Karuna Amman

Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (nom de guerre: Colonel Karuna Amman; Tamil: விநாயகமூர்த்தி முரளிதரன், Vināyakamūrtti Muraḷitaraņ, born 22 june 1966) is a Sri Lankan politician and former militant. After fighting for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for over 20 years, he rose to prominence as the leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), a breakaway faction of the LTTE.

Not to be confused with Pottu Amman (Tamil militant).
Hon.

Karuna Amman

MP
Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament
for National List
In office
7 October 2008 – 26 June 2015
Personal details
Born
Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan

1966 (age 54–55)
Kiran, Batticaloa District
NationalitySri Lankan
Political partySLFP, formerly TMVP
Spouse(s)Nira
Childrenthree children

After giving up arms and entering politics, he was appointed as a National List Member of Parliament for the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), the party of President Mahinda Rajapakse,[1] in 2008 and sworn in as Minister of National Integration[2] on 9 March 2009. He later joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the largest party in the UPFA, and on 24 April 2009 he appointed a Vice President of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.[3]

Biography

Muralitharan was born in Kiran, a village in the Batticaloa district in eastern Sri Lanka to Vinayagamoorthy, an agriculturist from the Vaisyas Caste (Farming and Business Community). He joined the LTTE in 1983 and became a top commander of the Eastern Province.[4] He was a former bodyguard to LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.[1]

Break with LTTE

In 26 July 2004, Muralitharan broke away from the Tamil Tigers after he alleged they were ignoring the interests of the eastern Tamil people, and claimed to have renounced violence at this point.[5] This move by Karuna, to break away from the LTTE and renounce terrorism has been claimed to be one of the major turning points that brought about the end of the two and a half decade conflict. He turned away and helped to capture LTTE bases. Deputy Minister Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana has been hailed as being instrumental in Karuna renouncing terrorism, who in turn joined the democratic mainstream.

The LTTE alleged that the real reason he broke way was because the LTTE's intelligence wing was closing in on him for alleged financial and personal misconduct, terming his break a "temporary aberration".[6] The Tigers reacted to his defection by launching attacks against Muralitharan's forces, and heavy clashes ensued. They claimed to have fully evicted his forces from the area he controlled in mid-2004.[7]

However his group, dubbed the Karuna Faction by the media, continued to maintain a stronghold in the southeast of Sri Lanka with a force estimated to number a few hundred.[8] They also regularly attacked the LTTE.[8] In 2006 the Sri Lankan armed forces launched a major campaign to evict the LTTE from the east of the country, with the assistance of the Karuna Faction. They succeeded in clearing the east of Sri Lanka by July 2007.

Karuna has alleged that Prabhakaran intentionally dragged out peace talks so that the rebels could use the cessation in hostilities to re-arm for further combat.[9]

He has said that the LTTE has lost 70% of its fighting capacity due to his TMVP group separating from the LTTE.[9]

Publicity

In March 2007, Colonel Karuna accompanied by Supreme Commander Pillaiyan, Senior Commander Jeyam and other TVMP officials spent two days at a TMVP base in the east. A number of his statements there were widely reported.[10][11]

At the same time the TMVP announced that it was setting up a "special attack force" and a "spy attack force". Internal cohesion within the TMVP has been a problem, particularly disagreements between Pillaiyan and Karuna over finance. In May–June, a number of cadres were killed in factional clashes, most notably an intelligence operative named Senthujan Senthamorthanan. Another TMVP cadre named Seelan was also badly beaten but escaped. Pillaiyan was reportedly also targeted but escaped to Trincomalee with about 200 supporters although he has since been reconciled to Karuna.[12]

Allegations of human rights violations

Colonel Karuna was the LTTE head of the Eastern province in 1990, when between 113 police officers who surrendered to the group were subsequently massacred.

When Colonel Karuna was part of the LTTE, he was also implicated in the massacre of Muslims, including the Kattankudy and Erovar massacres in the eastern province. According to Sri Lankan military intelligence sources, "Karuna was not in the East province but in the Vanni during the time of the attacks on Kattankudy and Eravur Muslims. He was however intercepted giving orders to his cadres in the East in relation to various activities.".

RSF (Reporters Without Borders), has accused him of muzzling local journalists by forming death squads to silence those who oppose his point of view.[13]

His armed groups have been accused by human rights groups in the increasing involuntary disappearances of civilians in the Jaffna peninsula.[14][15] They have been accused of taking part in death squad activity against civilians.[16] They are also accused of child soldier recruitment by UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, and others.[17][18][19] Additionally, a report by the United States Department of State claims that Karuna's group "was believed also to have killed 20 civilians."[20]

Karuna has categorically denied these allegations in interviews claiming the LTTE is trying to discredit his party.[21]

Imprisonment in the United Kingdom

Karuna was arrested in London on 2 November 2007 following a joint operation between the Metropolitan Police and the Border and Immigration Agency.[22] It is thought that he was found in possession of a forged passport and firearms.[23][24] According to the Sunday Times, a weekly English newspaper published in Sri Lanka, the British authorities have claimed that they have enough evidence to show that the Sri Lankan government was complicit in helping Karuna receive a diplomatic passport.[25]

Karuna said in court that the government, through Permanent Secretary for Defense Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, had given him the passport. On 25 January 2008 he was sentenced to nine months in prison.[26] He was transferred to an immigration detention centre in May 2008.[27]

A number of human rights groups, led by Amnesty International, urged the Metropolitan Police to investigate Karuna for war crimes including torture, hostage-taking and recruitment of child soldiers.[28] The Met Police did not respond and Karuna returned to Sri Lanka on 3 July 2008.

