Renegade Tigers refuse to give up arms

But V Muralitharan, alias Colonel Karuna, said today that his group refuses to lay down arms and will end a unilateral ceasefire and fight the LTTE if attacked.

8220;Without mincing our words we wish to tell Prabhakaranquite categorically that we have our resolve and moral right to hold onto our arms,8221; said Karuna in an email interview.

8220;No one can impose their will on us to take them from us,which we use only for defensive purposes. Our people8230;have entrusted us to defend them from the LTTE. Our people will not like us to become submissive and just hand over our weapons to satisfy the LTTE brutes.8221;

Karuna wants to see the government pledge to disarm applied to Tiger rebels who are blamed for carrying out a series of deadly attacks in December and January on the military in the government-held northern enclave of Jaffna.

8220;We are waiting to see how the sarong-clad Vanni Tigers 8230;who are terrorising our people and the Army in the north are going to be disarmed in the Jaffna peninsula following the Geneva decision,8221; Karuna said.

8220;Any provocation or attack by the LTTE would lead toofficially ending our unilateral ceasefire. So long as the LTTE is allowed to hold onto their arms, the north and east cannot ever be transformed into democratic rule,8221; he said adding, 8220;We, as a politico-military movement too will ensure to use every means to change the present status quo to liberate our people if the LTTE fails to respect the wishes of our people to enter the democratic mainstream soon.8221; 8212;Reuters