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Karikalan condemns Karuna as Pol Pot

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 March 2004, 06:45 GMT]
"Karuna will be seen as a Pol Pot if he continues to act irresponsibly towards our people", said Mr. Sivagnanam Karikalan, one of the senior leaders in the East to arrive in Kilinochchi Sunday morning for discussions with his leadership about the situation in Batticaloa. Mr. Karikalan is a close confidante of Mr. Karuna, the eastern LTTE leader who was sacked from the Liberation Tigers Saturday on charges of treason.

Several heads of divisions and commanders of the LTTE troops in the Batticaloa-Ampara district also arrived in Kilinochchi Sunday for consultations with the leader of the Liberation Tigers.

Mr. Karikalan met the press briefly at the LTTE media coordinating office sunday noon. He charged that there were outside elements behind Mr. Karuna's decision to act traitorously.


Mr. Karikalan (Left) with commander Ramesh at the press briefing Sunday

"Karuna's decision to betray us was a decision that he took on his own without consulting any of his colleagues and senior staff. He is trying to compell commanders and heads of divisions in the Batticaloa-Ampara district to accept his decision. He won't succeed.

"Today none of the people in the Batticaloa-Amapara district are prepared to reject our national leader. I want to reiterate this point. Even at the recent Pongu Thamil festival in Batticaloa, thousands of our people carried photos of our national leader with the slogan 'Tamils are tigers. Tigers are Tamils', expressing their commitment to the Tamil national cause and to our national leadership" said Mr. Karikalan.