Strong divisions have emerged among Tamils resident abroad on the future of the LTTE and claims to its leadership.

K. Padmanadan, the person claiming to be the head of the LTTE’s department of International Relations announced on Sunday (24) that its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran “attained martyrdom fighting the military oppression of the Sri Lankan state on 17 May.”

The LTTE’s internet propaganda arm TamilNet has reported that the LTTE’s Department for Diaspora Affairs (DDA) told that it would not comment without explicit authorization from the LTTE leadership.


In another development, the so-called Intelligence Department of the LTTE has reiterated on Sunday that the LTTE leadership is safe and it will re-emerge when the right time comes

The same Padmanadan who last Sunday (24) confirmed Prabhakaran’s death said the former terrorist leader was alive, hours after the Sri Lankan military announced his death on May 19.

Adding to this confusion, pro-LTTE Tamilnadu politicians Mr. Vaiko and Mr. Pazha Nedumaran have expressed scepticism on the reports of Prabhakaran’s demise.

Political observers both in Sri Lanka and India see these contradictory statements from those who held leading positions in the LTTE, and strong supporters, as signs of a major rift within the expatriate Tamils, especially those resident in the West, supportive of the separatist and terrorist policies of the LTTE.

The pressure of these contradictory positions is clearly seen by the TamilNet statement that in a position where it is being “heavily pressed by its readership to know the truth, it has become a necessity to state that TamilNet doesn't take any responsibility for any of the stands taken, as these are beyond its independent verification”.

TamilNet seeking verification of the truth is another contradiction, say political observers.