Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) deserves death sentence and not 100 acres

by Malin Abeyatunge

(March 19, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Is Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) worth more than a Dead Tamil Tiger? If the latest report to say that KP will be rewarded with 100 acres is true, there is something wrong somewhere with the Government’s attitude towards KP. The public would like to know what information the Government has managed to extract from KP so far to reward KP with a NGO ( Is the central Bank monitoring the funds this NGO gets?) and 100 acres. The public would wish to know whether the Govt. has captured with the help of KP any of LTTE’s remaining ships after the defeat of LTTE militarily. We are thankful for the excellent naval operations during the peak of LTTE power which destroyed six or seven LTTE floating warehouses of illegal arms (ships) in the mid seas. Nothing is heard of the remaining LTTE ships after the war albeit man behind the scene KP has been in custody for over an year but treated not as a terrorist but a right royal.

There are some pertinent questions that need answers. Has the Government managed to get enough information from KP about the kingpins of various dubious LTTE fronts spread in the western world? Has the Government managed to get any access to LTTE’s illegal and legal businesses thro KP? Who are the western politicos, journalists and sympathizers like Bruce Fein in LTTE’s payroll and perks? Are there any local NGOs, politicians and journalists who have been receiving kickbacks from LTTE? Has the Government managed to get enough details of KPs modus operandi of procuring arms and shipping them to LTTE areas ? KP should have answers for all these queries.

We shouldn’t forget that KP is a shrewd and cunning as a fox and can never be trusted. It appears that he is taking the Government for a ride. He was the chief financial wizard of LTTE international operations with several foreign passports, fake visas, carrying many aliases and flying from one country to another evading all the securities of the countries he passed by. He was the king pin of the LTTE in procuring illegal arms for LTTE. We should not forget that he even made a last minute attempt to save Prabhakaran by secretly negotiating with Eric Solheim and a top notch UN official (Under Secretary John Holmes) to stop the war operations launched by the Sri Lankan forces.

Sri Lankan people admired the way our intelligence services with the right guidance of the Defense Secretary Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrested KP while on a foreign Soil. There is no doubt that this was a smart operation. But the resources spent to arrest KP will be down in the drain if we cannot get any important information from him. It is no doubt that KP is maintained at a terrible cost to the Government and for what? We have also become a laughing stock among the western countries who have been protecting LTTE that while the SL Govt. is requesting other countries to return the LTTE suspects who had been trying to enter as asylum seekers, whilst the next big terrorist to Prabhakaran is being treated right royally. No wonder Sarath Fonseka who was a partner of the war operations against LTTE is fuming with anger.

Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP as we all know is the person who procured arms for LTTE to prolong the war that killed thousands of innocent civilians. For the brutal crimes committed by LTTE, KP is equally guilty as Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and other top rank LTTE activists dead and alive in the LTTE hierarchy. He deserves death sentence and not reward of 100 acres. Who knows that KP will run a de facto regime in the area of 100 acres in Wanni collecting and consolidating the LTTE hardcore who may be still in hiding and launch another insurgency against Sri Lankan governments.