Fonseka offers evidence on KP
Responding to declaration made by the Attorney General’s Department
that there was no substantial evidence to prosecute Kumaran Pathmanathan
alias KP, the former chief procurer for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) and considered its international face, former Army
Commander, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka said there was enough evidence
to commit him for trial. Fonseka who called the AG’s statement
“treacherous” said: “I am prepared to share information with the
Attorney General on this. There are photographs of KP in LTTE uniform.
Even a junior soldier in the Army knows KP was responsible for raising
funds and that he facilitated purchasing and transportation of arms and
ammunition on behalf of the LTTE.”
Claiming that he as the Army Commander had presided over intelligence
briefings on KP alone, Fonseka said, “KP remains one of the most wanted
terrorists and there is an arrest warrant by Interpol against him. He is
a terrorist of international repute but was in the good books of the
Rajapaksas.”
He accused the former Rajapaksa regime of safeguarding KP, who had
struck deals with the former administration. “KP owned ships and had at
his disposal, huge amounts of LTTE money,” Fonseka said.
Minister of Justice Wijayadasa Rajapakshe said the Attorney General
had not reached any conclusion, although he has mentioned, at this
stage, there was no evidence against KP to prosecute him.
“It is common knowledge that the KP was in the LTTE. But the AG has
to follow due process and find evidence for prosecution. As far as India
goes, the matter is under discussion and a final decision will be there
soon. “
Rajapakshe also said there were other difficulties in gathering
evidence on the fund raising component. “We will have to ask from the
former regime. They have the information, if any, not us. The former
regime had all the dealings with KP and they know the details.”
Meanwhile, Minister John Amaratunga said the government will be
compelled to hand over Kumaran Pathmanathan to India. “He is a wanted
man in India over former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s
assassination,” Amaratunga said. In April 2014, the Rajapaksa government
banned 16 Tamil Diaspora organizations including the LTTE together with
424 individuals, but the person identified as the successor to the slain
LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran – Kumaran Pathmanathan alias
Selvarasa Pathmanathan - was excluded from the list. |