by Our Defence Correspondent
LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran warned this week that Tiger cadres who surrender to the armed forces would be hunted down and killed, no matter where they settle down in the government-controlled part of the country, according to sources in the Wanni.

A special LTTE intelligence unit has been detailed for the task of finding the so- called deserters and eliminating them, the Tiger chief told a gathering of cadres at a camp near Mallavi, sources said. It is likely that this includes members of the LTTE’s Pistol Squad, which has operated with some success in government — controlled towns such as Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and the Jaffna Peninsula, working singly and assassinating targeted people by using pistols and grenades.

Cadres who surrender are usually sent for rehabilitation in government rehabilitation camps, where they are taught skills to live in society. They are then released into the custody of family members who are living in government-controlled areas. As such, they are not given any protection, but generally vanish into the midst of the normal civilian population, making it extremely difficult for the LTTE to find them.

Rehabilitation Camps

It is not clear if the LTTE is planning to step up its activities in the rehabilitation camps, detention camps, and remand prisons across the country, where suspected LTTE cadres and surrendees are held on a temporary basis. In the past the Tigers have managed to destabilize some camps to a small degree by infiltrating them with a few cadres.

One such case was the Kalutara Prison, where LTTE cadres attacked and nearly killed EPDP Leader and Member of Parliament Douglas Devananda three years ago, while he was visiting detainees.

Another such case may have been the Bindunuwewa Rehabilitation Camp in Bandarawela last year, where the government claimed an LTTE agitator destabilized the camp’s functioning and drew the wrath of mobs in the area which then attacked and burned down the camp, killing a large number of Tamil youth.

Prabhakaran’s death threat to his followers was made after a sharp increase in the number of cadres who surrendered to the forces in recent months. Dozens of young cadres have turned themselves in both in battle and voluntarily, in both the north and east.

A total of 17 cadres have surrendered in the last six months, including four female cadres. All of them had joined the LTTE, as teenagers or had been brainwashed and coerced, and had become disillusioned with the LTTE.

LTTE morale

Prabhakaran is believed to be extremely worried about the level of morale among his cadres, which has hit rock bottom over the past 12 months. During this time, the Tigers have failed in every major battle in the northeast, starting last April and May when they lost thousands of cadres in the failed bid to capture Jaffna, and continuing through the army’s series of operations that pushed the Tigers back almost to Elephant Pass.

The LTTE’s recruitment drives during the past year have failed miserably, with less than 600 new cadres joining voluntarily, sources said. At the same time the Tigers have lost more than 1,500 cadres killed or severely wounded, thus severely depleting their ranks.

Prabhakaran built up the LTTE over the last three decades around a cult of death among his own cadres, making it a disgrace to surrender. Giving oneself up has long been the worst crime in the eyes of the Tiger leadership, which has sought to portray Sri Lankan soldiers as a bunch of murderers and rapists, who would kill anyone who surrendered. For many years, the army’s atrocities against Tamil civilians played right into the arms of this Tiger propaganda, but with the dramatic improvement of human rights knowledge and discipline among the troops, the number of abuses has dropped drastically especially in the last five years.

This has directly affected the Tigers’ recruitment efforts, since one of the main strong points of the LTTE was the cruelty of government forces. To have Tamil civilians seeing that surrendees are treated well, is counter-productive for the Tigers.

Thus their keenness that cadres should not surrender in the first place.

In the past, the Tigers have tried without success to bully the government into handing over surrendees. The Tigers still continue to demand that the government hand over the two teenaged girls who surrendered to the navy when they were found in the sea off the coast of Jaffna four years ago.

Meanwhile the LTTE continued its urgent effort to vacate various premises in the United Kingdom, expecting that the British government will begin a crackdown any day now.

Terrorism Act 2000

On Wednesday, the House of Lords voted to pass the Terrorism Act 2000, the law proscribing 21 terrorist organisations, which includes the LTTE. None of the lords had spoken in defence of the LTTE, but reference was made to the Tigers during an unsuccessful objection to the proscription of an Iranian group.

"The People’s Mujahaddin of Iran cannot pursue its goal of a secular democratic state by peaceful means... On the other hand the LTTE in Sri Lanka, like other Tamil political parties, could have worked through the political system. There is on offer in that state a substantial devolution package which gives wide powers of self-government, or would do, in a Tamil-elected agency in the majority areas which are generously defined," said Lord Avebury in his address.

The law came into effect on March 29. It is expected that British anti-terrorist units will begin raids against offices and houses occupied by these groups, within this month. However, the efforts are hampered by the sheer scale of activities in Britain of these 21 groups. The largest group in England is without doubt the LTTE, which had its main office at St. Katherine Road in London, and several dozen regional representatives in all of the country’s larger towns.

Appeal

The LTTE is still considering whether to appeal against the proscription. However, they may not do so, since there is little chance of them succeeding, and the appeal process will only bring them a lot of negative publicity. The Lord Chancellor on March 5 appointed three retired judges to constitute the new Proscribed Organizations Appeal Commission, namely Sir Murray Stuart-Smith (Chairman), Sir Harry Ognall and Sir Brian Smedley.

The LTTE exodus involves Tiger cadres initially moving across the Channel to France and the Benelux countries, until the LTTE high command decides where exactly they will be going. Huge amounts of documents and office equipment that are used for Tiger propaganda efforts, are being taken with them. The LTTE leadership is said to be extremely anxious that extensive lists giving details of Tiger fund-raising activities, propaganda activities and individuals who provide them support should not fall into the hands of authorities.