Death of Thamilselvan:

Biggest 'Body blow' to LTTE supremo

by Panchamee Hewavissenti

Suppiyah Paramu Thamilselvan, who was killed by a Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) aerial bombing on Friday, is one of the most wanted terrorist leaders in the world.

At the time of his death, the 43-year-old barber-turned-terrorist cadre was the Political Wing head of the LTTE as well as the leader of the LTTE Military Wing in Poonaryn.

Better known as S. P. Thamilselvan, he is a father of two, an eight-year-old son and a daughter of (4). His wife serves in the women's wing of the LTTE.

Born in 1967 at Chavakachcheri, he worked as a professional barber before joining the LTTE in 1983. He belonged to the fourth batch of the LTTE cadre to be trained in India.

A former personal bodyguard of the LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, Thamilselvan headed the LTTE military operations in Jaffna when the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) arrived under the 1987 Indo-Lanka Pact.

During a confrontation with the Lankan Security Forces in Poonaryn in 1993, Thamilselvan suffered a shrapnel wound which left him with a permanent limp. He had a close call in 2001, narrowly avoided being killed by the Army's Deep Penetration Unit.

As a military and political leader of the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world, Thamilselvan has played an active role in the LTTE's terror acts in the last two decades. Under the patronage of Prabhakaran, Thamilselvan has given leadership to many killings, that included the assassinations of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, President Ranasinghe Premadasa, then Defence Minister Ranjan Wijeratne, Ministers Gamini Dissanayake, Lalith Athulathmudali and Lakshman Kadirgamar.

He has also played a prominent role as a Tiger cadre, a leader and has also been behind the master plans of LTTE bomb explosions at Pettah Bus Stand, Central Bank, Maradana Zahira, Sri Lanka Telecom and many more - that included assassination attempts on then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

Despite his continuous role in formulating military strategies behind the scene, Thamilselvan has painted a rosy picture before the international community. Entertaining diplomats and INGO representatives to Wanni jungles has been his major business with the outside world.

Posing as a true lover of peace, Thamilselvan has been a vital member of the LTTE delegation at peace talks with the Government, which the Tigers used as an effective tool to wipe their terrorist label in the international arena. He was the LTTE's main interlocutor at the last round of peace talks with the Government in October last year, and was widely regarded as the international face of the terrorist group.

In July, Thamilselvan, Prabhakaran's mouthpiece, told Reuters that the Tigers would seek to cripple Lanka's economy with major attacks on military and economic targets.

His loss will be a severe blow to the LTTE and its terror rule in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. He is the highest ranked LTTE leader to be killed by the Security Forces during the last two decades. His death could well be the turning point of the once formidable terrorist organisation. Defence analysts have said the death of Thamilselvan is a major victory for all peace loving people and a severe blow to international terrorism.

After being wiped off from the East and losing top leaders such as Thamilselvan, the Tigers are on their last legs in the North. It would be a bog loss for Prabhakaran, who would find it hard to find an equally good able lieutenant. Prabhakaran paid his last respects to the slain LTTE leader on Friday evening.

The funeral of Thamilselvan is scheduled to be held in Kilinochchi tomorrow.