Colonel Karuna
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Colonel Karuna Amman is the nom de guerre of Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan (born 1966), the President of the TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, a breakaway faction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In March 2004, Karuna organized a split from the main LTTE.
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[edit] Biography
Karuna was born in Kiran, a village in the Batticaloa district in eastern Sri Lanka. He joined the LTTE in 1983 and became a top commander in the district he represented. He was once even a bodyguard to LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran. In 2003 he was elevated to the rank of special commander for the eastern Batticoloa-Amparai districts by Prabhakaran.
[edit] Break with LTTE
In March 2004, Karuna broke away from the mainstream LTTE after he alleged they were ignoring the interests of the eastern Tamil people. The LTTE alleges that the real reason he broke way was because the LTTE's intelligence wing was closing in on him for corruption and violating the LTTE code of conducts. The Tigers reacted by launching attacks against Karuna's forces, and heavy clashes ensued. The LTTE claimed they fully evicted his forces from the district he controlled.
However, the Karuna Faction, as it has now been dubbed, continues to maintain a stronghold in the southeast of Sri Lanka with a force estimated to number a few hundred. They continue to regularly attack the LTTE, causing heavy casualties. [1]
[edit] LTTE allegations
Karuna's group serves as a prominent focal point for the LTTE's anger toward the Sri Lankan government, which is accused of arming, sheltering and supporting the group. This has been further exacerbated by a number of military defeats suffered by the LTTE at the hands of Karuna's forces in recent months.
[edit] Human Rights violations
The TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal has been accused by human rights groups such as AHRC in the increasing involuntary disappearances of civilians in the Jaffna peninsula [3]. They have been accused of taking part in death squad activity against civilians. They are also accused of child soldier recruitment by the UNICEF and in murdering Tamil civilians by the US State Department's annual country report .
Karuna has categorically denied these allegations in interviews claiming the LTTE is trying to discredit his party[8].
[edit] Controversy
David Jeyaraj, a Canada-based journalist, has written that Karuna was personally involved in the murder of famed journalist Taraki Sivaram.[9] Karuna has denied this categorically while blaming the inteligence wing head of the LTTE Pottu Amman for the killing.[10]
[edit] References
- ↑ Interview with Karuna Asian Tribune
- ↑ BBC profile of Colonel Karuna BBC
- ↑ Boston Globe article on role of LTTE Splinter group involvement in civilian dissapearances
- ↑ BBC report on Karuna group as a Human rights violator
- ↑ Karuna group kills killed 20 civilians US state government report
- ↑ Karuna group abducts 100 child soldiers
- ↑ UNICEF on child recruitment by Karuna group
- ↑ UTHR(J) on Karuna group activity as part of killer squads of civilians
