Since simmering tensions within the Karuna Group, the main Army-backed paramilitary group in Sri Lanka’s east, erupted into factional clashes in early May, a series of tit-for-at killings, abductions and hostage taking is continuing.
Meanwhile several cadres and prominent members of the group have fled abroad to escape the violence, reports said.
The Karuna Group is named after its leader, Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan (‘Karuna’), the renegade Tamil Tiger commander who deserted to the Sri Lanka military after his six week rebellion against the LTTE was crushed in April 2004.
Since then the Karuna Group is being supported by the military in a murderous shadow war against the LTTE and its supporters.
Two months ago it was reported that Karuna has fallen out with Pillayan, the deputy leader of the Karuna Group, officially titled the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP), in a dispute over funds and control of the group.
Pillayan has accused Karuna of misappropriating funds from the group. The TMVP is reportedly earning vast sums from extortion and kidnapping for ransom of Tamil and Muslim businessmen in Colombo and Tamil expatriates visiting Sri Lanka.
The internal dispute escalated into an internecine war several weeks ago when Karuna ordered his loyalists to hunt down and kill Pillayan and his supporters, Tamil press reports said.
According to the reports, a meeting arranged by Sri Lanka’s military for the two factions to patch up their differences resulted in a vicious shootout.
Iniyabarathy, a Karuna loyalist, shot two of his former comrades now in Pullayan’s faction - Sindujan, the Intelligence wing leader of the Karuna Group and Seelan who had led the cadres in Amparai district. Sindujan died on the spot whilst Seelan escaped with injuries.
Pillayan, described as ‘supreme’ commander of the Karuna Group was reportedly also coordinating its activities in the field on behalf of Karuna, who remains in hiding in Colombo.
According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, Pillayan is the strategist behind most of the operations carried out against the LTTE in the east while Karuna was focused on building a political platform to contest at future elections.
Following the outbreak of violence with the group Pillayan fled north with over 150 cadres loyal to him. He was helped by Sri Lankan military intelligence.
Indeed, some analysts argue that the split was engineered by the Sri Lankan military itself to make the management of the paramilitary group easier and to curb any political ambitions Karuna may have had.
As ordered by the military, Pillayan and his gunmen are now operating in Trincomalee district while rump of the Karuna Group continues to operate in Batticaloa and Amparai.
According to Pillayan loyalists, several military and political leaders of the Karuna Group, along with some 350 cadres had offered allegiance to Pillayan and joined him in Trincomalee.
“We will continue to fight against the [LTTE] but we will definitely not patch up with Karuna Amman,” told a Pillayan spokesman to the Daily Mirror in mid May.
However within a week of this statement coming out, Karuna Group spokesperson Azad Moulana announced following lengthy discussions at a face-to-face meeting Karuna and Pillayan had resolved their differences.
“It is true there were differences between the two. I’m happy to say it has been sorted and we will function as usual,” Moulana told the Daily Mirror in late May.
According to Moulana, it was agreed in the meeting that Karuna and Pillayan would continue functioning in their previous roles as the leader of the group and supreme commander respectively.
But this announcement by the Karuna spokesperson was promptly refuted by a spokesperson from Pillayan faction who told the Daily Mirror that a central committee consisting of senior TMVP officials were be formed to be the decision making body of the organization.
“It will be the central committee which will ultimately decide on financial issues and military action to be taken against the LTTE,” the Pillayan representative added.
Amid the factions’ conflicting claims a number of clashes between them have left many dead and injured. Many members of both factions also fled the eastern districts fearing reprisal from the other side.
Last week Daily Mirror, which has tracked the factional war between Karuna and Pillayan reported the latter had issued a final warning to the former giving him one month to leave the outfit or be forcefully ejected from it.
According to Pillayan loyalists the warning came after a failure to resolve the dispute and continuing misuse of TMVP funds by Karuna.
The Pillayan group further charged that Karuna was holding some of their cadres and supporters under house arrest.
In the meantime Karuna telephoned the Daily Mirror to deny there was a split.
