Battle for top Tiger spot begins

BANGALORE - With the entire top brass of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) eliminated in the final stages of the Sri Lankan government's military offensive last month, a succession struggle for the leadership of the LTTE is underway among Tigers abroad. The LTTE's chief of international relations, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, believed to be the senior-most Tiger alive, is the frontrunner for the top job.

Those opposed to Pathmanathan have started a "vicious campaign maligning him as a traitor and being in the pay of RAW or the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] or the Sri Lankan government. He is accused of having even betrayed Prabhakaran," said Jeyaraj.

Ironically, this section that accuses Pathmanathan of delivering the Tiger chief to the Sri Lankan army in return for his own amnesty from the government also claims that Prabhakaran is not dead.

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