M.I.A's dad claims that Prabha misled the Tamil Struggle.

In an exclusive interview with Jennifer A. Rodrigo of Daily Mirror, the popular singer M.I.A's father Arular Arudpragasam accused of Prabhakaran of misleading Tamil struggle. “We thought we could suppress his terrorist killer inclination. I even wrote a Tamil Novel called Lanka Rani to force him out of this culture. I think we failed,” he articulated.

Excerpts from his interview with Jennifer A. Rodrigo

(March 17, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) When asked about the countless number of lives which have been lost due to the atrocities of war waged by the LTTE, he said that, his own vision for the LTTE when it was originated was not in harmony with such catastrophe.

“Although Prabhakaran was under my spell earlier on, subsequently, he came under so many other forces, inclusive of Anton Balasingham, which took him in the wrong direction; however I always believed, if an appealing solution was brought forth by the government, I could convince Prabha and make him accept the solution and end the war but unfortunately, such a solution never came.”

From the very inception, Arudpragasam stated that he could differentiate between terrorism and liberation warfare. He expressed that Prabhakaran believed in individual killing when he came into the liberation struggle. “We thought we could suppress his terrorist killer inclination. I even wrote a Tamil Novel called Lanka Rani to force him out of this culture. I think we failed,” he articulated.

Arudpragasam left Sri Lanka after his tenure as mediator in the island and entered Cambridge University to pursue Sustainability Development. He now lives in London and is the Director General and Convener of the NGO called Global Sustainability Initiative. His childhood years were spent in Jaffna predominantly but he also schooled at St. Joseph’s Bandarawela. His father was a head teacher and was also a political activist and Arudpragasam recalls growing up in an active political environment as a child. He attended University in Moscow where he read for his Masters degree in Engineering.

The Hindu on December 4, 2008 quoted Arudpragasam as having stated that the LTTE should disband itself and transform itself into a democratic force. Daily Mirror asked him if he still held such a view. “Yes,” he responded, “I have repeated this in my latest article ‘Political Realities and Political Solution to the Ethnic Problem in Sri Lanka’.” Arudpragasam had mentioned in his article that the LTTE should either join EROS or the TNA. He had further mentioned that if ever a situation arises when Prabhakaran cannot fight any further, he should inform the same to the Tamil people and disband the Tigers and allow them to join other groups. “But if he feels he can continue, then it is his duty to find the answer to the problem of overwhelming force he is facing.”

While he asserted that he has always been for meaningful devolution in the country, he sketched that transforming the LTTE into a democratic force is a difficult proposition. He believes that as long as Sonia and Congress are there, there will be problem with his leadership. “Tamil people need a leadership that will make India feel comfortable. I think Prabha should disband and retire.”

‘Is the LTTE the sole representative of the Tamil speaking populace?’ – a question, contemplated by many, to which he answered negatively. “In my view, the LTTE has about 20% support among the Tamil people but this can only be tested if LTTE contests the election. The LTTE has unnecessarily gone about imposing this position that it is the sole representative of the Tamil people and in the process of establishing this hegemony it has engaged in all sorts of artificial and fascist exercises and imposed itself to show that the Tamil people are overwhelmingly behind it.”

(Courtesy of Daily Mirror exclusive report)

-Sri Lanka Guardian