Thamilchelvan MURDER: World media round up

SLMM
SLMM says Thamilchelvam death bad for future
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission said the death of S.P.Thamilchelvam can only contribute to even further escalation of the conflict, unless the parties cease the hostilities and return to talks. The SLMM also extended its condolences to the families of the victims.

AFP
Smiling Tiger
By Mel Gunasekera Who is Thamilselvan? Nov 2, 2007 (AFP) -
The political head of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels who was killed in an air strike on Friday was the guerrillas' public face for scores of visiting dignitaries and media personnel.
S. P. Thamilselvan, 40, known as the "Smiling Tiger" operated out of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) political capital of Kilinochchi in the island's north.
Nursing a war wound, he walked with a stick and was also the group's chief peace negotiator.
He died with five colleagues during a Sri Lankan air force bombardment of Kilinochchi on Friday morning.
Born in the northern town of Chavakacheri in the Jaffna peninsula, Thamilselvan joined the LTTE in 1984 and was later sent to India for military training, according to the pro-rebel Puthinam.com website.
He was once on the personal staff of elusive LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran and was also an active combatant who lead attacks against Sri Lankan troops.
Thamilselvan was wounded in 1993 while leading an offensive on an army camp and also survived a 2002 bombing said to have been carried out by Sri Lankan security forces.
He acted as a de facto prime minister for the LTTE and was the public face for the guerrillas' meetings with diplomats, international donors, aid workers and journalists who visited Kilinochchi.
The government last year banned foreign diplomats and visiting dignitaries from calling on him, saying that the rebels were using the meetings for propaganda.
Thamilselvan, who would speak through an English translator, rose to prominence in the international arena during the Norwegian-brokered peace talks with the Sri Lankan government.
He had been an understudy of former chief negotiator Anton Balasingham -- the key contact for Norwegian peacebrokers -- who died of cancer at his home in London in 2006.
The political chief also led a peace team to negotiations with the Sri Lankan government that were hosted by Switzerland last year. But they ended in failure and led to more bloodshed.
Well before Al-Qaeda attained notoriety, the Tamil Tigers had successfully employed suicide attacks against the Sri Lankan military, a tactic Thamilselvan said was adopted to inflict maximum damage on the military's heavy firepower with minimum loss of Tiger lives.
"It is not suicide," he said, explaining that the LTTE call the act "self-gift" in Tamil, giving up oneself for the national good. "It is always wrong to place us on a par with international terrorist acts that bring harm to innocent civilians or targets that are not military," he said during an interview with AFP last May.

The HINDU
Thamilchelvan was involved in many attacks: Colombo
B. Muralidhar Reddy

