The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has planned to form a “broad-based coalition" of parties and forces opposed to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), according to V. Anandasangaree, general secretary of the party.
It was against this backdrop that the move of Vinayagamoorthi Muralidaran, popularly called Karuna, to quit the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and join the proposed front had to be viewed, Mr. Anandasangaree told The Hindu on Tuesday.
Mr. Muralidaran, who was the commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the eastern region covering Batticaloa, Amparai and Trincomalee till his defection in April 2004, is now vice-president of the SLFP.
‘Abduction for recruitment’ charge
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in its September 2015 report on allegations of human rights violations and war crimes during a seven-year period (2002-2009) of the Eelam War, blamed a paramilitary group belonging to him for having indulged in “widespread abduction and forced recruitment, particularly of children,” after the split with the LTTE. During the previous Rajapaksa regime, he was the Deputy Minister for Resettlement.
Asked why he chose the TULF despite the fact that the Front had suffered several electoral setbacks, Mr. Muralidaran replied that “the TULF is the bedrock of Tamil politics in this country. As I do not like the kind of politics being played by the TNA, I have decided to work along with the Front. In this regard, I have held discussions with Mr. Anandasangaree.”
On the OHCHR’s comments about the former LTTE’s eastern commander, the TULF leader said he was not aware of the details.
