Sri Lanka's former rebel leader forms new party

Sri Lanka's former Tamil Tiger rebel leader Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan has formed a new party in order to voice the concerns of minority Tamils in the island country, the local media report said Sunday.

Muralitharan, who broke away from the rebel outfit in 2004 and was sworn in as a deputy minister in the previous government, blamed the main Tamil political party - the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) - for not doing enough to represent the concerns of the Tamils.

He formed the 'Tamil National Freedom Front Party' with the assistance of his close members.

Muralitharan was the former Tamil Tiger rebel leader in the eastern province and bolted from the faction popularly known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Soon after leaving the LTTE, he had formed Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP), a splinter faction of the LTTE.

After giving up arms and entering politics, he was appointed as a National List Member of Parliament for the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), the party of former President Mahinda Rajapakse in 2008 and also the minister of national integration in March 2009.

He later joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the largest party in the UPFA.

Muralitharan is facing a corruption probe in the island country for alleged misuse of state vehicles during the previous government.

source: Xinhua