Kausalyan explains retrieval with minimal bloodshed

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 16:36 GMT]
The political head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the Batticaloa-Amparai region, Mr. Kausalyan, speaking to press persons in Vakarai Tuesday, said that the retrieval of the region from the renegade Karuna group was made according to the plans of the LTTE leader, Mr. V. Pirapaharan, and executed with care and humanitarian concern by commanders led by the Special Commander for the region, Mr. T. Ramesh.

The region was under the control of the Karuna group for 42 days. The following is the text of his interview to the Press.


Press: At a time when the Karuna group was considered a powerful military group, how was it possible for you to gain control of nearly 1700 square km area with only minimal bloodshed? Can you elaborate?


Kausalyan: This was made possible by the plans of our national leader. It is more apt to say that we were engaged in a retrieving duty, rather than ‘gaining control.’ The redemption was well-planned by the leader, and executed by Special commander, Mr. T. Ramesh, with keenness and humanitarian concern. Our fighters encircled the Karuna group’s forces in Vakarai, Kathiraveli and Verugal in a three-pronged attack. When we informed them that they could join us without fear, the Karuna group cadres came over to join our side. There were some minor incidents during this phase, but there were no major losses for us.

Similarly, Commander Janarthan went to Amparai to explain the true situation to the cadres there and even there, the Karuna group cadres joined us. When our fighters, led by Ramanan, went to the Paduvankarai region, including Kokkadicholai and Karadiyanaru, the Karuna group cadres joined us without any fighting.

We have released 269 cadres who rejoined us in Vakarai to their parents. The underage cadres were released through the UNICEF. Last Friday, 1500 cadres of the Karuna group rejoined us in Vakarai. Out of those, who want to go back to their families or are underage are being handed over to their parents. Our leader has instructed us to hand over the cadres to their parents if the parents request to do so.


Press: What is the reason for handing over the cadres who joined the LTTE for the purpose of “liberation struggle” back to their parents?


Kausalyan: Our national leader wanted to honor the parents’ wishes to get back their sons and daughters.


Press: Will you accept them again for the struggle? Kausalyan: We have no plans for doing so. But if the youths wanted to contribute to the national liberation struggle, they could come back to us.


Press: In the last one and a half months, the political activities of the LTTE in the Batticaloa-Amparai district were disrupted. When do you plan to restart the activities?


Kausalyan: We have already started our political activities as soon as the retrieval was complete.


Press: What do you want to tell the people who were expelled from the Batticaloa district?


Kausalyan: We want to express our sympathies to them and want them to return to normal life in the region. Should they have any problems, they could contact our political offices to solve their problems.


Press: Where are Karuna and his associates now?


Kausalyan: We have no idea, but they are not in the Batticaloa-Amparai district. The entire region, including Kudumbimalai (Thoppigala), are under our control now. Only Karuna himself was expelled from the LTTE. All others can return to their homes without any fear.


Press: What do you want to tell the people of Batticaloa-Amparai ?


Kausalyan: The people in this region have stood shoulder to shoulder with us in the national liberation struggle. They have had to go through a lot of hardships. They can continue to lead their normal lives and trust the national leadership. Several media organizations have worked with integrity during the time of crisis to work for the Tamil people’s rights and Tamil nationalism. We thank them and congratulate them for their service.