INDIAN WEBSITE ALLEGES THAT PAKISTAN’S INTELLIGENCE SERVICE IS USING LTTE TO TRAIN ANTI-INDIAN INSURGENTS

By Walter Jayawardhana

An Indian news portal quoting apparent Indian intelligence sources has alleged that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) military instructors have been flown to various places by the Pakistani intelligence service Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) to train anti Indian insurgents in exchange for weapons.

The news feature has appeared coinciding with the allegation that the LTTE is bribing sources close to the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu to spread its influence once again in the South Indian State.
The LTTE allegedly used such bribes to enter doors of influence in Indian politics recently and believed to be clinging to the last straws to stop a deteriorating military scene for them in Sri Lanka.

The news feature written by M. Rama Rao in a Madhya Pradesh based news portal named Central Chronicle said currently the LTTE military experts are training Indian insurgents like United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), an Assamese separatist group trying to separate their state from India under the auspicious of the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI. The allegation that the LTTE is training Assamese insurgents originally came from India’s Research and Analysis Wing, the intelligence unit run by Indian Prime Minister’s office that originally trained the LTTE under the regime of the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The Central Chronicle website said, “Already the first batch of 15 ULFA cadres has started learning the Tigers' craft from three LTTE instructors specially flown to Pakistan. Tigers' presence is also reported from Lakhipathar camp of ULFA.”

The RAW is believed to be using a retired spy of their department in Chennai to release such information to the press from time to time.

Apart from the ULFA the website alleged that the LTTE is also training “other NE insurgents in LTTE camps or in the camps set up in Bangaldesh, India-Nepal border and Bhutan's foothills.”
The Research and Analysis Wing through these news leaks to the press also alleges that under the auspicious of the ISI intelligence service the Tamil Tigers are also training India’s Naxalite and Nepalese Maoist insurgents at various camps. The Central Chronicle website said, “Tamil Tigers are reportedly running at least two camps for Nepali Maoists and Indian Naxalites somewhere near Narkatiaganj and Ghorasahan on Bihar- Nepal border. ULFA was spotted in these camps which were first noticed in July last year.”

Further commenting on the intricacies of the Tamil Tiger and ISI dealings the Central Chronicle website said, “Politicians have a tendency not to look beyond their nose and all said and done Prabhakaran (LTTE supremo) is a politician. He needs urgently replenishments for the patrol boats and other motorised craft besides a few high calibre guns lost in the latest flare up. More over he has to deflect international (read US and EU) attention from his arms shopping and safe transportation. Pakistan fits the bill for the Tigers' immediate goals. But then every game has a price and LTTE has to subserve the ISI interests though outside the Lankan theatre.”

In an apparent reference to a retired RAW spy based in Chennai the pro-indian website said, “Once the Tigers became aware of Pakistan's aggressive designs, LTTE activated its sleeper cells in Colombo and 'put the fear of God in the ISI', as a Chennai based expert remarks with a chuckle. The Bashir Ali attack brought the ISI for the first time face to face with the ferocity of Tigers and made them to revisit their plans for Sri Lanka, the expert said. By targetting Bashir Ali but not killing him, the Tigers have sent a clear message: 'don't foul with us'.

But the former Pakistani High Commissioner in Colombo, Bashir Ali, who is deeply connected with Pakistani intelligence has openly alleged that the attempt on his life by a suicide bomber was a clear attempt by the intelligence agency RAW.

One thing became very clear by the allegations and the counter allegations of the neighbors of the subcontinent : They very much want to play their games in Colombo against each other, using whatever means.

Central Chronicle website argued reasons why the ISI prefer to use the Tamil Tigers who were originally trained by the Indians in terrorism: “The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have found a new patron saint in Pakistan's ISI, who is willing to go that extra mile to offer state patronage and safe passage to the Tigers, in return for sharing its expertise in precision bombings, and 'human' bombs. It is a 'made for each other' enterprise of mutual admiration besides necessity; long time LTTE watchers and counter terrorism experts say.

“The ISI cover is crucial to the Tigers at the present juncture as the United States, UK and a host of countries have banned them and have thus chocked their arms and money supply routes. On its part, the ISI views the LTTE as the 'asali cheese' (real thing) of terrorism. When compared to the Tamil Tigers, outfits like Al Badr, LeT, JeI, and JMB, notwithstanding their Islamic credentials, are 'small fry' as they have not graduated to the precision in target killing the LTTE has perfected.

“This is one reason, according to counter terrorism experts, the ISI wants to utilise the LTTE 'services' for training front line foot soldiers. Most terror groups handled by ISI thus far have expertise in suicide bombing. But these fidayeen attackers are no match to Black Tigers, as the suicide squads of LTTE are known.

ISI protégés only know how to carry out a RDX or bomb blast in a crowded place or a moving train. They are not experts in covering their tracts as Malegaon, Varanasi and Sarojini Nagar blasts have shown, the trail leads the investigators to the training camps in Pakistan and often even to the ISI door-step.”