COLOMBO: Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Colonel Karuna, who was the LTTE’s Commander for Batticaloa and Amparai districts till he defected to the Sri Lankan government side in 2004, has expressed a willingness to join the moderate and pro-India Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) led by the veteran Tamil politician, V.Anandasangaree.
“I wish to join the TULF. I am currently consulting others. I expect to announce a decision soon,” Karuna told Express on Monday.
Asked why he had chosen the TULF over the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which is the dominant Tamil party in the Tamil speaking Northern and Eastern Provinces, Karuna said that while the TULF, under the leadership of Anandasangaree, has been consistent in its policies, the TNA has been changing its stance to suit political exigencies.
“The TNA has been misleading the Tamil people. It took one stand to get the Tamils‘ votes and another after getting their votes. Having got the post of Leader of Opposition, TNA MPs are now Yes Men of the government. The TULF, on the contrary, has had one policy throughout,” Karuna said.
Supports Indian Model
Asked specifically if he subscribes to the TULF’s contention that the best solution to the Lankan Tamil question lies in the adoption of the Indian model of devolution to the provinces, Karuna said that he agrees with the TULF on this.
“I have spoken in parliament on the need to implement the 13 th.Amendment of the Lankan constitution which stemmed from the India-Lanka Accord of 1987,” he said.
Karuna, who is currently in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), is expected to resign soon. When Mahinda Rajapaksa was Lankan President, Karuna was a Vice President of SLFP, an MP, and Deputy Minister of Rehabilitation. Prior to that he was founder-leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP),which he founded in 2004 after splitting from LTTE leader Prabhakaran. The TMVP became an unofficial pro-government paramilitary group. Karuna was eventually ousted from the TMVP by his deputy, Pillayan.