Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Open warfare between Karuna and his deputy Pillaiyan: split due to money and command structure issues

The Karuna Group in the east which broke away from the Vanni-led LTTE has split into two groups, according to sources in Colombo.

The deputy leader Pillaiyan of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal military wing, has broken away from his leader, Murlitharan alias Colonel Karuna. Sources revealed that the falling out has occurred over issues of "money and the command structure".

Asian Tribune reliably learnt that Pillaiyan had also resented the "remote control" approach of Karuna while Pillaiyan was in the field moving with his cadres.

The split ocurred after the two sides engaged in open warfare.

Recently, Pillaiyan who was in Vaharai was summoned to Colombo for a meeting and was ordered to stay in a particular hotel in Colombo. Accordingly Pillaiyan went to Colombo for the meeting.

When he was about to enter the Colombo city, he received an urgent phone call from Seelan that Sinthujan, who was the Commander of the Deep Penetrating Force, was killed. The plan was to send Sinthujan on leave to isolate him from the unit. Accordingly Sinthujan went on leave to his home in Amparai . There in Amparai, he was seized by a group of commanders Inaiyabarathy, Veera, Ranjan, Thileepan and Jeeventiran and brutally killed by ruthlessly assaulting him with crowbars and steel rods. Also Seelan told Pillaiyan that Akilan was shot and he has sustained serious injuries in his hand. Seelan also reported that he was also shot but sustained minor gunshot injuries, but survived from the pursuing killers.

Pillaiyan was also told that there was a move to arrest him in Colombo and already 20 cadres were waiting to grab him in the vicinity of the hotel where he was supposed to go and stay.

Asian Tribune further learnt that nearly 100 cadres under the command of commanders Iniyabarathy, Veera, Ranjan, Thileepan and Jeeventiran ransacked the TMVP offices in the Batticaloa district. When they rounded up the TMVP office located in the Govindan Road Batticaloa, Pradeeb managed to escape. But the rampaging cadres went to his house and chased his wife and her sisters and mother from the house.

As mentioned earlier Seelan who was in charge of Arasady Road Office in Batticalao survived with gunshot injuries when his office was rounded up by rampaging cadres.

Asian Tribune was unable to contact either Pillaiyan or Colonel Karuna for further information.

Sources say that Pillaiyan is now in Trincomalee and there are more than 300 TMVP armed cadres are with him. TMVP commanders Marckan, Sinna Jeyam and others are with Pillaiyan.

Pillaiyan initially wanted to leave Sri Lanka and seek asylum in some other country, but TMVP cadres have urged that he should not leave Sri Lanka and should remain in the country and continue to work for TMVP.

It is learnt Karuna is in Colombo. He came back to Sri Lanka eight months ago.

Before Karuna returned to Sri Lanka, Pillaiyan went to India and made the necessary arrangements to relocate Karuna’s wife and three children safely. After the relocation of the family was done successfully, Pillaiyan arranged to send a common friend from London to bring Karuna back to Colombo.

Once Karuna returned to Colombo, Pillaiyan handed back responsibility of money matters to Karuna, according to a TMVP source.

More details are awaited.

(http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/5630)

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