*LTTE expresses deep sorrow over leader’s death
*He carried out attacks on IPKF

COLOMBO: The Air Force on Friday said it carried two raids targeting the “gathering of LTTE leaders” and a base of the suicide squad also known as Black Tigers. A brief statement by the LTTE however made reference only to the air raid in which S.P. Thamilchelvan and five others were killed.
“With deep sorrow we announce to the people of Tamil Eelam, the Tamil people living all over the world and the international community that at 6.00am today, Friday 2nd November 2007, Head of our organisation’s Political Division, Brig. S P Thamilselvan was killed by the Sri Lankan Air Force aerial bombing. With him Lt Col Anpumani (Alex), Major Mihuthan, Capt Nethagy, Lt Adchgivel, and Lt Vahaikumaran were also killed,” said the statement.
It was only after the LTTE confirmed the deaths that the military talked about the casualties. It claimed that self styled Lt. Colonel Anupumani alias Alex was the chief of LTTE’s “strategic communication division” and in charge of handling all communication activities between LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran and the other “international terrorist agents.”
Describing LTTE as a ruthless terrorist outfit which holds onto “ideologies based on extreme tribalism,” the Ministry said the outfit had been fighting against Sri Lankan citizens, demanding a mono ethnic separate homeland for the Tamils since 1983. “In its bloody terror campaign the outfit has killed over 65,000 lives, including one former President of the country”.
Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) in a report said Mr. Thamilchelvan “was not much different from his weapon-carrying fellow-Tigers who are actively engaged in a killing spree for the sake of ‘liberation’ of besieged Tamil civilians.”
It said Mr. Thamilchelvan, “terrorist turned political head” played a pivotal role in a number of attacks on members of the security forces in the most recent past including the assaults on Kilaly, Muhamale, Nagarkovil Forward Defence Lines (FDLs) in August 2006, just eight months after Mahinda Rajapaksa had taken over as President.
The MCNS claimed that he escaped death twice with injuries during Kilaly operation in October 1993 and counter attacks on Yaladevi operation launched by Security Forces. It said he also played a prominent role in the Elephant Pass “debacle” while commanding terrorist groups way back in July 1991.
“His military experience combined with terrorist tactics dates back to 1985 when he joined the LTTE as the one in-charge of LTTE first aid scheme immediately after his initial weapon training. He was also the most trusted aide or the personal body guard of Mr. Prabakaran during his visit to India in 1984. “Thamilchelvan as a shrewd strategist threw full weight behind all deadly attacks on Jaffna based Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) and Security Forces beginning 1985, a few months after he joined the LTTE.”
The MCNS said, “Facing international and local media as well as all foreign delegates, he meticulously tried hard to win sympathy for their terrorist cause posing before the cameras with a serene smile which did not portray his actual soul. He in consistent with his terrorist leader’s dictates travelled to many corners of the world in the guise of attending ‘peace talks’ which finally were proved to be the best chances awarded to the LTTE for procurement of weapons and fund –rising.”
Pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in a statement expressed shock at the killing Mr. Thamilchelvan and praised him for “selfless sacrifice for the Tamil Eelam struggle”.
“Although his death is destined to create thousands of new Thamilchelvans who will doubtless serve our freedom struggle with dedication, we shudder at the repercussions for peace of this act by the Sri Lanka government,” said the TNA.
Separately, the military claimed that four LTTE bunkers were destroyed killing 14 Tiger cadres when troops launched countered an LTTE advance at the Muhamalai defence on Friday.

Air Force jets kill Tamil Tigers' top political leader
The HinduColombo (AP): A Sri Lankan airstrike pounded a meeting of top rebel leaders early Friday, killing the head of the Tamil Tigers' political wing and five others in an attack seen as a major victory for the government in its long fight with the guerrillas.
The killing of S.P. Tamilselvan, assumed by some to be the secretive group's second in command, was certain to badly damage the rebels' morale nearly two weeks after they stunned the government with a devastating attack on an air base.
``This is a message that we know their leaders' location,'' Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Associated Press. ``This confirms that our information is very accurate.''
Another five rebel leaders were killed in the bombing, according to a statement from the rebel group that was e-mailed to reporters and confirmed Tamilselvan's death. Rebel spokesmen did not answer phone calls seeking further comment.
In a separate attack, Sri Lankan jets pounded a camp belonging to the Black Tigers, the rebel group's suicide fighters, in Iranamadu in the rebel-held Kilinochchi district, air force spokesman Group Capt. Ajantha Silva said.
The suicide unit has been the target of repeated airstrikes since its attack on the Anuradhapura air base last week killed 14 soldiers, destroyed eight aircraft and left the government trying to explain how the rebels were able to infiltrate a key military facility.
The military initially gave no details of casualties from either strike, but later confirmed that Tamilselvan had been killed.
With secretive Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran almost never seen publicly in recent years, Tamilselvan had become the rebel leadership's link to the outside world.
He regularly held talks with peace envoys and diplomats, met with foreign humanitarian workers and gave interviews to the few international journalists allowed by the government to cross into rebel-held territory in the north.
He headed the group's delegation at the failed peace talks in Geneva last year.
In an interview with The Associated Press in July, he promised to retaliate for the army's capture of eastern Sri Lanka from the rebels.
``(We will) weaken the military capacity of the government of Sri Lanka, which will invariably end up hitting economic targets as well,'' he said.
In a sign of the focus on fighting by the rebel group _ where everyone from politicians to doctors are also combatants _ Tamilselvan held the rank of brigadier, the highest rank in the rebel force.
The rebels have been fighting since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, following decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese-controlled governments. More than 70,000 have been killed in the fighting.
Friday's air attacks came a day after a series of ground battles near the rebels' de facto state in the north killed 30 Tamil Tiger fighters and two soldiers, according to the military.
In one attack, government troops pushed across the front lines south of their rebel-controlled area in the northern Mannar district, sparking a battle that killed 22 rebels and two soldiers, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.
Also Thursday, a group of rebels attacked government forces manning the front lines north of rebel-held territory, triggering a gun battle that left eight guerrillas dead, he said.
The rebel-affiliated Web site TamilNet reported that 25 soldiers were killed and more than 60 wounded in the fighting Thursday, while only seven rebels were killed.
Fighting between the two sides has escalated in recent weeks as government officials hinted they were preparing an offensive to capture the north and crush the rebels.

