Tale of Twin Troubles

Hariharan's Intelligence blog

Col R Hariharan
There is trouble brewing on the Tamil shores, with shock waves being felt across
Palk Strait too. At the core of the problem are the twin terror trails that are
becoming more discernable. Analsis of recent terror activities in Tamil !adu and
Sri "anka lend credence to their presence. #ne relates to the $ndian %ehadi network
and the other to the "TT&'s overseas offshoot's efforts to gain a toehold in the island
nation.
(oth have common features) obsession with a cause, motivation to carr out attacks
against all odds, and the e*istence of local and overseas networks. (oth found a
fertile ground due to the short sighted policies of the respective governments.
However, the comparison ends there. The %ehadi network in Tamil !adu seems
to have fared better due to regional votebank politics. However, the "TT& is finding
it difficult to push through its revival efforts, thanks to Sri "anka's counter measures
and the immediate suppression of an activit smacking of separatism.
Jehad in Garden of Peace
Chennai was stunned on +a ,a b two low-intensit e*plosions on the (angalore-
.uwahati superfast e*press at the cit's central station. The blasts shattered the
mth of Tamil !adu being /a garden of peace and securit0, as the state's chief
minister had claimed. A oung woman was killed and 12 others were in%ured in the
e*plosions. Analsis of the e*plosives, including fragments of the timers, showed
that the composition of the e*plosives was similar to those used b the $ndian
+u%ahideen.
Suspicion of an $S$ hand was aroused after +ohammed Sahir Hussain, a Sri "ankan
national, arrested two das before the blasts, confessed that he worked for Pakistan
$ntelligence based in its high commission in Colombo. He said he was tasked b
Amir 3ubair Siddi4ui, counsellor 5visa6 at the high commission, to
gather information on installations in Tamil !adu and 7arnataka. Hussain added
he had sent photographs and maps of 8S Consulate in Chennai and $srael Consulate
in (angalore to his handler.
Siddi4ui's name had cropped up earlier in 9:19 when Thamim Ansari, a
terror suspect, was apprehended on the wa to Tiruchi airport to catch a flight
to Colombo. Police recovered ,;,s containing visuals of the arm paragliding
training and a parade of the arm signal corps. He told the police that he was
instructed b Siddi4ui to take the videos, which also included !agapattinam port
and +adras Regimental Centre in <ellington.
=urther investigations into the Chennai blasts pointed out that Abu (acker
Siddi4ui, a member of the banned Tamil !adu outfit, Al-8mma, had carried out the
blasts. Al- 8mma's operative Panna $smail, who was in custod, also confirmed Abu
Siddi4ui's involvement.
The investigators suspect that Abu Siddi4ui was tring to reactivate Al-
8mma, which had gone into oblivion after the arrest of its leadership in 1>>?. Al-
8mma, along with other fundamentalist +uslim groups, sprouted in Tamil !adu
following the demolition of the (abri +as%id and the rise of Hindutva groups like
Hindu +unnani and ;HP in the state.
The terrorist organi@ation gained notoriet when it carried out 1A bomb blasts at
11 locations in Coimbatore, Tamil !adu, minutes before (BP leader "7 Advani was
to address his election rall on =ebruar 12, 1>>?. =ort si* people were killed and
over 9:: were in%ured in the blasts.
Outfits Lean on Politics
The ,+7 government's follow-up showed the determination to crush the terrorists
in the state. $t banned not onl the Al 8mma but also Behad Committee, another
fundamentalist bod.
7e leaders of the Behad Committee and the Tamil !adu +uslim
+unnetra 7a@agham 5T++76, a +uslim !.# believed to be founded b former
members of the banned terrorist outfit Students $slamic +ovement of $ndia 5S$+$6,
were arrested.
$n the Coimbatore blast trials, 1C? terrorists were convicted, of which 2A received
life sentences in 9::D. (ut the alleged mastermind, Abdul !asar +adani, walked
free. .iven a hero's welcome in Thiruvananthapuram 57erala6, he assured his
support to the state's "eft ,emocratic =ront 5",=6 regime and said he would work
for the welfare of ,alits and +uslims.
$n Tamil !adu, the T++7 sobered downE it broadened its agenda to include human
rights, reservation for the +uslims, administration of <a4f properties and social
securit measures for the minorities. This helped the T++7 to leverage
support during elections using the perennial confrontation between the ,+7 and
the A$A,+7.
The T++7 cloned into several parties. The Tamil !adu Thowheed Bamath
was formed as a breakawa group, which further broke up into two factionsF
$ndian Thowheed Bamath and Tamil !adu Thowheed Bamath. Another
competitive part that took birth was +anitha !ea +akkal 7atchi 5+!+76, which
is allied with the A$A,+7. $t grew because of the weakening influence of the $ndian
8nion +uslim "eague 5$8+"6, the oldest +uslim part in the state.
Get another fringe group that gained notoriet was +anitha !eethi Pasarai 5+!P6,
whose cadres were arrested in Coimbatore in 9::H for plotting serial bomb blasts
similar to the 1>>? blasts. All five cadres were ac4uitted in 9::?. The +!P has
connections with 7erala's !ational ,emocratic =ront 5!,=6, which formed the
Popular =ront of $ndia 5P=$6 with +!P and the 7arnataka for ,ignit 57=,6,
another such organi@ation, to coordinate its efforts. At present, the fundamentalist
parties in Tamil !adu seem to have more influence with the ,+7 than the
A$A,+7. This was evident when the ,+7 government released nine Al 8mma
e*tremists, sentenced to 1A ears of %ail, before the completed their sentences in
September 9::>.
