The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have a new chief. Its former head of arms procurement, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, has been named as successor to the slain Velupillai Prabhakaran, according to a statement issued by its Executive Committee.Fifty-four-year old Pathmanathan, aka Kumaran Pathmanathan or "KP", was serving as the LTTE's chief of international relations before rising to the top post.
The Executive Committee has said he will lead the LTTE into the "next steps of the freedom struggle". The announcement comes a little over two months after Prabhakaran and his family - as well as the entire LTTE top brass - were killed by the Sri Lankan army.
Prabhakaran's death and the military defeat of the LTTE plunged overseas Tigers and the Tamil diaspora into a state of shock. They went into denial over the death of their leader, as well as the LTTE's future. Sections within the LTTE even claimed Prabhakaran was alive and would emerge "when the right time comes".
Pathmanathan has had a long association with the LTTE and Prabhakaran. He was a close confidante of the Tiger leader and functioned as the chief of the LTTE's arms procurement network. His first big arms purchase on behalf of the LTTE is believed to have taken place back in 1984.
