Human rights organisations are not the only groups up in arms with the British Government for returning Vinayagamoorthy Muralidaran alias ‘Col Karuna’, the rebel eastern commander of the LTTE, to Sri Lanka last week.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International which have criticised Britain for not pursuing war crimes charges against ‘Col Karuna’, have been joined by one of the oldest Tamil militant groups, the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation (EROS) which says it will hold the British Government responsible if any of its members in Sri Lanka are targeted or killed by the Karuna group.
‘Col Karuna’ who was arrested in London last November pleaded guilty and was convicted in December and eventually sentenced to nine months jail for identity card fraud for travelling to London on a Sri Lankan diplomatic passport under an assumed name.
The Sunday Times exclusively reported that Karuna had not only pleaded guilty before court but also that the British authorities had applied to the Sri Lanka High Commission for travel documents to deport him to Colombo having served less than four months of his nine months sentence.
EROS which was established in London by a group of Tamils then studying and living here in the 1970s, has said it has ‘serious concerns’ at the decision of the Home Office to deport ‘Col Karuna’ because though the TMVP is now split, a majority of the group are still loyal to their former commander.
"We warned the British Government that if Karuna were to return there would be no guarantee of his safety. In other words if he orders his group to target EROS members we will have no option but to retaliate and target him and his group.
EROS too has an armed wing only activated on the orders of our politburo. We have chosen not to activate our military wing unless it is absolutely necessary to protect our interests and the interests of the ordinary law abiding civilians in Sri Lanka," said Nesan Shankar Raji, senior leader and spokesman of EROS which has now dropped the ‘student’ part of its orginal title.
Saying that EROS will hold the British Government and specifically the Home Office responsible if any of its members are targeted or killed, it urges Britain to ensure that the Sri Lanka prosecutes ‘Col Karuna’ for war crimes.
The Crown Prosecution Service here said it did not have sufficient evidence to take Karuna to court for a successful prosecution. | 
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