LTTE’s current status and activities: Q & A
Col R Hariharan
[This an extract of my answers e-mail to questions raised by a
European NGO.]
Questions:
Have there been any recent incidences of human rights abuses perpetrated by the
LTTE? (Such as for example extrajudicial and targeted killings, arbitrary
arrest and detention, forced recruitment or abuses of deserters, or forced
displacement)
Answer: No; not in Sri
Lanka. However, Tamil political trends
indicate a tendency to perpetuate the glory of its leader Prabhakaran,
particularly among the student community. It has found some political traction also.
If this trend gains political strength, it could attract released former LTTE
cadres (around 10,000) in Northern Province who are not gainfully employed and
kin of cadres and leaders who were killed. That could result in extortion,
illegal tax levies, targeted killing of informers etc among the evils you had
stated. But I do not visualize it to happen in the near term (5 years) as Tamil
polity is more pragmatic now and a leader of the caliber of Prabhakaran has not
yet emerged (I doubt whether it would ever happen). Moreover, at present the government
and Tamil leaders are working together to rationalize the ethnic reconciliation
process and its progress could be a disincentive for the return of extremism.
Question:
Does the LTTE still have the capacity to carry out such activities?
Answer: No. The pro-LTTE
Diaspora elements made a few efforts to infiltrate a few LTTE cadres into Sri
Lanka have been crushed by Sri Lanka and India. A few of years ago, they had used
Tamil Nadu as the launching pad for triggering LTTE activity in Sri Lanka.
However, Tamil Nadu police have managed to dismantle cells indulging in such
efforts. Another reason is the LTTE influence among Tamil Diaspora particularly
in Canada and EU has weakened; this should not be confused with the Tamil
Diaspora’s large scale support for the demand for autonomy or international
investigation into war crimes and other human rights aberrations. The LTTE’s control over a large number of Diaspora
organizations has changed. However, the LTTE still has financial and business assets
created in the past, particularly in EU. These could become a source of funding
such efforts in the future if the environment in Sri Lanka is conducive for
separatism. This was how the LTTE grew into a powerful organization.
Question: Are paramilitary
groups/paramilitary wing of some parties in Sri Lanka still active and/or
influential?
Answer: With
the exit of Mahinda Rajapaksa from power, paramilitary wings have lost much of their
influence and relevance to pressurize people. Moreover, Military Intelligence
which had enjoyed a lot of patronage during the previous regime to use
paramilitary as coercive instrument of power outside the pale of law is at
present under a lot of pressure from the government. The government is unraveling
the illegal activities of the past in which the MI along with the police are
suspected to have been involved.
