SL defence sources report that the LTTE's self appointed new leader KP has been arrested by authorities in Thailand, where he had been domiciled for a long time.
Though KP made concilliatory noises about a peaceful struggle for a seperate state, it was known that the Tamil Tiger procurement channels were buzzing yet again, collecting arms for a possible resumption of terrorism in Sri Lanka. As recently as a two weeks ago a shipment of arms is suspected to have been recieved by KP's operatives in Thailand from North Korea.
KP's arrest and potential neutralization opens the door for a further alienation of the remaining Tamil Tiger supporters from the moderates who are now attempting to regroup for a more democratic approach towards achieving greater autonomy for areas they call traditional tamil homelands. Remaining hardliners are now more likely to pursue an even more extreme approach leading towards further conflict with the Sri Lankan government, which has already proven its ample superiority in this game. Recent changes made to bring all of Sri Lanka's armed services under one structure for greater functional effectiveness puts the island nation's security apparatus in adequate readiness for any such eventuality. A resurgence of violence will also strengthen the hand of the hawks in the government.
While the news of KP's arrest is still new, prospects for his extradition to Sri Lanka will remain to be seen. India's previous demands for his arrest and extradition in connection with the Rajiv Gandhi assasination for which an outstanding Interpol warrant is still pending may take precedence over any requests from Sri Lanka.
No comments:
Post a Comment