“Some elements are attempting to divide the TMVP by making all these claims mentioned in your [paper],” Karuna said.
“There is no problem between me and Pillayan now. Everything is sorted but some people are trying to get involved in the internal matters of the TMVP to scuttle things,” he said.
But Karuna also told Daily Mirror that the position of ‘supreme commander’ was not necessary as the TMVP was aiming to be a political party without a military unit and cited the TMVP proposal to the APRC as indication of the direction the party was going in.
But yet again Karuna’s claims of patching up with Pillayan were rejected by the latter’s response.
“Pillayan wants me to tell you there is a problem and within the space of one month he himself will come out with a public statement about his split with Karuna,” a spokesman for the Pillayan group told the Daily Mirror.
“If Karuna could go ahead and remove his deputy and replace him with someone else it shows there is a problem.”
The Pillayan spokesman meanwhile said they stood ready to work with Karuna if he admitted the mistakes including the alleged killing of Pillayan loyalists and the detention of several others as a result of the split.
“But we will not wait too long,” the Pillayan faction warned.
However in the last week the factional fighting has intensified with both factions attacking each other and Karuna cadre harassing and holding hostage supporters and relatives of Pillaiyan loyalists.
An ambush by Karuna group on Pillayan group in Polanaruwa left eight dead.
As a response to this attack a pair of three wheelers carrying Karuna cadres were attacked in Pottuvil in Amparai district leaving six dead.
According to Sri Lankan media reports, Karuna’s faction is holding more than 75 Pillayan cadre in camps under extremely deplorable conditions in Ampara and Batticaloa who were on their way to Trincomalee to join Pillayan.
“Karuna’s cadres have also taken hostage some 30 females, who are mothers or wives of pro-Pillaiyan cadres who have left Karuna and are now with Pillaiyan in Trincomalee,” the sources told the Nation.
According to Sri Lankan papers many relatives of Pillayan loyalists including the wife and child of Seelan, the injured in the shoot out in early May are currently kept hostage in three camps located at Govindan Road in Batticaloa, Akkaraipattu and Vakarai.
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| Karuna (c) has fallen out with his deputy Pillayan (l) over control of the paramilitary group’s finances and command. Photo TamilNet |
The Karuna Group is named after its leader, Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan (‘Karuna’), the renegade Tamil Tiger commander who deserted to the Sri Lanka military after his six week rebellion against the LTTE was crushed in April 2004.
Since then the Karuna Group is being supported by the military in a murderous shadow war against the LTTE and its supporters.
Two months ago it was reported that Karuna has fallen out with Pillayan, the deputy leader of the Karuna Group, officially titled the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP), in a dispute over funds and control of the group.
Pillayan has accused Karuna of misappropriating funds from the group. The TMVP is reportedly earning vast sums from extortion and kidnapping for ransom of Tamil and Muslim businessmen in Colombo and Tamil expatriates visiting Sri Lanka.
The internal dispute escalated into an internecine war several weeks ago when Karuna ordered his loyalists to hunt down and kill Pillayan and his supporters, Tamil press reports said.
According to the reports, a meeting arranged by Sri Lanka’s military for the two factions to patch up their differences resulted in a vicious shootout.
Iniyabarathy, a Karuna loyalist, shot two of his former comrades now in Pullayan’s faction - Sindujan, the Intelligence wing leader of the Karuna Group and Seelan who had led the cadres in Amparai district. Sindujan died on the spot whilst Seelan escaped with injuries.
Pillayan, described as ‘supreme’ commander of the Karuna Group was reportedly also coordinating its activities in the field on behalf of Karuna, who remains in hiding in Colombo.
According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, Pillayan is the strategist behind most of the operations carried out against the LTTE in the east while Karuna was focused on building a political platform to contest at future elections.
Following the outbreak of violence with the group Pillayan fled north with over 150 cadres loyal to him. He was helped by Sri Lankan military intelligence.
Indeed, some analysts argue that the split was engineered by the Sri Lankan military itself to make the management of the paramilitary group easier and to curb any political ambitions Karuna may have had.
