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Tamil rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has given the green light for assassination of foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, after latter's call on the Tamil rebels to follow the IRA example and give up arms.

This was stated by several democratic Tamil leaders including V. Anandasangaree of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and Douglas Devananda of Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP).

Although the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had placed Kadirgamar as No. 2 on its hit list since 1994, there was no immediate plan to carry out the assassination during the ceasefire and current international campaign against terrorism.

Despite peace process, the LTTE continued to spy on kadirgamar and two other top democratic Tamil leaders, Anandasangharee and Devananda and plan assassinations.

"They kept the plans to kill Kadirgamar on hold because of the current international campaign against terrorism," Anandasangharee told Asian Tribune. "But Kadirgamar's call for laying down of arms after IRA's decision to disarm its cadres last month, has obviously infuriated LTTE leader to give the green light for the killing," Kadirgamar, immediately after the IRA announcement, urged the LTTE to follow suit in an interview with CNN.

Anandasangaree leads the TULF, the only Tamil party to become the main opposition in Parliament. His predecessor, A. Amirthalingam, former leader of Sri Lanka Parliament was killed by the LTTE in 1989. Many believe that the LTTE would try to kill Anandasangaree and Devananda. The EPDP leader had a narrow escape last year when a female suicide bomber of LTTE tried to kill him at his office. On suspicion, she was taken to a nearby police station where she blew herself up killing four police personnel.

"The LTTE is zeroing on another Tamil leader, TULF leader Anandasangaree, who commands the respect of all communities and thereby holds the key to the resolution of the conflict through a national consensus," English daily, The Island said in a front page editorial today. "He must be protected by all means."

Anandasangaree, told Asian Tribune that the LTTE leadership is fast loosing control of its cadres. "What happened last week in Jaffna was an act of terrorism by a group of LTTE cadres and the leadership did not have any control over the group," he said referring to the killing of Jaffna Police Chief Charles Wijewardene when he went to control a mob attack.

The TULF leader said that the LTTE newspaper Eelanatham has called to 'destroy' Kadirgamar and several other Tamil leaders including himself for the 'crime' of their call for laying down of arms to find a peaceful solution to the ethnic problem.

The LTTE newspaper had stated that "Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar who is a stalwart of the Sinhala government need not live anymore." The article titled "a letter from Jaffna to the enemy in the South" appeared in the 2nd page of the paper that was published on the 12th of this month, incidentally, the same day Mr. Kadirgamar was killed.

The newspaper first referred to TULF leader's acts in parliament two decades ago.

"When the armed struggle came into the open, it was called terrorism and banned. The Bill was introduced in Parliament by former Justice Minister, MP for Kalkudah, a Tamil named K.W. Devanayagam. Those who go to Parliament do things like this even today.

The best example you could take is Douglas Devananda. In addition, the Foreign Minister of Chandrika, who is appearing as a Tamil, is propagating everywhere that the Liberation struggle of the Tamils is terrorism."

"The following has to be said about the treachery in politics. The Irish liberation organisation has declared that there is no need for arms and stated that they will leave the armed struggle. After hearing this, Kadirgamar told the Tamil people also to do so. By declaring that arms should be laid down, he showed his commitment to his leader.

Kadirgamar who is a Tamil has asked Tamils to lay down arms.

It is clear that there are traitors in both parties and we must identify traitorous acts, destroy them and decide to live with our heads directed towards a liberated state," Eelanathan said.

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