Nov 2, 2007: www.hindustantimes.com!
Head of LTTE's political wing killed in Lankan air raid!
 SP
Tamilselvan, head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) and the group's principal spokesperson, was killed in an air raid
conducted by the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) early on Friday, the LTTE
announced. Awarded the rank of Brigadier posthumously, Tamilselvan is
technically the highest ranking LTTE military leader to be killed by the Sri
Lankan Armed Forces in the 25 year war in the Tamil-speaking North and East of
the island. The Tamilnet website quoted a press communiqué issued by the LTTE
saying that "Brigadier" Tamilselvan was killed along with five other military
leaders of the LTTE in an aerial bombardment of Kilinochchi at 6 am. The LTTE
communiqué said that others killed in the air raid were: Lt.Col.Anpumani alias
Alex, Major Mikuthan, Captain Neathaji, Lt Aadchivel and Lt Vaakaikkumaran.
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense confirmed the death of Tamilselvlan in the
air raid.
The SLAF had stepped up its bombing of the LTTE's bases in the Wanni,
especially Kilinochchi district, where the LTTE has its headquarters, after
the Tamil militant group conducted an aerial cum ground attack on the air base
at Anuradhapura, 210 km north of Colombo on October 22, destroying more than
eight aircraft costing US$ 30 to 40 million.
Was key negotiator:
Though head of the political wing for a number of years, Tamilselvan was a
military officer himself before he was wounded in battle. Tamilselvan was
given the rank of
Brigadier, the highest in the LTTE, posthumously. The senior most position in
the LTTE's military structure is "Colonel".
Always with a walking stick, the ever smiling Tamilselvan was a competent
public speaker. He was known for good public relations. He is the LTTE leader
who met
foreign diplomats and journalists on behalf of the LTTE.
A close confidante of the LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, Tamilselvan had
led the LTTE's delegation at peace talks with the Sri Lankan government after
the
political eclipse and later the death of the group's ideologue, Anton
Balasingham.
Tamilselvan was a moderate!
SP Tamilselvan, the Head of the LTTE's political wing, who was killed in
Kilinochchi on Friday in an air raid conducted by the Sri Lankan Air Force
(SLAF), was a political moderate, LTTE watchers say.
"Though he had been a military man for very many years since joining the LTTE
in 1984, Tamilselvan could be considered a political moderate in the context
of the
LTTE's overall militant orientation," a source who had interacted with him
closely told Hindustan Times.
As many young Tamil men did in the years following the anti-Tamil pogrom in
Colombo in 1983, Tamilselvan joined the then nascent armed struggle. He took
part in several military operations in North Sri Lanka, including the abortive
bid to storm the Elephant Base base camp in 1992 and the battles in Pooneryn.
He was
wounded in the stomach and the leg and had to be retired from active military
service.
Tamilselvan's social background was humble, but seeing his potential for being
an intelligent and articulate political activist, LTTE chief Prabhakaran began
to groom
him as a successor to Thileepan who had died in a fast unto death campaign
against the activities of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in the late
eighties.
Tamilselvan did not speak English, nor was he an ideologue, unlike the Late
Dr.Anton Balasingham. Therefore, as long as Balasingham was physically fit and
enjoyed the confidence of Prabhakaran, Tamilsevlan had to play second fiddle
as far as the foreign media and the international community were concerned.
Courtesy:
http://www.hindustantimes.com!
http://www.tamileelamnews.com/news/publish/tns_8873.shtml
Sri Lanka: Tiger Assassination Blows Sri Lankan Peace to
Pieces!
Mr. S.P Tamilselvan, the Head of the LTTE's political wing, who was
assassinated in the rebel held town of Kilinochchi on Friday by the Sri Lankan
Air Force (SLAF), is seen as an impeccable body blow to the peace in Sri Lanka
observers and diplomats say.
Hailing the assassination of the Tamil Tigers chief negotiator and Political
Wing head and five other LTTE officials on Friday, Sri Lankan Defense
Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa said his government would kill other LTTE
leaders ‘one by one’.
For more than a decade Thamilselvan has been the public face of the Tigers -
heading its political wing and attending almost all the peace talks with the
Sri Lankan government.
Often described by the diplomats as a 'friendly face', Western diplomats and
Indian officials who spoke to TNS warned that his death could complicate an
already complex situation in Sri Lanka, stifling even the marginal hopes of
restarting negotiations between the LTTE and Colombo.
"Thamilchelvan's killing wipes out the institutional memory of the peace talks
of recent years” a diplomat in Colombo said. “Who are the Sri Lankans going to
talk to now? This is the real problem.”
“It is a huge blow to negotiations. With Balasingham dead, Thamilchelvan would
have played a key role in any future negotiations” added another diplomat.
Some Indian officials warned that this could trigger a tit-for-tat response
from the LTTE. “This is going to spiral everything,' said one official.’The
LTTE will argue that while it is targeting the Sri Lankan military people, the
Sri Lankans have killed a key political personality.”
A celebratory party was organized by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapakse in his official residence, at Temple Trees upon hearing the news of
the assassination of the Tamil Tigers chief negotiator and Political Wing
head. Along with President’s brother and Defense Secretary, many other
military and political leaders were invited to celebrate the event.
Sources said Defense Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa made his comments, quoted
by Reuters, at a celebratory meeting at Temple Trees. Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa
welcomed the news of the killings of Mr. Thamilchelvan and the others, and
said the Sri Lankan military would pick off the rest of the Tigers' leaders
one by one.
