LankaWeb Editorial

August 4th 2009

Addendum to Lankaweb Weekly Editorial:

Subsequent to the latest editorial on the main topic of the new LTTE leadership of Pathmanathan alias KP almost coincidentally the man in question has been arrested in Bangkok, Thailand where he has been living with a Thai wife and not in Malaysia as reported erroneously and the error is regretted. The call for his arrest however appears to have been fulfilled.
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Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Ministry of Defence Quoting Brig.Gen.Udaya Nanayakkara SLAF has reported that Selvarasa Pathmanadan alias KP has been arrested by Sri Lankan law enforcement officers where the details of the arrest are not elaborate at present although the news was broadcast on Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s state owned ITN television in several special news bulletins whichƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ attested to the arrest ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the Liberation Tigers of Tamil EelamƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s self-proclaimed leader , following the death at the hands of the Sri Lankan’s military, of previous LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.
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Upon confirmation this could mean a greater impact towards closure of LTTE influences globally as well asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in Sri LankaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and smother any chances of aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ resurgence of the organization. Pathmanathan despite the clean cut image he was attempting to present to the global community bore shades of another LTTE theatrical genius the late ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Anton Balasingham who all but fooled many who thought he was a genuine liberator but turned out to be a mendacious and duplicitous criminal together with his wife who not only trainedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  women LTTE cadre but also has the reputation of murdering innocent children but where are they now beyond contemptible nefarious historical records. PathmanathanƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ according to the profiles on him is also a dangerous a terrorist as was his predecessor who is wanted by Interpol on many counts as well as the Indian Government for his role in the assasination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and also has the notoriety of being the Tamil Tiger terrorist outfitƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s former procurer of weaponsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and armaments. He became the most senior LTTEƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ‘official remaining alive when the Supremo of the group refered to earlier PrabhakaranƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and his most senior comrades were killedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in Mullaitivu by the Sri Lanka Armed Forces.
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A man of many faces, a con artist as well as an impersonator who travelled many countries in various disguises and dealt in many forms of criminal activity now appears to be under arrest as his past seems to have finally caught up with him.

The question is,will there be others who might try to follow in his footsteps ?and if so let this arrest be a deterrent towards Sri Lanka remaining an LTTE free environment where the punishments needing to be meted out to Pathmanathan should be stringent within the law!

