Just over two months ago, Selvarajah Pathmanathan, known as 'KP' is believed to have been secretly abducted from a hotel in South East Asia. Following the same step Sri Lankan Government is planning to bring a number of other people home. According to media reports in Sri Lanka, the government has a blacklist of 100 Tamils living overseas it wants to prosecute.
Professor Rohan Gunaratna, who runs the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, in Singapore and close to Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary, who's credited with masterminding KP's rendition confirmed that KP was arrested at the Tune Hotel, and was taken direct from Malaysia on board a Sri Lankan flight to Sri Lanka .
In an interview to SBS Dateline programme 'The Tiger Trap' he said that the LTTE's campaign in Sri Lanka could not have been sustained without KP. The Sri Lankan Government assessed, after Prabhakaran's death, that KP posed the single biggest national security threat to Sri Lanka, and it was paramount for KP to be brought home, he added.
KP was wanted by the Sri Lankan Government for a very long time.
"KP has been living on borrowed time," Prof Gunaratne said.
Human rights groups say if KP was arrested in Malaysia, he should have been extradited, not kidnapped, especially since he faces a risk of torture back in Sri Lanka.
"Sending someone back in these circumstances is also unlawful and violates international law. If there are charges to be brought, if there are people who should be pursued, then the Sri Lankan Government should make sure that it goes through proper legal channels for that," Sam Zafiri, Asia Director of Amnesty International said.
Rohan Gunaratne refuted the charge, he said there was no other way for the Sri Lankan Government to do this.
He further said that the Sri Lankan Government is already planning to bring a number of other people home.
"Previously, the Americans, the Israelis did this kind of rendition operations. By bringing KP home, Sri Lanka demonstrated that it will not spare any Tamil Tiger, or any other terrorist, who is going to harm Sri Lanka's national security interest," Gunaratne said.
SBS said that according to media reports in Sri Lanka, the government has a blacklist of 100 Tamils living overseas it wants to prosecute.
Gunaratne said that a number of professionals living in Australia have supported a terrorist group by providing them funds, by distributing their propaganda, by advocating violence, and by supporting a group that conducted violence, and that they should be prosecuted.
Dr Victor Rajakulendran, a Tamil community leader in Australia said that Sri Lankan government has to first prove to the Australian Government if there are any people in Australia, Tamil people, who have done that. The Australian Government only will have to take action about that.
Dr Rajakulendran further said that the Tamil diaspora's question now is who are these "friendly countries"?. He said we need to identify the friendly countries so we can be careful to avoid those friendly countries to go into first. For example, Malaysia. I will never step into Malaysia now. So, earlier, I decided I will not to step inside Sri Lanka or, for that matter, to India. Now I have to add Malaysia to that.
SBS Dateline documentary was done by Amos Roberts.
