Government playing with the wrong man in the east

Sri Lanka Guardian Special Report

(August 13, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) We have information that despite a polite letter of request by Shivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan to meet India's Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, it was turned down. Even some top Indian ministers and advisers have done the same to him. The Indian premier however had meetings with a number of Tamil politicians including those supportive of the LTTE. There is a general feeling that the Eastern Province's chief minister was gently snubbed by the Indian officials.

Pillayan was more or less a ranker, rather third level, when the Karuna faction broke away from the LTTE and formed the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) in 2004.Their headquarters were in Batticaloa. Since the formation a large number of second level cadres of the TMVP were killed either by the LTTE or their agents under various guises. Pillayan become a military leader through a vacuum and hardly anyone in the TMVP knew him until he became the Supreme Commander of the party. His record in the society is claimed to be somewhat blemished and dubious, whatever they may be.

But now that he has become the chief minister of the Eastern Province and the Government of President Mahinda Rajapakse seems to have confidence in him to the extent of trusting him.

Can the government in Colombo really trust this man? Has he not used his position to effect some transfers of senior security officials some of whom were giving an excellent account of themselves? Even some Tamil intelligence agents have been affected by the activities of Pillayan. All indications are that Chief Minister Pillayan is using his office to boot out officials especially from the security services from the province either as an act of revenge or he has an ultimate agenda which may lead to terrible consequences in the east.

May be the Indian intelligence has recognized this possibility and are steering clear of him. Recently there was a sinister incident concerning the Special Task Force in the east and this was in the Panama area. There one of the regional politicians who Pillayan supports tried to attack with stones an STF camp along with villagers and some of Pillayan’s cadres. When the Sri Lanka Guardian contacted some senior officers of the STF, they refused to comment fearing that the government may not listen to them and instead there would be dire consequences to them. We understand there was even an attempt recently by Pillayan’s people to kill an informer who was working for the STF Intelligence Unit in the Poothur area. Even many good senior STF officials have been transferred by the Government on Pillayan's order.

Pillayan seems to have Prabhakaran's mentality of wanting to be the sole representative of the people of the east. This is not good for the security forces and also for the Muslim population and even the Tamils who are opposed to the TMVP.

According to ground information, key level members of the LTTE's intelligence Wing are living in the east and are close to Pillayan. Even one of the LTTE fund collectors has joined up with Pillayan as an adviser. Within the TMVP too there seems to develop a great deal of discord. The government should certainly become wary of Pillayan's machinations.

Pillayan is a veritable killing machine and several TMVP cadres have been killed by him especially in Batticaloa and Valachenai. Have we ever heard of a chief minister in any part of the world who had thrown into jail a number of his own colleagues?

Even a few cadres in the TMVP under him have been jailed in Batticaloa. We would like to ask Pillayan as to what happened to Jeewan? Over some internal conflicts early this year he was arrested in Trincomalee and jailed in Pillayan’s personal jail in Batticaloa. No one other than Pillayan knows what really has happened to him. How can the Rajapakse Government allow such state of affairs to exist in Batticaloa?

There are far too many incidents of violence, killing of police officers, Claymore blasts on security targets and serious conflicts between the TMVP and other groups have become very common. This could spread to other areas beyond Batticaloa district.

Pillayan wants to take full control of the TMVP in the style of one-party totalitarian states. Whether he is under direction from Colombo one cannot be sure but this is certainly a counter to the stand of the LTTE. It is for the minorities to consider whether they want the totalitarian brand of the LTTE or the TMVP and as for their elected representatives, they have the record of dancing to the tune of those in power and have no stands or views of their own.

The east is certainly lagging behind in development and as for humanitarian factors they hardly exist. Pillayan has become the terror king of this province. This kind of shoddy decentralization will never work especially when political power even though it is extremely limited is placed in the hands of a tyrant in arms. It will not help the Tamils at all when Pillayan wants to devour Prabhakaran and vice versa and the people are trapped in quick sands.

It is very unfortunate even the security forces that have been trained to help the people have been endangered by this man, Pillayan.
- Sri Lanka Guardian