Why is KP so important? Widely known as the LTTE's 'Finance Minister', he was in India when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE. The report of the Jain Commission has been lambasted for shoddy research, so that may or may not be considered an authoritative account of the circumstances in which the conspiracy to kill the former Prime Minister was launched.India woke up to hear last week that KP had been arrested in Thailand. Indians read newspapers to find out that KP -- actually Shanmugam Kumaran Tharmalingham aka Kumaran Pathmanathan -- was a key LTTE leader in charge of weapons smuggling and believed to be living in Thailand and Cambodia, although otherwise, a naturalised Eritrean citizen. We were told he was on the list of Interpol's most-wanted terrorists, sought for his participation in terrorism and the murder of Rajiv Gandhi.
It was fortuitous that the entire Interpol brass happened to be in New Delhi at the time, attending a conference. "KP? We still have to figure out if it is KP," said CBI Director Vijay Shankar, who was attending the conference as India's representative. Excessive caution? Certainly, but then intelligence has never been India's strong point in its dealings with the LTTE. Deputy Chief of Thailand's Special Branch police, Maj-Gen Trithot Ronnaritwichai, also denied that Padmanathan, better known as KP, had been arrested. "I have checked with all divisions concerned. Nobody has information about arresting any Sri Lankan man," he said. True, but then KP is not Sri Lankan. Finally, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee clarified that the arrested person was not KP.
There are two things that stand out about the whole incident: One, that the arrested person was of Tamil origin, living in Thailand; second, that he was caught when he was buying weapons from a Thai national. Why did authorities think he was KP? Because of a newspaper report. India has been after KP for a long time and if it were indeed him, it would be taking no chances at letting him slip through the dragnet.
Why is KP so important? Widely known as the LTTE's 'Finance Minister', he was in India when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE. The report of the Jain Commission has been lambasted for shoddy research, so that may or may not be considered an authoritative account of the circumstances in which the conspiracy to kill the former Prime Minister was launched. But in 1998, a Senate select sub-committee, headed by Senator John Kiri, indicated transfer of large amounts of funds from the accounts of an international arms dealer to those held by persons close to the LTTE during 1990-91.
The transactions were made through the now-defunct Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) around the same period in which Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. A book, with a foreword by former CBI Director Vijay Karan who supervised the Special Investigation Team's probe into Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, also carries several secret documents on the LTTE and threat perceptions on the late Prime Minister from the Intelligence Bureau. One of the notes speaks of a coded message, dated 10 months before Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, received from Kuala Lumpur from one K Padmanathan alias KP to LTTE chief V Prabhakaran. In the note, IB identified KP as "the person in charge of raising funds (for LTTE) abroad and also in charge of their hawala transactions".
KP's name also figured in the transfer of the parts of the Czech-built Zlin aircraft, which has haunted Sri Lanka. So, it is not hard to understand why India's security agencies were so edgy as to believe a newspaper report that the arrested person was KP. There is another background to it. Most people don't realise this, but LTTE has been active in Thailand for two decades and has used that country to acquire weapons, training of its cadre and a transit country for weapons smuggling. It has established several front companies and has a broad net of contacts in shipping, military, police and arms dealers. The front companies include shipping companies, trading firms, restaurants and hotels.
In January 2000, Thai Police seized a trawler near Ranong, carrying Carl Gustav rocket launchers. The incident, which was hushed up, involved a link-up among the LTTE, anti-Yangon Karen guerrillas and the Arakan Liberation Party. Thereafter, Thai newspapers reported that three LTTE operatives were arrested in the Ranong province in Thailand on May 12, 2003, with 10 Glock pistols and three HK Mark 23 pistols. They pleaded guilty and received a five year jail sentence in November 2003. Following this, 14 Thais were arrested, including eight police and military officers. Former Thai Army Chief Gen Surayudh Chulanont was so fed up that he complained to Thailand newspapers that the Tigers were running front companies in that country as smokescreens for arms purchases.
If more evidence is needed of LTTE activities in Thailand, there is the report in the local newspapers about an individual, a Norwegian citizen, Christy Reginold Lawrence, who was arrested on April 9, 2000, by Phuket Marine Police. He was driving his 17-metre long speedboat loaded with food and petrol heading for international waters. When the police accompanied him to his shipyard, they found a half-built mini-submarine. Maybe this is a fanciful and exaggerated description, but its hull was 3.6 metre and the tail, which had a rudder and was designed to hold a propeller, was 1.6-metre long. Thai Police also discovered sophisticated sonar and GPS systems, satellite phones, combat training videos in Tamil, LTTE calendars and uniforms. Lawrence was released on bail put up by the Norwegian Government.
Look at a map. Where is Phuket and where is Mullaithivu, the heartland of the Tigers? Draw a straight line and one will find that the two towns are closer to each other than one thinks. This is why some years ago, Vice-Governor of Phuket province Manit Nattanasaen said: "Phuket is just the channel for arms shipments and mostly the deals are done on the high seas. Now we are trying to find a more aggressive strategy on the seas."
There is plenty of drugs and money floating around in neighbouring Myanmar. And the weapons have surfaced that went underground after insurgencies in South-East Asia, especially Cambodia, were dismantled. Thailand and Cambodia are the second most important arms markets after Afghanistan and African nations like Sierra Leone.
KP slipped the Indian dragnet when the conspiracy to kill Rajiv Gandhi was uncovered. He has a bounty of $ 500,000 on his head and both India and Sri Lanka want him. It will be a sad day for both countries if, after he is released, India and Sri Lanka discover that the man was indeed KP and that he has escaped yet again.
