KP reveals; 'I made several attempts to rescue Prabhakaran'

'I made several attempts to rescue Prabhakaran' - LTTE’s ace arms smuggler Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP had made several attempts to rescue Tiger chieftain Velupillai Prabhakaran during the last bitter phase of Eelam War IV in 2009.
But all of them failed. KP, who is now under detention in Sri Lanka, told Daily Mirror that at first he lobbied hard to get the international community to save at least the innocent Tamil civilians who were caught in the fighting. The US had even offered to send ships to ferry the 280,000 Tamil civilians caught in the fighting to safety in Trincomalee. But the plan to save the civilians was not accepted by Prabhakaran for understandable reasons, KP said. “The LTTE leadership had no choice. If they released the people first, then only the Tigers would be left there. Thereafter, all of them could have been wiped out,” he said. KP then tried for a ceasefire, which would save all, civilians and the LTTE leadership. The LTTE leadership was ready for it but it was too late, KP said. He felt that if Prabhakaran had gone for a ceasefire and talks in 2008, when the fighting was taking place only in the Western Wanni region, the LTTE would have been a strong military position to talk with greater assurance and get an honourable peace. But when Prabhakaran sought a ceasefire in 2009, after Pooneryn, Paranthan, Elephant Pass and Kilinochchi had fallen to the Lankan forces, it was too late. “From the government’s point of view, victory was in view, with outright victory in sight.It would have been stupid to go in for a ceasefire,” KP said. Then in March 2009, KP again tried to get a ceasefire and save Prabhakaran. According to this plan, the LTTE was to “lock off” or confine its weapons in particular places and hand them over to the UN. The civilians would be confined to specified No Fire Zones and LTTE leaders (25 to 50 of them) would be taken to another country to conduct talks with the Lankan government with Norwegian facilitation. This scheme was to be underwritten by the US, the EU and Norway. According to KP, the US was ready to evacuate the LTTE leaders by sea in their naval vessels. But the plan did not take off for two reasons. Firstly, it was not concretised and officially communicated to the Lankan government for their response. And secondly, Prabhakaran spiked it by saying: “Ithai Ettrukkolla Mudiyaathu” (This cannot be accepted). KP blames the hardline LTTE leaders in Europe led by Nediyavan of Norway, for this decision. KP’s next proposal was to send a ship-based helicopter to rescue Prabhakaran and his family. This was initiated at the instance of Prabhakaran’s eldest son Charles Anthony. Charles Anthony, who was commanding LTTE troops at that time, wanted his father, mother Mathivathani, sister Thuwaraka and younger brother Balachandran to be rescued. He himself would stay put and fight. Prabhakaran refused to accept this proposal as he too wanted to stay and fight. KP then suggested that a helicopter pick the LTTE leader from the battle zone and drop in a safe place behind the Lankan army lines in the Wanni jungle, from where he could carry on the fight. The rest of the family could be taken by a chopper and put in a ship waiting for them in international waters. But this plan too failed