The Hindustan Times of India described SP Tamilselvan as a moderate. "Though
he had been a military man for very many years since joining the LTTE in 1984,
Tamilselvan could be considered a political moderate in the context of the
LTTE's overall militant orientation," said Hindustan Times.
Sri Lanka’s largest Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA)
Friday expressed its shock at the killing in a government air strike of Mr. S.
P. Thamilchelvan the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator and head of its Political Wing
and five other LTTE officials.
The TNA said the targeted killing of the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator underlined
President Mahinda Rajapakse’s insincerity towards a negotiated solution.
Speaking to TNS Friday, Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, of the TNA’s Foreign
Affairs Committee said that the targeted killing of Mr. Thamilchelvan
underlined the insincerity of the Rajapakse government’s peace claims.
"The targeted killing of the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator, in our view, means there
can no longer be any illusion as to the State’s interest in negotiating a
lasting solution” he further said.
“The thing that most people will remember about Thamilselvan is his huge
smile”, said former BBC Colombo correspondent Frances Harrison in his column,
who met head of LTTE political wing SP Thamilselvan on numerous occasions
during the peace process.
The rebel leader was initially trained in India. Like many young Tamils, “he
was taken to India for training in basic military tactics, weapons handling
and sabotage techniques” said Hindustan Times. Tamilselvan joined the Rebels
in 1984 at aged seventeen and passed out in the 4th batch of the Rebel
training in India with the assistance provided by the RAW, Research and
Analysis Wing -the Indian Intelligence Services. Later, he was a key figure in
fighting the Indian peace keeping force in the late eighties in Jaffna
peninsula where he was born.
He is survived by his wife, an eight-year-old daughter and a son of four.
Courtesy:
http://www.tamileelamnews.com/news/publish/tns_8873.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7074450.stm!
Senior Tamil Tiger leader killed!
 A senior leader of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels has been killed in a
government air raid, the rebels say. SP Thamilselvan was the head of the
rebels' political wing and held an important position in their hierarchy. The
rebels said he died along with five others in an air strike by the Sri Lankan
military on Friday morning. Correspondents say the death will be a huge blow
to the rebels. Fighting between troops and the Tamil Tigers has escalated in
recent months.
The BBC's Roland Buerk in Colombo says Mr Thamilselvan was the public face of
the rebels, meeting Norwegian peace envoys and giving interviews to the media.
The rebels' top leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, has been in hiding for years.
Mr Thamilselvan's death could provoke an escalation in the civil war, our
correspondent says. How the rebels choose to retaliate also remains to be
seen. The death of SP Thamilselvan follows that of another key rebel
spokesman, Anton Balasingham, last year.
With both men dead it is not clear who would lead the Tigers in any
negotiations in the future, although few anticipate any moves towards peace
now, our correspondent adds.
'Deep sorrow'
The Tamil Tigers announced the news on their website, saying Mr Thamilselvan
had died at 0600 local time (0030 GMT) on Friday.
The Tigers have suffered a series of recent reverses
"With deep sorrow we announce to the people of Tamil Eelam, the Tamil people
living all over the world and the international community, that at 6am today,
Friday 2 November 2007... head of our organisation's political wing Brig SP
Thamilselvan was killed by the Sri Lankan air force aerial bombing," a
statement said.
"With him Lt-Col Anpumani (Alex), Major Mihuthan, Capt Nethagy, Lieutenant
Adchgivel and Lieutenant Vahaikumaran were also killed."
The pro-rebel TamilNet website said the air strike was carried out in
Kilinochchi, the rebels' northern stronghold.
Reports say Mr Thamilselvan and his colleagues were killed by the pressure of
the bomb blast which left their bodies otherwise unscathed.
Sri Lankan military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said intelligence had
confirmed that the head of the Tigers' political wing was dead.
He described the attack as a success and said the military had got rid of a
leader who was at the top of the list.
It remains unclear how the military knew of Mr Thamilselvan's whereabouts.
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother,
warned rebel leaders to beware.
"This is just a message, that we know where their leaders are... if we want we
can take them one by one," he told Reuters news agency.
War fears
Friday's air raid came after a Tamil Tiger attack on an Air Force base at
Anuradhapura last week which left 14 security forces personnel dead and
destroyed eight aircraft.
Observers say the two sides now seem to be gearing up for a major
confrontation in the north of the country.
Paikiasothy Saravanamuthu of the Centre for Policy Alternatives think-tank
said: "I think in any event we were going to see strikes and counter strikes
after the Anuradhapura attack on the Air Force base.
"I think we will see more of that. That will be the pattern of the conflict
into the future."
Despite losing territory in the east earlier this year, the rebels still
control a vast swathe of land in the north.
A 2002 ceasefire which paved the way for inconclusive peace talks has existed
on paper for more than a year.
The rebels are fighting for autonomy for minority Tamils in the north and
east, claiming discrimination by the majority Sinhalese population.
About 70,000 people have died in more than 20 years of war. Thousands have
fled their homes to escape recent fighting.
Courtesy: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7074450.stm
tamilnet.com!
LTTE leader pays respects to slain political head!
[TamilNet, Friday, 02 November 2007, 18:37 GMT] Velupillai Pirapaharan, the
leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE), paid his respects to
slain Political Head and Chief Negotiator, Brigadier S. P. Thamilchelvan
Friday evening. LTTE leader paid tribute by laying flower garlands on the
remains in the Tamileelam flag draped caskets of Brigadier S.P. Thamilchelvan
and Lt. Col. Anpumani (Alex) at the slain leader's house in Ki'linochchi town
Courtesy:tamilnet.com |
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