Sri Lanka will not heed any requests by foreign governments for their security agencies to interview Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP), head of the Tiger guerrilla procurement wing, until the legal process against him is completed locally.
Such a process, the Sunday Times learns, is to be initiated only after ongoing investigations are concluded.
At present, CID detectives are conducting a detailed interrogation on a wide-range of matters. This includes procurements, the guerrilla shipping network, fund raising and matters relating to the LTTE’s international network.
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| Pathmanathan |
The Government’s position will mean requests by India for its security agencies to interview KP will remain on hold. Among other matters, Indian agencies want to question him with regard to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Sriperumpudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21 1991.
A Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA) set up by the Government of India to investigate the murder conspiracy found that KP had visited Tamil Nadu before Mr. Gandhi was killed. Indian agencies now want to ascertain how funds were channelled for this purpose.
KP was arrested on August 10 and flown to Colombo in a special non-stop SriLankan Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur. Though it was widely reported that he was rounded up at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian Government denied it officially.
Upon his arrival in Colombo, KP was interrogated by senior intelligence officials. He was debriefed on a variety of matters. |
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