The Island
Thamilselvan killed in Air Force bombing
LTTE political wing leader S. P. Thamilselvan was killed when the Air Force bombed the venue of an LTTE leaders meeting place at Thiruvaiaru, South of Kilkinoichchi, the Tamilnet website announced yesterday. The Air Force attack was conducted following intelligence reports LTTE leaders were scheduled to hold a meeting at Thiruvaiaru at 6 am yesterday. LTTE confirmed that five others were also killed with Thamilselvan. According to the LTTE, others killed were ‘Lt. Col.’ Anbumani alias Alex, ‘Major’ Mikuthan, ‘Captain’ Nethaji and ‘Lieutenants’ Aadchivealtchivel and Vahaikumaran. The LTTE declared a week of mourning in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts. The Island

UNP
SB says no regrets over Thamilselvan’s death
UNP National Organizer S.B. Dissanayake in a personal capacity yesterday said the killing of LTTE political wing leader S.P.Thamilselvan was no matter for regret.
Mr. Dissanayake told the Daily Mirror that Thamilselvan’s killing was a morale boost victory for the Air Force affected by the recent attack on the Anuradhapura air base.
He said Thamilselvan was instrumental in engineering a boycott of the 2005 presidential election in the northern and eastern provinces that eventually resulted in the UNP being defeated at the poll by a narrow margin.
He said even during peace talks between the UNP and the LTTE, Thamilselvan remained a stumbling block in attempts to reach an amicable settlement.
“So, there should not be any regret about his death,” Mr. Dissanayake said.

Mano Ganeshan on Thamilselvan
By Yohan Perera
Leader of the Western People’s Front Parliamentarian Mano Ganeshan said yesterday that the killing of S.P.Thamilselvan, head of the political wing of LTTE is an attack on the political solution.
“Government cannot any more speak of political solution and run the war machinery simultaneously” he said commenting on the killing of the LTTE political wing leader by the air strikes by forces in Kilinochchi yesterday. “I do not want to describe this as the wake-up call to the international community. We believe the wake-up time is well passed now,” he said indicating that the international community should have played a role in resolving the national issue long before “S.P.Thamilselvan has been the head and spokesperson of the political wing of the Tigers.
The Government negotiating team and members of the international community have met him for discussions on various occasions. Now he is silenced by the aerial attack of the government forces.
This is definitely a very serious blow to the peace prospects and the negotiation process”, he added.

New York Times
A Leader of Tamil Tigers Reported Killed
By SOMINI SENGUPTA and GRAHAM BOWLEY NYTPublished: November 3, 2007NEW DELHI, Nov. 2 —

The political head of the Tamil Tigers rebel group was killed today in an attack by the Sri Lankan Air Force, the group said in a statement.
The leader, S. P. Tamilselvan, and five other rebel officials were killed during a 6 a.m. aerial strike on their headquarters in the north, Kilinochchi, the group said. An official pro-rebel news site, tamilnet.com, said the air force attack was aimed at the residence of the political division of the rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam.
The group’s statement said, "With deep sorrow we announce to the people of Tamil Eelam, the Tamil people living all over the world and the international community that at 6 a.m. today, Friday, 2nd November, 2007, head of our organization’s political division, Brig. S. P. Tamilselvan, was killed by the Sri Lankan Air Force aerial bombing.”
Mr. Tamilselvan was a major figure among the Tamil Tigers, ethnic separatists who want their own homeland in the north and east of Sri Lanka.
The senior rebel leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, is rarely seen. Mr. Tamilselvan was the official who met with peace envoys and talked to journalists, and his death leaves the group with no obvious public face.
Somini Sengupta reported from New Delhi and Graham Bowley from New York.

