tigers, true to their past, have simply brushed aside growing appeals from the West to stop recruiting children into their ranks and to be flexible in their approach to the peace process.
The LTTE insists that future talks can he held only around its demand for a powerful interim administration in Sri Lanka's north and east. Critics say that the proposal is a stepping-stone to an eventual free Tamil Eelam state.
On Monday, Canada's ambassador in Colombo, Valerie Raymond, travelled to Kilinochchi in the island's north where the LTTE has its political headquarters to ask the Tigers to show flexibility.
Her trip followed similar appeals from the US and the European Union.
None of this has had any effect. And those who know Prabhakaran realise that such appeals mean nothing to the LTTE boss who remains obsessed with the idea of seceding Sri Lanka's northeast to form an independent country.
--Indo-Asian News Service
( http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews&id=32453)
