Builder of killer machine turns Santa Claus
He had many different names and many different roles to play in the past years when security forces fought a bloody separatist war.
Yet, Kumaran Pathmanathan is widely acknowledged for one important factor -- the man who helped the now militarily defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) build a powerful military machine.
So much so, an aide memoire circulated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (as it was then known) an year before the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas said he was wanted in Sri Lanka for (a) the bombing of the Central Bank, and (b) arms procurement overseas for terrorist activities in Sri Lanka.
It said: "Mr. Pathmanathan is also listed by INTERPOL for alleged involvement in the murder of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991 in Tamil Nadu." In this regard, years later, the Government granted permission for India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to record a statement from Mr. Pathmanathan in Colombo.
It acknowledges that Mr. Pathmanathan "functioned as the chief arms procurement operative of the LTTE throughout their terrorist campaign" and adds that he is "known to use several aliases and holds a number of different passports and identities to facilitate his operations and evade detection."
Today, Mr. Pathmanathan is free to roam in the very soil where the weaponry he procured was used widely to cause death and destruction.
On Christmas Day, he played a role which he perhaps would never have imagined he would do — host a Christmas party in Mullaitivu for children who were fortunate to survive the separatist war. Some of them lost their fathers and mothers or both. Not all the housing needs of those displaced have been met. Yet there was a cake in the shape of a house on the table.
One paragraph in the aide memoire sums up KP's past role with the LTTE: "KP has physically been present in all possible arms bazaars viz - manufacturing and training locations. Whether it is a manufacturing country in the former Soviet bloc, former Yugoslavia, Middle East, Africa or the Far East or a dealer market in Hong Kong, Singapore, Lebanon, Thailand or Cyprus, sales of clandestine weapons for terrorist groups, he has skilfully done the job and has through years developed systems/procedures such as using trawlers for short distance transfers. Credibility of the KP Department among the dealers is rated high due to there being no payment defaults on the post of KP. Increased movements - - movement of the LTTE shipping fleet is an ideal travel mode for him with less hassle as opposed to transiting via airports."