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Sri Lanka - Tamil Tigers
Acting Tamil Tiger leader arrested in Malaysia
Article published on the 2009-08-07 Latest update 2009-08-07 14:08 TU
One of the few known pictures of Selvarasa Pathmanathan
(Photo : Wikipedia)
Sri Lanka has announced that it has arrested the acting head of the Tamil Tigers, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, or KP, The Sri Lankan Defence Ministry said he was "taken into custody by Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities" in a statement on Friday.
Pathmanathan vowed to revive the Tigers following its military defeat in May and the death of leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Sri Lankan media reported that the arrest had taken place in Thailand, but Thai authorities said that in fact Pathmanathan was seized in Kuala Lumpur. Thai government spokesperson Panitan Wattanayagorn told the AFP news agency that intelligence chiefs had confirmed "that KP was arrested in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday night and he was transferred to Sri Lanka via Bangkok airport". But police in Malaysia claim no knowledge of the arrest.
Pathmanathan is wanted by Interpol on gun-running charges and by the Indian government for the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, India's former Prime Minister killed by a Tamil suicide bomber in 1991.
He was believed to be in control of the overseas operations and assets of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and oversaw a lucrative fund-raising network among expatriate Tamils.
After the military leadership of LTTE was crushed in Sri Lanka in May, Pathmanathan announced he would reorganise the rebel group overseas. He said he wanted to create a global network with himself at the head.
He was known to be in Thailand during peace talks with Sri Lankan representatives in 2002 and 2003, and gave interviews with British media following the Tamil defeat.
 Tamil Tiger chief Pathmanathan arrested |