Colombo Page
Tamil Tiger political head and five others killed in Sri Lanka Air Force raid
Friday, November 2, 2007, 9:49 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 02, Colombo: Political leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), S.P. Thamilchelvan was killed in an Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) aerial attack today. LTTE confirmed his death several hours after the attack. SLAF launched two aerial attacks at two LTTE camps today around 6 AM.
SLAF fighter jets simultaneously carried out two air sorties this morning targeting a gathering place of LTTE leaders at Thiruwaiaru and a Black Tiger base in Kilinochchi this morning, the Media Center for National Security said.
Pro LTTE TamilNet said the air attack has specifically targeted the residence of the members of the Political Division.
Defense sources said five other high profile LTTE leaders, identified as Anpumani (Alex), Mikuthan, Neathaji, Aadchiveal and Vaakaikkumaran were also killed in the raids.
The SLAF air sorties were carried out following real time ground information, air surveillance and reconnaissance information, military sources earlier reported.
The rebel outfit has offered Thamilchelvan who led the peace talks with Sri Lanka government in the past period the highest military rank of the rebel LTTE, Brigadier, posthumously.

BBC
Tamil Tiger political chief killed in Sri Lanka strike: rebels
by Amal JayasingheFri Nov 2, 6:38 AM ET
The political head and chief peace negotiator of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers was killed in a government air strike, the guerrillas announced.
S.P. Thamilselvan, 40, the public face of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) died with five others in an attack by the Sri Lankan air force on rebel-held territory, they said.
The defence ministry said it had targeted a venue where rebel leaders were meeting but gave no further details.
Military officials said they had a report of a top-level gathering near the northern town of Kilinochchi, the political capital of the LTTE where Thamilselvan was based, and ordered the air raids.
"We had information about a high-level gathering and it was after that the jets were sent to bomb the area," a military source here said.
"Sri Lanka air force jet fighters targeted with air strikes Thiruvaiaru, south of Kilinochchi, a venue where LTTE leaders gathed at 6:00 am today," the defence ministry said in a statement before the LTTE announcement.
Thamilselvan, who led a peace-negotiating team at talks with the Sri Lankan government that were hosted by Switzerland last year, had emerged as a de facto number two in the LTTE.
A further and last round of talks led by Thamilselvan in October 2006 ended in failure and led to more bloodshed in the campaign for a Tamil homeland that has left tens of thousands dead since 1972.
In February last year, Thamilselvan in an interview with AFP had warned the LTTE would give the government two months to make good on promises to deliver on humanitarian services to Tamils inside rebel-held areas.
"Two months is amply sufficient for the government to demonstrate its sincerity," he said, adding that violence would escalate unless the government sent in more supplies to areas under rebel control.
Thamilselvan had also been an active combatant who was injured while leading an offensive on an army camp in 1993. He survived a 2002 bomb attack said to have been carried out by Sri Lankan security forces.
He acted as a de facto prime minister for the secretive LTTE and was the public face of the group, which is led by the elusive Velupillai Prabhakaran, who is rarely seen in public.
"Head of our organisation's political division, Brigadier S.P. Thamilselvan, was killed by the Sri Lankan Air Force aerial bombing," the LTTE said in a statement.
The guerrillas named five others, including a senior LTTE photographer who had travelled to Europe, Thailand and Japan with Thamilselvan to attend Norwegian-brokered peace talks since 2002, killed in Friday's strike.
Thamilselvan's death follows the natural death of former chief negotiator Anton Balasingham last December.
Thamilselvan had been an understudy of Balasingham -- the key contact for Norwegian peacebrokers -- who died of cancer at his home in London.