Entering democratic politics

After his return to Sri Lanka he entered democratic politics and joined the SLFP alongside 1750 ex-LTTE members including both that defected alongside him and those that abandoned the LTTE later. Karuna praised Mahinda Rajapaksa claiming that Black July riots would not have happened if Rajapaksa was in power during the period. Karuna was then sworn in as Minister of National Integration. [29]

Controversial Speech

On 19 June 2020, he made a publicity stunt by making a revelation that he was even cruel and merciless than the COVID-19 virus saying "I am dangerous than coronavirus. Corona killed 11 people but I killed 2000-3000 soldiers within one day."[30] He stated that he killed more than 3000 soldiers (not verified whether SL or LTTE) at the Elephant Pass during the war and claimed that he was barbaric than the COVID-19 related fatalities in the country.[31][32] His insensible comments drew widespread criticism from political fraternity calling him a barbarian and he was summoned to appear before the Criminal Investigation Department to record statements according to the order by acting DGP C. D. Wickramaratne.[33][34][35]

Aftermath of investigation

Karuna later claimed that his speech was edited by the media and that he didn't say such things. He said this to several interviewers from Media. The UN human rights commission called the government to start further investigations on his former alleged war crimes but the Karuna group was in alliance with the SLPP which defended it.[36]

He went through few trials by the courts. Several groups brought evidence of massacres he have caused. He claimed this was an attempt by the UNP (a opposing group) to destroy the reputation of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal and the Rajapaksha party.[37]

See also

References
  1. Renegade sworn in as Sri Lanka MP BBC BBC News – 8 October 2008
  2. Karuna joins Cabinet The Hindu – 10 March 2009
  3. Karuna appointed as vice president of the SLFP
  4. Prabhakaran was with 18 men when he was killed: Karuna Times of India – 20 May 2009
  5. Interview: 'Colonel Karuna' Al-Jazeera – 29 April 2009
  6. THE LTTE CRISIS Frontline – Volume 21, Issue 7
  7. "Questions over renegade Tamil Tiger". BBC News. 9 May 2008.
  8. "Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels warn of retaliation against Sinhalese", Associated Press, 6 September 2006
  9. Buerk, Roland. "A date with a renegade rebel Tiger", BBC News, 4 April 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2007
  10. ""Sri Lanka is our Motherland. We respect the constitution, the President and the government" – Col Karuna", Asian Tribune, 4 March 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007
  11. "Karuna's election Campaigne takes off", www.independentsl.com, Retrieved 5 April 2007
  12. "Rebel Tiger leader visits former bastion", The Hindu News Update Service, 4 March 2007, Retrieved 5 April 2007
  13. Nine recommendations for improving the state of press freedom, Reporters Without Borders Archived 2009-05-29 at the Wayback Machine (19 July 2004)
  14. Denyer, Simon. ""Disappearances" killing on rise in Sri Lanka's dirty war". Reuters, 14 September 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2007
  15. University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), "The Wider Implications of the Human Rights and Humanitarian Crisis in Jaffna", Information Bulletin No. 41, 14 September 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2007
  16. University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), "When Indignation is Past and the Dust Settles", Special Report No. 21, 15 May 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2007
  17. UNICEF, Statement on Sri Lanka from the UN Special Adviser on Children and Armed Conflict, 13 November 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2007
  18. "Complicit in Crime: State Collusion in Abductions and Child Recruitment by the Karuna Group", Human Rights Watch, 19 (1(C)), January 2007
  19. Ross, James. "When Ceasefire Fails Archived 2008-01-09 at the Wayback Machine", Foreign Policy in Focus, 15 September 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2007
  20. U.S. Department of State, 2005 Human Rights Report, 8 March 2006
  21. "Solheim in the pay of Tigers: his house in Norway bought with Tiger money – Col. Karuna", Asian Tribune, 27 November 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2007
  22. UK detains breakaway Tamil leader, BBC News, 2 November 2007
  23. Karuna arrested
  24. Karuna arrested in London
  25. Britain unimpressed with government explanation on Karuna passport
  26. "Renegade Tamil rebel jailed in UK", BBC News, 25 January 2008.
  27. "UK transfers renegade Tamil Tiger", BBC News, 9 May 2008.
  28. UK: Failure to protect witnesses allows suspected war criminals to avoid prosecution, Amnesty International, 3 July 2008
  29. "Karuna joins SLFP, sworn in as Minister of National Integration | Asian Tribune". asiantribune.com. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  30. "He stated thathe had killed more soldiers at Elephant Pass than lives claimed by COVID in SL". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  31. "Former Sri Lanka rebel leader condemned as 'barbaric'". Arab News. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  32. ""I'm more dangerous than coronavirus, killed 2,000 – 3,000 soldiers on a single day" – Karuna Amman". Hiru News. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  33. "Sri Lanka : Statement made by Karuna Amman in Ampara cannot be taken lightly - former State Defense Minister". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  34. "Karuna Amman summoned to the CID to record a statement". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  35. "Acting IGP orders CID to investigate Karuna Amman's statement on killing soldiers". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  36. "UNHRC calls Karuna on Human Rights". NewsFirst.
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