KP as a political tool:

Is the govt in a dilemma over KP issue?

by Ranil Wijayapala

The matter relating to Selvarasa Pathmanathan alias Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP who was detained in August 2009 following a clandestine operation in Malaysia and brought to Sri Lanka and later allowed to move freely by the Sri Lankan authorities still remains a contentious issue for Sri Lankans as well as the international community.

However, breaking a long drawn-out silence over the issue the Attorney General Department (AG) making submission in a petition filed by JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath in the Court of Appeal, informed that the Terrorist Investigation Department has commenced investigations into the activities connected to Selvarasa Pathmanathan.

The Counsel representing the AG further informed the Court that KP is not a suspect in respect of seven cases currently probed by the TID including the killing of former Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and an attempt to kill Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka by a suicide bomber. The Attorney added that KP was also not suspect in 40 cases probed by the CID .

Accusations

In his petition, Herath has sought the arrest of KP while filing over 190 serious accusations alleging KP's involvement in terrorist activities.

Vijitha Herath has also noted that KP is wanted by India in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination as he has been named as a suspect in the killing of former Indian leader by the country's intelligence services.

Therefore, there is justification on the part of the general public to raise questions as to why he is allowed to move freely in the society, when his name is connected to a large number of cases of terror activities locally and internationally.

Most importantly, at the time of his arrest he was the self-proclaimed leader of the LTTE after its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed in the banks of Nanthikada lagoon on May19, 2009 ending decades long conflict in Sri Lanka. Therefore KP is the leader of a terror organization which is banned in Sri Lanka as well as many other countries including neighbouring India and in the US.

The basic question raised by the people is that as to why the former Government, after arresting KP in a meticulously planned operation on August 5, 2009 in a place called First Tune hotel, Malaysia a hotel connected to famous airline Air Asia and kept him without prosecuting him at any Court of Law.

There may be hundreds and thousands of accusations against him but they needs to be proved before the court. It is well known that the KP was the Head of the Arms Procurement branch of the LTTE and he was responsible for supplying the much needed firel power to the LTTE. At the same time he was the main figure behind the fund raising activities of the LTTE from the beginning. Therefore, the entire terror campaign of the LTTE at the initial stages revolved around him and if not for him the entire operations of the LTTE would not have become lethal as it found to be.

But one of the biggest challenges before the investigators is to prove those facts when he is produced before the courts, because none of these transactions have been recorded anywhere in the world as the LTTE always used the black market and the underworld gangs when purchasing arms and ammunition. Even inner layers of the intelligence units in the South East Asian nations provided him the necessary cover when they mostly smuggled China manufactured weapons via the borders of the South East Asian nations mostly through Myanmar.

Simultaneously the absence of records pertaining to money transaction by KP in his arms procurement business had put the investigators in a quandary since it is widely believed that those transactions were carried out using 'Hawala' system.

Transaction

Hawala is a system used by most of the terrorist organizations and other underworld gangs and also by some workers to transfer money from one destination to the other through agents which is a lucrative business in this part of the world. The method is executed through an agent in one country and in turn payments are made yet in another country through their network of agents upon receiving confirmation from the country of origin when the transaction is completed.

Basically they deliver hard cash to the door step of the person they want.

Therefore, the transaction doesn't get recorded anywhere as those transactions are done stealthily on trust. Any breach of faith will have bad consequences on the person as this system is run by underworld gangs.

KP as a holder of 23 foreign passports developed all those contacts across the globe as the chief arms procurer of the LTTE to maintain the secrecy of these transactions. Therefore, it is believed that KP was the brains behind channeling an ammunition shipment ordered by the Sri Lankan government from Zimabwe to the LTTE when the ship was heading towards Colombo from Madagaskar. Apparently he was shrewd enough to transfer the ammunition stocks mainly mortar bombs into a ship run by the LTTE and get them into Wanni at the cost of government funds.

A stingy person by nature and his bargaining capability would have been the basic qualification considered by Velupillai Prabhakaran when appointing him as the Chief Arms Procurer and the Fund raiser to the LTTE. However, he was sidelined by the Tiger leader in the latter stages of the war due to his change of attitude towards the main aim of the LTTE During the last few months before the LTTE was vanquished by the Sri Lankan forces he was recalled and given a different responsibility to what he held earlier and made the International Chief of the organization who was not responsible for fund raising anymore.

Hence it is believed, he was not in control of the massive funds accrued by the LTTE at the time of his arrest in Malaysia and it was Rajan who was also arrested and brought to Sri Lanka in December 2010 was in charge of the funds of the LTTE. Therefore, it was Rajan who handled nearly 200 to 300 million US dollars added to the coffers of the LTTE from the Tamil diaspora and even the KP's emoluments were paid by Rajan at the time of his detection. Coseqently, as far as transactions are concerned, some officials believe it would be difficult to prosecute KP before any Court relating to these transactions of the LTTE.

It is difficult because the wealth of the LTTE is believed to be in the hands of individuals rather than with any central organisation. These individulas are functioning as the proxies of the LTTE and make their contributions once they informed to do so and it was through Hawala system they do these transactions on behalf of the LTTE.

However the government states that it is investigating the activities of Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) in an attempt to eventually freeze, once and for all, the financial networks of the LTTE.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera recently stated that the government is continuing to intensify relations with our intelligence networks abroad and has increased access to real time information from these sources about the activities of the LTTE.

Robbery

Therefore it indicates the willingness of the Government to trace the financial sources of the LTTE and freeze them internationally.

Though, it is difficult to take him to the courts on behalf of the terror acts he had committed, there are enough and more cases where he could be prosecuted.

The Neervely robbery on March 25, 1981 the biggest robbery at that time and also the robbery in Thinnaveli in Jaffna are two such cases where his involvement is known to the sleuths.

It was after his name came up in the Rs.8.1 million robbery from a van that was collecting hard cash from the People's Bank branches in Jaffna Selvarasa pathmanathan fled to India and later undergone weapon training given to the Tamil militants after 1983 riots.

He also can be prosecuted for violation of immigration laws of the country and for holding forge foreign passports as he had left the country clandestinely. According to intelligence sources it would be rather difficult for KP to defend himself in these cases and walk scot free

But there are certain advantages and disadvantages by fixing him in court. The advantage is that Sri Lanka can tell the world that as a legitimate government It always abide by the law and punishes any terrorist leader without any discrimination.

If he is given a pardon there are so many in the list of LTTE leaders who would make the same bid from the government for clemncy.

On the other hand the Tamil Diaspora in the West is eagerly awaiting to ascertain Government's sincerity and genuineness of how they try to deal with the residual issues concerning the LTTE.

The Government is now in crossroads of wining over the Tamil Diaspora and making an effort to get the Tamil diaspora assistance for the development initiatives of the country.

Considering that fact KP is a man who can influence the Diaspora as he already maintains three orphanages in the North under North East Rehabilitation and Development Organization with the help of the Tamil Diaspora mainly from the West would it be a decision in the right direction for the government to rush into a decision to take KP before the law of the land and punish him is the question posed by many in influential Tamil circles. However according to pledges given by the present government it is singularly important to restore the rule of law which saw a tragic deterioration during the past decade or so .In the circumstance it would be difficult to ascertain that KP would walk scot free with so many criminal matters listed against his name

However, it is the thinking of some that the Government has to sift through the evidence carefully and take a decision which could also cost the government dearly if the Tamil Diaspora takes a unilateral decision to sever the links over KP issue.