Prabhakaran had plans beyond Lanka: Rajapaksa

Slain LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran had ambitions beyond Sri Lanka and he wanted to become the “King of Tamil Eelam” with support from some elements in South India, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said.

Rajapaksa said the huge accumulation of lethal weapons by the Tamil Tiger chief suggested that Prabhakaran was looking beyond the island country to run his own nation.

“He (Prabhakaran) had a larger dream. Sri Lanka ... I don’t think (it was merely Sri Lanka). He had a larger vision where he wanted to become the king of Tamil Eelam,” Rajapaksa said in an interview with a TV channel.

“Otherwise to fight our Sri Lankan army, I don’t think he needed all these weapons. He had some sympathisers in South India. His idea was beyond Sri Lanka,” he said.
Rajapaksa said the recent arrest of LTTE leader Kumaran Pathmanathan, was “very important” for Sri Lanka and that he will be able to reveal how the LTTE managed to procure a large number of sophisticated weapons from overseas — be it with the assistance of the Tamil diaspora or any other sources.

“I think that some of these leaders can answer them. I think Pathmanathan can answer this question. Who got the weapon. Who gave them the money. Who spoke to them. He might be able to tell us. I think the truth of the entire network could come out.. I hope at least this will happen.”

The President said the international community must help Sri Lanka crack down on the international financing arm of the LTTE.

He said it was the responsibility of all countries to combat terror, be it under “Rajapaksa model” or “Bush model”.

In the interview, the president reiterated that the solution to the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka should be a “home-grown solution” and not one that is formulated on the basis on solutions from other countries.

“Devolution (of power to provinces) can be done. We have that in our constitution. We want to introduce a new chamber to share power with the minorities and the provinces.”


Ruling party wins Jaffna polls

In the first post war elections in Sri Lanka after the defeat of the LTTE, a pro-Tiger party on Sunday won the municipal poll in Vavuniya, an indication that the separatists still attract popular support, even as President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s coalition won the prestigious Jaffna local elections, reports PTI from Colombo.

 The ruling United Party Freedom Alliance (UPFA), however, registered a landslide victory in the Sinhala dominated Central Uva Provincial Council elections.