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New leader of Tamil Tigers puts an end to armed struggle
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the armed movement that has fought for the independence of the Tamil territory in Sri Lanka for the last 25 years, has declared it is to abandon violence to open a new stage of political struggle. Selvarasa Pathmanathan made the announcement recently after being appointed new LTTE chief. Former historical leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, was killed by the Sri Lankan army during last May's military offensive.
Pathmanathan, former LTTE's head of international relations, has said that his movement will not resort to arms anymore. He further added that he will reformulate its administrative structures and modify the forms and strategies of the liberation struggle. According to The Guardian, the movement will "reorganize on democratic principles". In a press release, the LTTE new executive has stated that "the ultimate goal of a free Tamil Eelam has not changed".
The Sri Lanka government has accused Selvarasa Pathmanathan of running an international weapons smuggling ring to supply LTTE with arms in the past. Colombo has already appealed to foreign countries to seek and arrest the newly appointed leader.
Meanwhile, the condition of about 280,000 civilian refugees who have been displaced because of the recently ended conflict is worsening. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said that the International Monetary Fund needs to change its approach towards the island, as it has approved a US$2.6 billion stand-by loan for Sri Lanka. According to HRW, the fact that a loan is approved while having "hundreds of thousands of people penned up in detention camps is a reward for bad behavior, not an incentive to improve". HRW has added that the Sri Lanka government is illegally detaining Tamil civilians and has failed to "investigate attacks on journalists and civil society activists and have instead accused them of being in league with the LTTE, equating dissent with treason".
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