^{ABOVE: Photo that is claimed to be of Nediyavan}

The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) led by the Norway-based Nediyavan is the real reincarnation of the LTTE, and not the US-based outfit led by Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, which is trying to establish a Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), says Prof.Rohan Gunaratna, the Singapore-based expert on terrorism.

Gunaratna, who heads the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism at Nanyang University in Singapore, told Express that Rudrakumaran has a better understanding of politics and is therefore more likely to negotiate a settlement with the Sri Lankan government than Nediyavan, who is a hardcore LTTE man.

Nediyavan, who had studied in Moscow, ended up being deputy to Castro, the LTTE’s chief fund manager.

“In due course Rudrakumaran will realise that a Transnational Government is a pipedream like an independent Tamil Eelam and will start talks with the Sri Lankan government,” Gunaratna predicted.

He pointed out that all those Tamils who had voted in the recent TGTE elections are citizens of countries other than Sri Lanka, and that 90 percent of these will not come back to their ancestral homeland. 

The expert characterised Rudrakumaran, a US-based attorney and son of a former Mayor of Jaffna, as a “cautious person” who keeps within the law, unlike Nediyavan’s followers.

BTF MORE DANGEROUS THAN TGTE

According to Gunaratna, the British Tamil Forum (BTF) is a handmaiden of the GTF and Fr.Immanuel, who heads the BTF, is a “puppet” of Nediyavan. “Fr.Immanuel preaches ethnic hatred not reconciliation,” Gunaratna said.

Yet, the former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and several MPs had addressed the GTF on February 25 in London.The BTF is therefore more dangerous for Sri Lankathan the TGTE.

DOOR OPEN FOR ARMS SMUGGLER ANANDARAJAH TOO  

As for the Sri Lankan government, it is ever ready for talks with anyone giving up violence and opting for negotiations, Gunaratna says.

“Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a man with a mission who knows when to use military means and when to talk peace. If it is necessary to bring about lasting peace, the Secretary of Defence will negotiate even with those LTTE leaders who had committed heinous crimes. After all they too are Sri Lankans, though misguided,” he said.

Doors for talks are open even for a man like Ponnaiah Anandarajah, the LTTE’s top arms procurer, who had smuggled more than 10,000 tonnes of armaments between 1996 and 2009, Gunaratna said.

AMNESTY FOR LTTE CADRE

The expert regretted that Western governments are turning a blind eye to the fact that Sri Lanka has given “amnesty” to over 10, 000 hardcore LTTE cadre who had surrendered.

“These LTTE cadre are in the process of being rehabilitated and absorbed into society, and that is like getting amnesty,” he explained.