As ordered by the military, Pillayan and his gunmen are now operating in Trincomalee district while rump of the Karuna Group continues to operate in Batticaloa and Amparai.
According to Pillayan loyalists, several military and political leaders of the Karuna Group, along with some 350 cadres had offered allegiance to Pillayan and joined him in Trincomalee.
“We will continue to fight against the [LTTE] but we will definitely not patch up with Karuna Amman,” told a Pillayan spokesman to the Daily Mirror in mid May.
However within a week of this statement coming out, Karuna Group spokesperson Azad Moulana announced following lengthy discussions at a face-to-face meeting Karuna and Pillayan had resolved their differences.
“It is true there were differences between the two. I’m happy to say it has been sorted and we will function as usual,” Moulana told the Daily Mirror in late May.
According to Moulana, it was agreed in the meeting that Karuna and Pillayan would continue functioning in their previous roles as the leader of the group and supreme commander respectively.
But this announcement by the Karuna spokesperson was promptly refuted by a spokesperson from Pillayan faction who told the Daily Mirror that a central committee consisting of senior TMVP officials were be formed to be the decision making body of the organization.
“It will be the central committee which will ultimately decide on financial issues and military action to be taken against the LTTE,” the Pillayan representative added.
Amid the factions’ conflicting claims a number of clashes between them have left many dead and injured. Many members of both factions also fled the eastern districts fearing reprisal from the other side.
Last week Daily Mirror, which has tracked the factional war between Karuna and Pillayan reported the latter had issued a final warning to the former giving him one month to leave the outfit or be forcefully ejected from it.
According to Pillayan loyalists the warning came after a failure to resolve the dispute and continuing misuse of TMVP funds by Karuna.
The Pillayan group further charged that Karuna was holding some of their cadres and supporters under house arrest.
In the meantime Karuna telephoned the Daily Mirror to deny there was a split.
“Some elements are attempting to divide the TMVP by making all these claims mentioned in your [paper],” Karuna said.
“There is no problem between me and Pillayan now. Everything is sorted but some people are trying to get involved in the internal matters of the TMVP to scuttle things,” he said.
But Karuna also told Daily Mirror that the position of ‘supreme commander’ was not necessary as the TMVP was aiming to be a political party without a military unit and cited the TMVP proposal to the APRC as indication of the direction the party was going in.
But yet again Karuna’s claims of patching up with Pillayan were rejected by the latter’s response.
“Pillayan wants me to tell you there is a problem and within the space of one month he himself will come out with a public statement about his split with Karuna,” a spokesman for the Pillayan group told the Daily Mirror.
“If Karuna could go ahead and remove his deputy and replace him with someone else it shows there is a problem.”
The Pillayan spokesman meanwhile said they stood ready to work with Karuna if he admitted the mistakes including the alleged killing of Pillayan loyalists and the detention of several others as a result of the split.
“But we will not wait too long,” the Pillayan faction warned.
However in the last week the factional fighting has intensified with both factions attacking each other and Karuna cadre harassing and holding hostage supporters and relatives of Pillaiyan loyalists.
An ambush by Karuna group on Pillayan group in Polanaruwa left eight dead.
As a response to this attack a pair of three wheelers carrying Karuna cadres were attacked in Pottuvil in Amparai district leaving six dead.
According to Sri Lankan media reports, Karuna’s faction is holding more than 75 Pillayan cadre in camps under extremely deplorable conditions in Ampara and Batticaloa who were on their way to Trincomalee to join Pillayan.
“Karuna’s cadres have also taken hostage some 30 females, who are mothers or wives of pro-Pillaiyan cadres who have left Karuna and are now with Pillaiyan in Trincomalee,” the sources told the Nation.
According to Sri Lankan papers many relatives of Pillayan loyalists including the wife and child of Seelan, the injured in the shoot out in early May are currently kept hostage in three camps located at Govindan Road in Batticaloa, Akkaraipattu and Vakarai.