Senior Tamil Tiger leader killed
A senior leader of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels has been killed in a government air raid, the rebels say. SP Thamilselvan was the head of the rebels' political wing and held an important position in their hierarchy.
The rebels said he died along with five others in an air strike by the Sri Lankan military on Friday morning.
Correspondents say the death will be a huge blow to the rebels. Fighting between troops and the Tamil Tigers has escalated in recent months.
If we want we can take them one by one, so they must change their hideouts Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa
The BBC's Roland Buerk in Colombo says Mr Thamilselvan was the public face of the rebels, meeting Norwegian peace envoys and giving interviews to the media.
The rebels' top leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, has been in hiding for years.
Mr Thamilselvan's death could provoke an escalation in the civil war, our correspondent says. How the rebels choose to retaliate also remains to be seen.
The death of SP Thamilselvan follows that of another key rebel spokesman, Anton Balasingham, last year.
'Deep sorrow'
The Tamil Tigers announced the news on their website, saying Mr Thamilselvan had died at 0600 local time (0030 GMT) on Friday.
"With deep sorrow we announce to the people of Tamil Eelam, the Tamil people living all over the world and the international community, that at 6am today, Friday 2 November 2007... head of our organisation's political wing Brig SP Thamilselvan was killed by the Sri Lankan air force aerial bombing," a statement said.
"With him Lt-Col Anpumani (Alex), Major Mihuthan, Capt Nethagy, Lieutenant Adchgivel and Lieutenant Vahaikumaran were also killed."
The pro-rebel TamilNet website said the air strike was carried out in Kilinochchi, the rebels' northern stronghold.
Reports say Mr Thamilselvan and his colleagues were killed by the pressure of the bomb blast which left their bodies otherwise unscathed.
Sri Lankan military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said intelligence had confirmed that the head of the Tigers' political wing was dead.
He described the attack as a success and said the military had got rid of a leader who was at the top of the list.
It remains unclear how the military knew of Mr Thamilselvan's whereabouts.
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother, warned rebel leaders to beware.
"This is just a message, that we know where their leaders are... if we want we can take them one by one," he told Reuters news agency.
War fears
Friday's air raid came after a Tamil Tiger attack on an Air Force base last week which left 14 security forces personnel dead and destroyed eight aircraft.
Observers say the two sides now seem to be gearing up for a major confrontation in the north of the country.
Despite losing territory in the east earlier this year, the rebels still control a vast swathe of land in the north.
A 2002 ceasefire which paved the way for inconclusive peace talks has existed on paper for more than a year.
The rebels are fighting for autonomy for minority Tamils in the north and east, claiming discrimination by the majority Sinhalese population.
About 70,000 people have died in more than 20 years of war. Thousands have fled their homes to escape recent fighting.

Public face of the Tamil Tigers
By Ethirajan Anbarasan BBC News

SP Thamilselvan - who died in a Sri Lankan air force raid on Friday morning - is the most senior Tamil Tiger leader to have been killed in recent years.
The death of their media-savvy political wing leader at the age of 40 means the rebels have lost an experienced and suave political negotiator.
For many years SP Thamilselvan was the public face of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Both the Tigers and the military have been accused of gross human rights abuses throughout Sri Lanka's long-running civil war.
Since 1994, he had been a member of the rebel peace negotiating team and had participated in almost every round of face-to-face talks with the Sri Lankan authorities and Norwegian mediators.
I met him on a number of occasions in recent years, both in Sri Lanka and during peace talks in Geneva.
He always came across as smiling and friendly - although his enemies say behind the warm exterior there lurked a ruthless, hardened military man.
Even recently, a senior rebel source told me Thamilselvan was away in the north-west heading a rebel fighting unit.
Rise to prominence
Unlike many of his comrades, SP Thamilselvan did not look like a veteran guerrilla fighter. Dressed in a suit he could have passed himself off as an executive and was very at ease at the negotiating table.
He was dedicated to the rebel cause and firmly believed that one day they would realise their dream of a separate nation - Eelam - for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils.
His demise may bring about a hardening of attitude in the LTTE [Tamil Tiger] hierarchy Analyst DBS Jeyaraj
He was always keen to tell the world what was happening to the Tamil population in north-east Sri Lanka.
After the devastating tsunami in December 2004, he was quick to ring the BBC Tamil service to say what was going on inside rebel-held territory.
He supervised relief efforts in rebel-held areas, and was praised in many quarters for his actions.
While sometimes long-winded, Mr Thamilselvan was skilled at reflecting the views of the rebel leadership.
Like many other rebel cadres, he started in the armed wing and rose in prominence due to his military exploits.
Soon, he entered into the inner circles of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
When Prabhakaran was in India in the early 1980s, Thamilselvan was his de facto aide-de-camp.
"He was very close to the LTTE leader. His demise may bring about a hardening of attitude in the LTTE hierarchy," according to Sri Lanka analyst DBS Jeyaraj.
SP Thamilselvan's closeness to the Tiger leader also helped him to rise in the rebel hierarchy.
He was once the commander of the strategically-important Jaffna region. Many accuse him of leading a group carrying out assassinations in that area at the time.
Skilled with the media
Following a battlefield injury in 1993, SP Thamilselvan was asked to focus more on political matters.
It was to prove a crucial period for the rebels. At the time the LTTE was considered basically a military movement and its gradual entry into politics was a big challenge for the organisation.
The political wing leader soon adapted himself to his new role.
He led the Tigers' negotiating team during the first ever direct peace talks with the Sri Lankan government in 1994-95.
More recently, he represented the LTTE in various rounds of peace talks, including the last, fruitless meeting in Geneva late last year.
SP Thamilselvan knew how to handle the international media and - through an interpreter - was adept at handling prickly issues such as child conscription, political killings and questions on the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
After rebel ideologue Anton Balasingham died last year, the LTTE projected SP Thamilselvan as their chief negotiator.
The rebels may find him difficult to replace.
He is survived by his wife, an eight-year-old daughter and a son of four.

