TAMILEELA MAKKAL VIDUTHALAI PULIKAL

'Tamileela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal'(TMVP) (Tamil: 'தமிழீழ மக்கள் விடுதலைப்புலிகள்', English: 'Tamileela Peoples Liberation Tigers') is an unregistered political party and paramilitary group formed in 2004 by break-away LTTE Military Head of Batticaloa district V. Muralitharan (Colonel Karuna). Karuna led a split in LTTE in 2003, breaking away a chunk of the organization in the eastern part of Sri Lanka and adding another organization to the long-running Sri Lankan civil war. The president of TMVP is Colonel Karuna and the general secretary G.E. Gnanarajah. The group is believed to be working with the Sri Lankan army. They have been actively recruiting children to combat the LTTE and have committed many human rights violations.

Contents

Political

Break up with the LTTE

Human Rights Violations

General Rights Violations

Connection with the Army

See also

References

External links

Political

The TMVP is an unregistered political party in Sri Lanka. The party has discarded the "tiger" emblem, the armed struggle for a separate state and decided in 2007 to use the 'fish' as its election symbol, capitalizing on the fame of the 'Batticaloa singing fish'.

Break up with the LTTE

The break-up between the LTTE and the Batticaloa-based Karuna group happened during 2004.Together with Indian-based Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front, TVMP has formed Tamileela Iykkiya Viduthalai Munnani as a united front. The purported aim and the motive of the party are to safeguard the rights of Tamils within the district of Batticaloa.
The party president has consented his willingness to contest the forthcoming elections, and to enter the democratic political process.^[1]

Human Rights Violations

General Rights Violations

The group has been accused by many Human rights including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and NGOs of recruiting children , torture, assassinations and engaging in extortion in its war against the LTTE. Human Rights Watch has claimed that from June 2006 to December 2006 they have forcefully recruited several hundred children
.
TMVP was also involved in kidnappings for ransom of wealthy, predominantly Tamil, businessmen to raise money in Colombo and other towns. Some businessmen were killed because their family could not pay the ransom. Media has reported that these abductions were linked to the Security forces in these abductions, either directly facilitating them or providing a cover and not taking any action against them. One such abducted man reported that while he was being transported, from his workplace in Colombo, his abduction vehicle came across Army checkpoints but was not rescued.
RSF (Reporters Without Borders), has accused the TMVP of acting as death squads to muzzling local journalists and to silence those who oppose his point of view. ^[2]. The group is also accused of taking part in death squad activity against civilians^[3]

Connection with the Army

The group is also believed to be actively working with the Sri Lankan Army. In one incident, the children who were abducted by the TMVP cadres were being held in a store across a Sri Lankan military camp. The parents of the abducted children pleaded with the military but no actions were taken. It was reported that two army men talked to the TMVP cadres and then walked away
. Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch said, “The government is fully aware of the abductions but allows them to happen because it’s eager for an ally against the Tamil Tigers”. The Human Rights Watch further added that it would be impossible to transport abducted children without the complicity of the Sri Lankan Army. In addition, civilians claimed seeing many TMVP cadres at Army checkpoints and claimed that they checked ID's of the people. ^[4]. The Human Rights Watch further claimed that they saw a top Karuna Eastern commander riding atop an army personnel carrier. They also claimed that Armed Karuna cadre openly roamed the streets in Batticaloa district in sight of security forces, and in some cases they jointly patrolled with the police. .Two children who escaped from the TMVP later surrendred to the Sri Lankan Army. The children were taken back to the TMVP camp by the Sri Lankan Army and was later beaten to death. ^[5]. Another such incident happened in Trincomalee where the abducted children by the TMVP were taken to a Sri Lankan Navy check point. Soon the Sri Lankan Navy personnel came on motorcycles and escorted the Karuna men and their abducted children to the TMVP office. TMVP also actively participated in killing on INGO workers. Ragunathan Ramalingam, a worker for the International INGO (World Concern), was asked to come to a Navy checkpoint. He was shot dead when he reached the check point. ^[6]
.

See also

★ Military use of children in Sri Lanka

References

1. Buerk, Roland. "A date with a renegade rebel Tiger", BBC News, April 4, 2007. Retrieved May 4, 2007
2. Nine recommendations for improving the state of press freedom, Reporters Without Borders (July 19 2004)
3. University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), "When Indignation is Past and the Dust Settles", Special Report No. 21, May 15, 2006. Retrieved April 5, 2007
4.
5. UTHR
6. The Choice between Anarchy and International Law with Monitoring

External links

★ Party website

★ Voice of East