The Tamil Tigers by definition have been mowed down, exterminated and vanquished by the Rajapaksha Administration and the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, all kudos to which are in order but what then is this resurgence of another Tamil Tiger Organization under the leadrship of one K. Pathamanathan said to be in hiding in Malaysia and if so whyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ are the Malaysian authorities harbouring him while providing him safe haven instead of arresting him and handing him over to the Sri Lankan Authorities? Should not any links to the Tamil Tigers be considered criminal by virtue of world consensus and its participants therefore also being criminally liable?
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Is this some kind of joke that there are reports of a continuing Tamil Tiger organization with this
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ K.Pathmanathan who isƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  said to have been appointed as the ‘Leader of the Tamil Tiger Organization’ recently andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ sees “bringing together the International interest to coincide with the Tamil Tiger interest”ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  as his primary task before him. Or does the man need psychiatric evaluation?
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FurthermoreƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ is this not an affront to all of the efforts of the Sri Lankan Administration and the Armed Forces who wiped out the LTTE in their entiretyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ despite which there are reports of the resurgence of the same organization in exile under a new leadership where references areƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  being made toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ thisƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ K.Pathmanathan and blatantly so which should not only be scoffed at albeit with a wary eye open but also is deserving of zero publicity and tolerance towards the effort to publicise it in the best interests of the prevention of global terrorism as well as those of Sri Lanka!
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What international interests might there be to coincide withƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Tamil Tiger ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ interests? the more discerning should ask relative to the Tamil Tiger OrganizationƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  this Pathamanathan is attempting to spring up from theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ burnt ashes of a terrorist organizationƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the LTTE which has been effectively put down or are there sources in the global community still around apart from the disgruntled and defeatedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Tamil DiasporaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ interested in a resurgence of the LTTE?
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This individual Pathmanathan isƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  no more than a terroristƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  as well as a protegee of Velupillai Prabhakaran and one who managed to slip the security cordon of the Sri Lankan Authorities and seems to have found a safe haven in his overseas domicile presumed to be Malaysia. HeƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ has the nerve to suggestƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ quoting from a press report~ and a press which probably has been ill advised to publicise such trash thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ~” though Prabhakaran nursed great hopes of international intervention during the period of the war ( internal armed insurrection a better definition),ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  those did not realize because the international interests and the Tamil Tiger interests were not brought on a par. ” which is totally incomprehensible and irrational considering the realities that Prabhakaran’s idealogies were related to terror, murder and mayhem where no international community would even considerƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  bringing on a par any interests whether Tamil or notƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  with international interests unless the spread of global terrorism was the objective which then becomes laughable beyond the metaphor!
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Not a thousand Pathmanathans nor their like minded ilk could ever convince any sensible person or persons at whetever level of administration though garbled rhetoricƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to moot, that Prabhakaran and the LTTE had any good intentions towards either the Tamil community orƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the Nation of Sri Lanka as history has now proved!In fact the freedom loving Tamil Community is said to be breathing a huge sigh of releif that the menace of Prabhakaran related terrorism has been wiped out in its entirety and they are free of his clutches and past attrocities!
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Hopefully lessons have been learned by both Sri Lanka as well as the global community through decades of strife due to LTTE terrorism that the likes of Pathmanathan must never be permitted any leeway towards re-kindling LTTE sentiments as this is all the man seems to be attempting to do and the amazement of it all is he has an audience thanks to the blinkeredƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ approval of certain areas of the international media who have chosen to publicise his idealogies which are tantamount to the same old LTTE objectives of resuging the contentiousƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ thrust for Eelam although in somewhat of a disguise to all appearances unless one reads between the lines and is fine tuned to the ‘music’!
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There seems an eerie pattern of similarities hovering around the Pathmanathan idealogies attempting to re-gain recognition for the Tamil Tigers with those ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the early days of Velupillai Prabhakaran as TamilƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ freedom fighterƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ following his announcement that his biggest challenge is to bring the interests of the International community and the Indian interests on a par where he has attempted to coerceƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the Indian media to extend its support to the Tamil Eelam CauseƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ but India should neither be swayed nor fooled by this. DidƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Prabhakaran too not commence his campaign by approaching India forƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ support and did India not respond through the Tamil Nadu campaigns ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ arms , training and logistic supportƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  for the LTTE ? or have these anomalies of aberration been forgotten all too soon? Aren’t theseƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the lessons which must never be forgotten by both India and Sri Lanka relative to the dire repercussions which followed and took nearly four decades to clear?
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ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In his present mode of campaign K Pathmanathan has to be deemed another criminal of the same ilk as Velupillai Prabhakaran and arrested by the authorities of whichever country he is hiding in and neither Sri Lanka nor the GlobalƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Community,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ incorporating all the countries which have categorically banned the LTTE as terrorists should half as much as tolerate another mirror image of Prabbhakaran as is Pathmanathan to all intents and purposes.
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His pleas to release the Tamils within the IDP without proper scrutinyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ seems none other than a ploy to get the many LTTE cadre known to beƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in hiding amongst some 300,000 refugees released so that they can re-establish the old criminalities of the Prabhakaran era it has to be presumed with conviction and is this a chance the Sri Lankan Administration could ever take?
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While Pathmanathan needs to be sought after, arrested and brought to justice in lieu of this not being possible in the case of Prabhakaran who had the easy way out there should be no sympathies directed towards his idle rhetoric whichƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ carries the same old tune as that of the LTTE of yore but with different lyrics!
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The camps of the Internally Displaced People (IDP) in the meantime need to be disbbanded with care, properƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ re-settlement and reconciliation notwithstandingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and all terrorist elements treated equitably within the lawƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ if they cannot establish bona fides which whilst being time consuming and perhaps even long drawn would still be in the best interests of Sri Lanka, neighbouring India as well as the global community who will then rest easy with no fear of the resurgence of the LTTE under any guise!

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