CNN
Attack kills Tamil Tiger leader
Story HighlightsS. P. Thamilselvam, "peace negotiator" during talks with government, killed Friday
Died, along with five others, in air force attack on northern Sri Lankan port
Air strike comes two weeks after rebel pre-dawn raid on Sri Lankan air force base
Tamil Tigers fighting since 1983 for a separate homeland in the north and east
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- A key political leader of the Sri Lankan rebel group, the Tamil Tigers, was killed Friday along with five other rebel officers during an air strike in the country's embattled north, the guerrillas said in a statement on a Tamil-affiliated Web site.
S. P. Thamilselvam was killed by the Sri Lankan air force during an "aerial bombardment" Friday at 6:00 a.m. local time in Kilinochchi -- a rebel held part in the country's north.
According to CNN contributor, journalist Iqbal Athas, Thamilselvam acted as the group's "peace negotiator" during talks with the Sri Lankan government.
"The Sri Lanka Air Force attack has targeted the residence of the members of the Political Division," the rebel statement said, also naming the five others killed as Lt. Col. Anpumani, Maj. Mikuthan, Capt. Neathaji, Lt. Aadchiveal and Lt. Vaakaikkumaran.
The strike came nearly two weeks after rebels launched a pre-dawn land and air attack on a Sri Lankan air force base that killed 10 Sri Lankan forces and wiped out military hardware worth millions of dollars, according to military sources.
There was no immediate response from the military about Friday's attack that killed Thamilselvam.
The Tamil Tigers, formally called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, have been fighting since 1983 for a separate homeland for the Tamil minority in the north and east, citing decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese. About 65,000 people died before the 2002 cease-fire.
The U.S. State Department designated the Tamil Tigers a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

HINDUSTAN TIMES
Sri Lanka: Tamilselvan was a moderate
Friday, 02 November 2007 SP Tamilselvan, the Head of the LTTE's political wing, who was killed in Kilinochchi on Friday in an air raid conducted by the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF), was a political moderate, LTTE watchers say. "Though he had been a military man for very many years since joining the LTTE in 1984, Tamilselvan could be considered a political moderate in the context of the LTTE's overall militant orientation," a source who had interacted with him closely told Hindustan Times. Like many young Tamil men did in the years following the anti-Tamil pogrom in Colombo in 1983, Tamilselvan joined the then nascent armed struggle. And like others of that time, he was taken to India for training in basic military tactics, weapons handling and sabotage techniques.
When he came back, he took part in several military operations in North Sri Lanka, including the abortive bid to storm the Elephant Base base camp in 1992. He was wounded in the stomach and the leg and had to be retired from active military service.
But seeing his potential for being a political activist, LTTE chief Prabhakaran began to groom him as a successor to Thileepan who had died in a fast unto death campaign against the activities of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in the late eighties.
Tamilselvan did not speak English, nor was he an ideologue, unlike the Late Dr.Anton Balasingham. Therefore, as long as Balasingham was physically fit and enjoyed the confidence of Prabhakaran, Tamilsevlan had to play second fiddle as far as the foreign media and the international community were concerned.
But Balasingham was mostly abroad. Later he became very ill with a kidney complaint and died. During this period, from the mid 1990s to mid 2000s, Tamilselvan was made to interact with the international community and the media, both Sri Lankan and non-Sri Lankan. What he said in Tamil was translated into English and Sinhala by George, a retired post master.
Except in the first round of talks with the Sri Lankan government led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2002-2003, Tamilselvan had participated in all the remaining five rounds. After the eclipse of Anton Balasingham, Tamilselvan led the LTTE's delegation in its talks with the government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2006.
PK Balachandran, Hindustan Times

