PM orders probe of report that Tamil Tiger leader arrested in Thailand

BANGKOK, Aug 7 (TNA) - Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Friday that he has ordered the country’s security agencies to provide details following a news report that the head of Sri Lanka's recently defeated Tamil Tiger separatists was captured in Thailand.

The French news agency Agence-France-Presse (AFP) earlier reported that Selvarasa Pathmanathan, a foreign-based leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was returned to Sri Lanka on Thursday for questioning after being arrested in Thailand.

Mr Pathmanathan assumed the leadership of LTTE overall following the death of its supreme leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, in the separatist organisation’s last stand against Sri Lankan security forces in mid-May.

The Thai premier said that he was informed of the matter late Thursday night and he had assigned the security agencies to seek more details.

Acting Government Spokesman Panitan Wattanayakorn said that an initial report said that Pathmanathan had travelled in and out of Thailand but it was not identified where he was arrested.

Mr Panitan, however, noted that Mr Pathmanathan reportedly was married to a Thai and lived in the northern part of the country.

Meanwhile, Thailand's Special Branch police chief Theeradej Rodphothong said that the LTTE head was captured in Singapore, not in Thailand.

Lt-Gen Theeradej noted that Thailand was mentioned in the news report becuase the LTTE head formerly had a Thai wife and he usually moved among three Southeast Asian countries--Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. (TNA)