There is a need to understand the morphing of the fundamentalist groups
into political parties. Though the have denounced terrorism, the tend to focus
on the politics of confrontation. Their targets include the 8S and those responsible
for attacks on +uslims, globall. This makes it important for terrorism watchdogs to
keep their activities under watch. The other aspect is to curb the foreign connections
of these mainstream parties.
Tamil Issue Resurfaces
The plight of Sri "ankan Tamils recentl became an issue in Tamil !adu. This
was compounded b the competitive politics among the ,ravidian parties, as well as
Sri "ankan President, +ahinda Ra%apaksa's poor post-war handling of issues related
to the empowerment and rehabilitation of Tamil population. Ra%apaksa's
development model focused on development of infrastructure and public services,
without ade4uate efforts to resolve the core issue of political autonom for the
Tamils. He conducted the !orthern Provincial Council 5!PC6 elections four
ears after the war on "TT& ended. And the Tamil !ational Alliance 5T!A6
government that came to power was not given a free hand even in e*ercising its
limited powers. The retention of a retired general as the governor of the province
has not helped in restoring amit.
So, it is not surprising the "TT&'s offshoot abroad is tring to take advantage to
revive its activit in Sri "anka. There are scores of distressed families of "TT&
cadres and smpathisers of Tamil &elam separatism in the !orthern Province. +ost
of the 1A,::: /rehabilitated0 "TT& cadres in Sri "anka are without emploment.
Arm still occupies chunks of private agricultural land despite promises to return
them to the rightful owners.
Terror Strikes by LTTE
According to Sri "ankan analst ,(S Beara%, there were three attempts b overseas
"TT& elements to trigger activit in Sri "anka. Significantl, there was a Tamil !adu
connection in all the three attempts.
The first attempt was discovered in +arch 91:9 after investigating the murder of a
member of the &elam People's ,emocratic Part 5&P,P, led b Cabinet +inister
,ouglas ,evananda6 in Trincomalee district. A handwritten note /death to traitors0
with the Tiger emblem was found near his bod. $ntensive interrogation of suspects
uncovered an attempt at the revival of "TT& assisted b the ;inaagam faction of
the overseas "TT&.
Thorough interrogations also brought to the fore other revival attempts assisted b
the ;inaagam faction of the overseas "TT&. 7umaran of the ;inaagam faction in
Paris recruited 1C former "TT& cadres in Tamil !adu and organi@ed them into three
cells of five members each. #ne of these cells was sent to Trincomalee in the &astern
Province of Sri "anka in order to carr out the killing of the &P,P cadre in +arch
9:19.
The second attempt at "TT&'s revival was uncovered in ,ecember 9:19 when a
former "TT& cadre was arrested in Colombo. $t led to the startling discover of /a
clandestine campaign0 underwa in Tamil !adu to recruit Sri "ankan Tamil ouths
smpathetic to the Tamil &elam cause and indoctrinate them with the "TT&
ideolog.
This was being financed b the overseas "TT& elements. (ased on the information
provided b Sri "anka, Tamil !adu police raided a house in Pammal on the
outskirts of Chennai and arrested four occupantsFS Suresh 7umar, , 8daa ,oss,
T +aheswaran and 7 7rishnamurthF in ,ecember 9:19. Suresh 7umar headed an
"TT& team that made e*plosives. Police recovered documents, electronic circuit
boards and panels from the house.
$n +arch 9:12, the +inistr of ,efense in Sri "anka ordered the free@ing of all
funds, assets and economic resources belonging to 1H Tamil diaspora organi@ations
and 292 select individuals, /believedI. to be committing, attempting to commit,
facilitating or participating, in the commission of acts of terrorism.0 A .a@ette
&*traordinar notification, signed b the defense secretar on +arch 9:, 9:12,
listed them in accordance with the 8! Regulations !o 1 of 9:19.
The latest attempt b "TT& was in +arch 9:12. A former "TT& cadre
Ponniah Selvanaagam 7a%eepan, aka .obi, opened fire on a policeman in the
7ilinochchi area of Sri "anka. The securit forces carried out a search to hunt him
out. $n the end, the killed not onl .obi, but two other former "TT& cadres,
Suntharalingam .a%atheeban, aka Theiveegan, and !avaratnam !avaneethan, aka
Appan.
=urther investigations and interrogation of suspects revealed Theiveegan, a
former bodguard of ; Prabhakaran, was a black tiger as well as a pilot, who had
flown sortiesfor the "TT&. He was in touch with leaders of two "TT&'s rival factions
abroadF!ediavan in !orwa and ;inaagam in =rance. Theiveegan made man
trips to $ndia to keep in touch with contacts. Sri "ankan intelligence discovered
that Theiveegan had the support of another senior "TT& leader ,aamohan, who
had sought refuge in Swit@erland.
Fraught ith Peril
Sri "anka is finding it difficult to grapple with Tamil !adu becoming a base for
the "TT& and the support for Tamil separatists among political parties in the state.
The ,+7 and the ruling A$A,+7 have adopted a strong stand against the
Ra%apaksa government. Can these parties be weaned from their negative focus if
Ra%apaksa walks the e*tra mile to make it happenJ <ith the change in leadership in
!ew ,elhi, the +odi regime has its work cut out.
<ritten on +a 9D, 9:12
Courtes) $ndia "egal, ;ol ;$$ $ssue 9:, Bune A:,
9:12 http)KKindialegalonline.comKtale-twin-
troublesK
Posted Yesterday by R. Hariharan