JVP
Sri Lanka Marxists hail killing of Tiger politico leader and says blow to peace agitators Friday, November 2, 2007, 10:37 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Nov 02, Colombo: Sri Lanka Marxist People's Liberation Front (JVP) MP Vijitha Herath says that the killing of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) political wing leader Thamilchelvan is a major victory for the entire Sri Lankan community.
Addressing Daily Mirror immediately after the killing was announced by the LTTE, he said that it is a big blow for those who were pushing for peace talks in the aftermath of the attack on the Anurdhapura air base.
Thamilchelvan has been the face behind the elusive LTTE leader and LTTE’s connection to the international community regularly meeting with international peace delegates and diplomats. His death will be a severe blow to the rebels, analysts say.

IANS
Thamilchelvan's killing a disaster to LTTE - and Sri Lanka
By IANS Friday November 2, 06:30 PM New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) Sri Lanka's dramatic killing of S.P. Thamilchelvan, who many diplomats saw as the 'friendly face' of the Tamil Tigers, is a huge blow to the rebels and is bound to cause more bloodshed in the island.
Although he joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a fighter while in his teens, it was his growing importance as a negotiator in peace talks that fetched Thamilchelvan a larger than life image.
Western diplomats and Indian officials who spoke to IANS warned that his death could complicate an already complex situation in Sri Lanka, stifling even the marginal hopes of restarting negotiations between the LTTE and Colombo.
The LTTE had been trying to groom Thamilchelvan to fill the shoes of Anton Balasingham, the long-time negotiator of the Tigers, when Sri Lanka's air force bombed a LTTE camp in the rebel-held Kilinochchi while he was closeted with his military colleagues. Five LTTE military leaders also died in the strike.
Both Balasingham, who died of cancer in December 2006, and Thamilchelvan were considered extremely close to Prabhakaran. And though Thamilchelvan did not have the kind of command over English Balasingham enjoyed, he more than made it up with his friendly attitude to diplomats and others who came calling on the LTTE.
'Thamilchelvan's killing wipes out the institutional memory of the peace talks (of recent years),' a diplomat in Sri Lanka said. 'Who are the Sri Lankans going to talk to now? This is the real problem.'
Added another diplomat: 'It is a huge blow to negotiations. With Balasingham dead, Thamilchelvan would have played a key role in any future negotiations.'
Some Indian officials warned that this could trigger a tit-for-tat response from the LTTE.
'This is going to spiral everything,' said one official. 'The LTTE will argue that while it is targeting the Sri Lankan military people, the Sri Lankans have killed a key political personality.'
The death is sure to hit the morale of the LTTE, which is still celebrating last week's crippling attack on the Sri Lankan Air Force base in Anuradhapura that wiped out military helicopters and planes worth millions of dollars.
A Tamil source said: 'The LTTE will miss him. He has been with Prabhakaran for 25 years. He has enjoyed his trust.'
Hailing from a poor family in Chavakachcheri in Jaffna, Thamilchelvan - like many young Tamil men of his era - drifted to militancy and later teamed up with LTTE founder leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
As a guerrilla, he took part in many battles and graduated to become 'an excellent shot', said a Sri Lankan Tamil who has known Thamilchelvan intimately.'He could hit any target from a distance.'
But a battle wound brought about a change in his profile, and the man who could fight to kill was anointed the head of the LTTE's political wing.
That designation coupled with his intimacy with Prabhakaran earned him pride of place in the LTTE negotiation teams post the 2002 truce although he remained under the shadow of the elder Balasingham for a long time.
He was the senior most leader of the LTTE most visitors to the Tiger region met. Even those who got to meet Prabhakaran had to go past him.
Thamilchelvan considered himself devoted to Prabhakaran. He married within the LTTE. The couple had two daughters.
As the violence escalated in Sri Lanka from December 2005, Thamilchelvan had a tough time defending the LTTE even as more and more countries turned against the group.
Thamilchelvan was always confident of the success of the LTTE's cause. He said more than once to those close to him: 'I shall not die until I see the birth of Tamil Eelam.' That was not to be.

