Colonel Karuna Faction

The Colonel Karuna faction is a splinter group of the LTTE, led by former LTTE military commander Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, known commonly as Colonel Karuna. Colonel Karuna defected from the LTTE over suspicion that he was to be removed as commander of the LTTE’s Eastern division and disagreement over LTTE operations in Northern Sri Lanka. The organization’s military wing is called the Tamil National Front and its political wing is known as the Tamileela Makkal Viduthalai Pulligal (TMVP). By April 2004, the LTTE had subdued the breakway faction; however, Colonel Karuna escaped with a small group of supporters and regrouped in Colombo. In 2007, the TVMP was registered as an official political party, although the group continued to operate a military wing against the LTTE. On March 9, 2009, Colonel Karuna and his followers left the TVMP to join the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SFLP), and Karuna was appointed the Minister of National Reconcilation and Integration.