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse has consistently asked India to play a more proactive role in resolving the ethnic conflict. This is where a beginning could be made -- cooperation in counter-terrorism. The Rajapakse regime continues its flight of fancy in seeking a military solution. India must disabuse Colombo of using this tried option, while actively pursuing avenues towards a dignified power-sharing arrangement in the tortured tear-shaped island.
It was fortuitous that the entire Interpol brass happened to be in New Delhi at the time, attending a conference. "KP? We still have to figure out if it is KP," said CBI Director Vijay Shankar, who was attending the conference as India's representative. Excessive caution? Certainly, but then intelligence has never been India's strong point in its dealings with the LTTE. Deputy Chief of Thailand's Special Branch police, Maj-Gen Trithot Ronnaritwichai, also denied that Padmanathan, better known as KP, had been arrested. "I have checked with all divisions concerned. Nobody has information about arresting any Sri Lankan man," he said. True, but then KP is not Sri Lankan. Finally, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee clarified that the arrested person was not KP.
There are two things that stand out about the whole incident: One, that the arrested person was of Tamil origin, living in Thailand; second, that he was caught when he was buying weapons from a Thai national. Why did authorities think he was KP? Because of a newspaper report. India has been after KP for a long time and if it were indeed him, it would be taking no chances at letting him slip through the dragnet.
Why is KP so important? Widely known as the LTTE's 'Finance Minister', he was in India when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE. The report of the Jain Commission has been lambasted for shoddy research, so that may or may not be considered an authoritative account of the circumstances in which the conspiracy to kill the former Prime Minister was launched. But in 1998, a Senate select sub-committee, headed by Senator John Kiri, indicated transfer of large amounts of funds from the accounts of an international arms dealer to those held by persons close to the LTTE during 1990-91.
The transactions were made through the now-defunct Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) around the same period in which Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. A book, with a foreword by former CBI Director Vijay Karan who supervised the Special Investigation Team's probe into Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, also carries several secret documents on the LTTE and threat perceptions on the late Prime Minister from the Intelligence Bureau. One of the notes speaks of a coded message, dated 10 months before Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, received from Kuala Lumpur from one K Padmanathan alias KP to LTTE chief V Prabhakaran. In the note, IB identified KP as "the person in charge of raising funds (for LTTE) abroad and also in charge of their hawala transactions".
KP's name also figured in the transfer of the parts of the Czech-built Zlin aircraft, which has haunted Sri Lanka. So, it is not hard to understand why India's security agencies were so edgy as to believe a newspaper report that the arrested person was KP. There is another background to it. Most people don't realise this, but LTTE has been active in Thailand for two decades and has used that country to acquire weapons, training of its cadre and a transit country for weapons smuggling. It has established several front companies and has a broad net of contacts in shipping, military, police and arms dealers. The front companies include shipping companies, trading firms, restaurants and hotels.
In January 2000, Thai Police seized a trawler near Ranong, carrying Carl Gustav rocket launchers. The incident, which was hushed up, involved a link-up among the LTTE, anti-Yangon Karen guerrillas and the Arakan Liberation Party. Thereafter, Thai newspapers reported that three LTTE operatives were arrested in the Ranong province in Thailand on May 12, 2003, with 10 Glock pistols and three HK Mark 23 pistols. They pleaded guilty and received a five year jail sentence in November 2003. Following this, 14 Thais were arrested, including eight police and military officers. Former Thai Army Chief Gen Surayudh Chulanont was so fed up that he complained to Thailand newspapers that the Tigers were running front companies in that country as smokescreens for arms purchases.
If more evidence is needed of LTTE activities in Thailand, there is the report in the local newspapers about an individual, a Norwegian citizen, Christy Reginold Lawrence, who was arrested on April 9, 2000, by Phuket Marine Police. He was driving his 17-metre long speedboat loaded with food and petrol heading for international waters. When the police accompanied him to his shipyard, they found a half-built mini-submarine. Maybe this is a fanciful and exaggerated description, but its hull was 3.6 metre and the tail, which had a rudder and was designed to hold a propeller, was 1.6-metre long. Thai Police also discovered sophisticated sonar and GPS systems, satellite phones, combat training videos in Tamil, LTTE calendars and uniforms. Lawrence was released on bail put up by the Norwegian Government.
Look at a map. Where is Phuket and where is Mullaithivu, the heartland of the Tigers? Draw a straight line and one will find that the two towns are closer to each other than one thinks. This is why some years ago, Vice-Governor of Phuket province Manit Nattanasaen said: "Phuket is just the channel for arms shipments and mostly the deals are done on the high seas. Now we are trying to find a more aggressive strategy on the seas."
There is plenty of drugs and money floating around in neighbouring Myanmar. And the weapons have surfaced that went underground after insurgencies in South-East Asia, especially Cambodia, were dismantled. Thailand and Cambodia are the second most important arms markets after Afghanistan and African nations like Sierra Leone.
KP slipped the Indian dragnet when the conspiracy to kill Rajiv Gandhi was uncovered. He has a bounty of $ 500,000 on his head and both India and Sri Lanka want him. It will be a sad day for both countries if, after he is released, India and Sri Lanka discover that the man was indeed KP and that he has escaped yet again.
Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse has consistently asked India to play a more proactive role in resolving the ethnic conflict. This is where a beginning could be made -- cooperation in counter-terrorism. The Rajapakse regime continues its flight of fancy in seeking a military solution. India must disabuse Colombo of using this tried option, while actively pursuing avenues towards a dignified power-sharing arrangement in the tortured tear-shaped island.
Ashok K. Mehta is a retired major general and a highly regarded commentator on South Asian military affairs
(The Pioneer)
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