International Hearld Tribune
Sri Lankan airstrike kills Tamil political leader
The Associated Press Friday, November 2, 2007 COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan airstrike pounded a meeting of top rebel leaders early Friday, killing the head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's political wing and five others in an attack seen as a major victory for the government in its long fight with the guerrillas.
The killing of S.P. Tamilselvan, assumed by many to be the secretive group's second in command, was certain to damage the rebels' morale nearly two weeks after they stunned the government with a devastating attack on an air base.
"This is a message that we know their leaders' location," Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said. "This confirms that our information is very accurate."
Another five rebel leaders were killed in the bombing, according to a statement from the rebel group that was e-mailed to reporters and confirmed Tamilselvan's death. Rebel spokesmen did not answer phone calls seeking further comment.
In a separate attack, Sri Lankan jets pounded a camp belonging to the Black Tigers, the rebel group's suicide fighters, in Iranamadu in the rebel-held district of Kilinochchi, a spokesman for the air force, Group Captain Ajantha Silva, said.
The suicide unit has been the target of repeated airstrikes since its attack on the Anuradhapura air base last week killed 14 soldiers, destroyed eight aircraft and left the government trying to explain how the rebels were able to infiltrate a key military facility.
The military initially gave no details of casualties from either strike, but later confirmed that Tamilselvan had been killed.
With Velupillai Prabhakaran, the secretive Tamil Tiger leader, almost never seen publicly in recent years, Tamilselvan had become the rebel leadership's link to the outside world.
He regularly held talks with peace envoys and diplomats, met with foreign humanitarian workers and gave interviews to the few international journalists allowed by the government to cross into rebel-held territory in the north.
He headed the group's delegation at the failed peace talks in Geneva last year.
In an interview in July, he promised to retaliate for the army's capture of eastern Sri Lanka from the rebels and vowed to " weaken the military capacity of the government of Sri Lanka, which will invariably end up hitting economic targets as well."
In a sign of the focus on fighting by the rebel group - where everyone from politicians to doctors are also combatants - Tamilselvan held the rank of brigadier, the highest rank in the rebel force.
The rebels have been fighting since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, following decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese-controlled governments. More than 70,000 have been killed in the fighting.
The air attacks Friday came a day after a series of ground battles near the rebels' de facto state in the north killed 30 Tamil Tiger fighters and two soldiers, according to the military.

TNA
'Targeted killing of LTTE Chief Negotiator shatters peace illusions' - TNA
[TamilNet, Friday, 02 November 2007, 11:11 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s largest Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Friday expressed its shock at the killing in a government airstrike of Mr S. P. Thamilchelvan the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator and head of its Political Wing and five other LTTE officials. The TNA said the targeted killing of the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator underlined President Mahinda Rajapakse’s insincerity towards a negotiated solution, the TNA also said.
S. P. Thamilchelvan (1967 - 2007) Saluting Mr Thamilchelvan's "selfless sacrifice for the Tamil Eelam struggle" the TNA said it joined the rest of the Tamil community in saluting him and the other LTTE officials killed by the Sri Lanka Air Force bombing.
"We salute his services to the Tamil people and selfless sacrifice for the Tamil Eelam struggle," the brief media release said.
"Although his death is destined to create thousands of new Thamilchelvans who will doubtless serve our freedom struggle with dedication, we shudder at the repercussions for peace of this act by the Sri Lanka government," the TNA said.
The TNA said it joined the Tamil community and activists in saluting and paying tribute to Mr. Thamilchelvan and the other LTTE officials killed in Friday’s airstrike on their residence.
Speaking to TamilNet Friday, Mr. Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, of the TNA’s Foreign Affairs Committee said that the targeted killing of Mr. Thamilchelvan underlined the insincerity of the Rajapakse government’s peace claims.
"In our meetings with numerous representatives of the international community, the TNA repeatedly stated that the Sri Lankan state was not committed to negotiating an equitable solution,” he said. “Despite our warnings, the state was fully backed in its hard line."
"When President Rajapakse came to power, the shift to a military track became much more pronounced. But when we protested to many members of the international community, we were told that this was only to get the LTTE to come to the negotiating table."
"The targeted killing of the LTTE’s Chief Negotiator, in our view, means there can no longer be any illusion as to the State’s interest in negotiating a lasting solution.
"In this context, the Tamil community will be closely watching the actions of the international community vis-à-vis its repeatedly stated commitment to a negotiated peace."