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 Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP, the declared leader of the LTTE after the death of Velupillai Prabakaran in an interview with ‘Island’ says new strategies should be employed to meet new challenges for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. He says the Diaspora must realize the ground situation in a post-war era and act accordingly. The absence of military power would make things easy he points out.
KP said he had launched a new outfit called “The North-East Rehabilitation and Development Organization' (NERDO) and said it was “ready to play a key role in the rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement processes.” He said NERDO was engaged in various activities in support of the Tamil-speaking people and its main office was situated at No 10, 1st Lane, Kathiresu Road, Vairavaputiyankulam, Vavuniya.
He also said they were appealing for funds - $1 from each Tamil living abroad on a monthly basis. To facilitate fund- raising activity they had recently opened an account at the Vavuniya branch of the Commercial Bank said KP. KP said they were working with several ministries “including Defense, External Affairs and the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation."
According to KP the turning point in the Eelam war IV was the “Multi-pronged al-Qaeda 9/11 attack on the U.S. He said there were many other factors, but the primary reason was nothing but the rapid rise of al-Qaeda, which prompted the West to change its attitude.
Talking about his capture and bringing him to Sri Lanka KP says, “From Katunayake, I was driven to the residence of Defense Secretary Gotabhaya in Colombo, where I had the opportunity to meet the man widely believed to be an indefatigable and brilliant strategist. But within minutes, he allayed my fears and we had some tea and cake before I left the place. With the blessings of the Defense Secretary, I brought nine Diaspora activists from Canada, UK, France, Switzerland, Australia and Germany to explore the possibility of cooperating in relief efforts.”
Meanwhile, Government spokesman and Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella says, existing laws allow the government to use Kumaran Padmanathan as a state witness saying that “KP has been a great asset to the Govt.”
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