Orders went to them to ask the SLMM monitors to accompany a team to the spot. It was done. In the presence of the SLMM monitors, the commandos destroyed what was left of the abandoned huts, suspected to belong to the LTTE.
Publicity to this event was to draw an angry response from one of LTTE’s Trincomalee leaders, Elilan. He said that the Tiger guerrillas had no such camps in the jungles off the naval headworks.
To prove their claims, Navy Headquarters released a photograph that showed the remains of what appeared to be a hut. Two persons on the photo were identified as SLMM members. One was posing for the picture. The other was busy with his back to the camera easing himself.
Doing that on the very ground where the Tigers reportedly held a camp was bad enough. Imagine that becoming a photo opportunity. That seemed worse for the embarrassed monitor.
