LTTE ultimatum for rebel Karuna

The split in the LTTE now threatens to turn into an internecine war between the Tigers and the breakaway Karuna group with observers fearing...

The split in the LTTE now threatens to turn into an internecine war between the Tigers and the breakaway Karuna group with observers fearing that the latter may become a target of a suicide bomb attack.

The battlelines are clearly drawn in the statement issued by LTTE on Thursday asking its cadres with Karuna — whose real name is Vinayagomoorthy Muraleetharan — to ‘‘abandon’’ him, warning that those opposing action against him will be considered ‘‘traitors’’. ‘‘In spite of the advice, if any of the cadres decide to arm in favour of Karuna, he or she would be deemed responsible for the consequences,’’ the LTTE said. ‘‘The demise of such a cadre will not be with the honour of a martyr.’’ The statement was put up on a pro-LTTE website http://www.tamilnet.com.

Reports indicate that there could be a suicide bomb attack on Karuna, which according to observers, is corroborated by reports of 23 LTTE men infiltrating from the North to the East. Their whereabouts are apparently still unknown.

Story continues below this ad

Karuna, who split from the LTTE early this month, was the commander for the group in the Batticaloa-Amparai district of Eastern Sri Lanka and is said to have taken nearly 3,500 troops with him after falling apart with LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.

He is said to have proclaimed himself leader of the eastern province and, according to the LTTE statement, asked the cadres under him to not take the LTTE oath.

The LTTE has charged Karuna with ‘‘immoral conduct, fraudulent financial transactions and arbitrary assasinations’’ and stated that he has been trying to turn the cadre in the East against Prabhakaran. ‘‘To safeguard our nation and our people, it has been decided to get rid of Karuna from our soil’’, reads the LTTE statement. ‘‘Our national leadership is no more prepared to allow Karuna to cheat the people in Batticaloa-Ampara,’’ the LTTE said.

‘‘Standing before the humanity today as an offender and a traitor, Karuna, in order to exculpate himself from the charges, is trying to make use of you as shield and as a result and make you all disposable. Please understand that the noble intention of our leader is that no single cadre should fall prey to this deceitful move,’’ the LTTE statement said.

Story continues below this ad

While the Karuna camp has maintained silence, reports suggest that the Sri Lanka Army has a channel of communication open with breakaway group.

RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 5.5%

Business1 hr ago

The Reserve Bank of India Wednesday kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.5 per cent. "MPC decides to keep monetary policy stance unchanged at 'neutral'", says RBI Governor. This is the second time that the repo rate has been kept unchanged.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS