Karuna wants to meet Gandhis (Video)

Colombo: LTTE chief Prabhakaran’s closest aide of 22 years, Colonel Karuna has told CNN IBN he wants to meet Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi to explain to them the “circumstances that led to Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination”.

Col Karuna was flown to Jaffna on Tuesday to identify the body of the slain LTTE chief, who was reportedly shot dead by the Lanka Army on Tuesday.

Karuna identified the body as that of Prabhakaran and told CNN-IBN that there was no doubt that it was the LTTE chief’s body.

He also confirmed that the LTTE chief was killed when the Lankan army encountered him while he, along with few of his cadre, was trying to flee.

Karuna, who fell out with Prabhakaran in 2004, said the LTTE made a big tactical error by keeping all its top leaders – including Prabhakaran in one place, making them vulnerable to attacks by Sri Lankan army.

He said there's no one left in the LTTE to carry out guerrilla attacks anymore. Asked why Prabhakaran did not decided to bite the cyanide bullet – a practice reportedly indoctrinated in the LTTE – when the army closed in on him, Karuna said the LTTE chief and other top leaders “were not capable of it”.

Karuna was the Eastern Commander of the LTTE before he defected with 5000 cadres in 2004.

The 45-year-old who joined the Liberation Tigers in 1983 was once a personal bodyguard to chief Prabhakaran.

He is said to have been the strategist behind the Jayanthan Force, which helped the Tigers' successful resistance of the Sri Lankan army's Operation Jayasikuru in 1997-98.

Prabhakaran also made Karuna a part of the team that negotiated with the Sri Lankan government during several rounds of peace talks in Bangkok, Oslo and Tokyo.

CNN-IBN: Did you see their bodies? Who all could identify?

Col Karuna: I went to see only Prabhakaran's body and identified it 100 per cent.

CNN-IBN: You can be sure it is him? Is there a possibility that it was not him?

Col Karuna: No, there's no doubt. I was with him for 22 years. I know it's him.

CNN-IBN: So there’s no doubt about it?

Col Karuna: Yes, there’s no doubt.

CNN-IBN: You know the LTTE military structure very well. How did the end come about?

Col Karuna: The LTTE made a mistake about their military strategy. Plus all their leaders were in same area. According to ground knowledge, it was not a good thing for LTTE. That's great for government, and Lanka military however.

CNN-IBN: Did Prabhakaran try to escape? There are several theories surrounding this.

Col Karuna: All leaders died three days before he was killed. Prabhakaran tried to escape on Tuesday with 18 cadre, possibly his bodyguards. When they crossed the army line, they fired and early morning 6:30 am, he was killed.

CNN-IBN: So there was no rocket launch etc? He was shot by the army?

Col Karuna: Yes, he was shot by the Army.