Exactly two weeks ago, an armed group said to be 10 to 15 in number, dressed in black and their faces masked with black cloth, alighted from an ash coloured van near a cluster of buildings, once an agricultural centre, in Chelvanayakapuram in Trincomalee.
They ran towards a former dairy house, now an “office” of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in this Government controlled area. One of them lobbed a grenade whilst others followed with fire from Chinese built T-56 assault rifles. They poured several rounds of 7.62 bullets.
Within seconds, two guerrilla cadres, “Lt. Col.” Sebastian alias Pillai Jayachandran and Sinnavan alias Kumaran Master were killed. Sebastian, better known by his nom de guerre Dikkam, was a senior Sea Tiger leader in the Trincomalee district whilst his colleague was a fighting cadre. Also killed were two civilians, Koneswaran Muthaiah alias Konesh Master and Kulasingham Ausan. A fifth person, Chitra Velayutham Selvakumar was wounded. The attack took place not far off from a military checkpoint and the Police. One was located 250 metres northwards at the Third Milepost. Another, also some 250 metres to the west, was the Uppuveli Police Station.
Tiger guerrillas accused operatives of the Army’s Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI). They said the van carrying the attackers had its number plates concealed by twigs of Kohomba leaves. For a while, onlookers who saw the van and not the masked men inside thought it was headed on a pilgrimage to Kataragama. Vehicles carrying the devotees often had sprigs of the plant with medicinal values on the grill of their vehicles.
Reports reaching both the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH) and Army Headquarters from Trincomalee gave details of this incident. But these reports said the incident was the work of an “unidentified group.” Senior Army officials who spoke to The Sunday Times on grounds of anonymity insisted that neither their intelligence arm nor other personnel were involved in the attack.
At least one suggested it could have been the work of the dissident Karuna faction, though the group has dwindled in numbers and had its ammunition stocks run low. Even if they were behind the attack, the source argued, the LTTE would not concede it because that would amount to giving credit and credibility to the dissident group as a formidable rival.
For the LTTE, this incident seemed the proverbial last straw that broke the camel’s back. On June 26 a claymore mine attack between Bo Aththa and Sewanapitiya along the Manampitiya -Batticaloa road narrowly missed an LTTE convoy. It was carrying their Ampara political wing leader Kuyilinpan and 39 other cadres from Kilinochchi to Batticaloa. S. Dharsha, an LTTE cadre sustained minor injuries. Four months earlier LTTE Ampara-Batticaloa political wing leader Ilayathambi Lingarasa alias Kowshalyan and a colleague were shot dead at Pillayaradi in Batticaloa. All these incidents in Government-controlled areas, the LTTE concluded, were the work of the military, its intelligence operatives and “a group of saboteurs under the name of Karuna.”
If the claymore mine incident near Welikanda prompted the LTTE to demand procedures to ensure safety of travel through government controlled areas for LTTE cadres, there was more anger at the response they received. Jayantha Dhanapala, Secretary General of the Peace Secretariat declared providing escorts “….. is a confidence building measure and not a right.” He said there would be one round trip per month (from Kilinochchi to Batticaloa and from Kilinochchi to Trincomalee) where armed escorts would be provided.
Pointing out that they would resort to their own “means and modes” of transport, the LTTE warned that this would push the Ceasefire Agreement into a “grave and complex situation.” That was a way of saying war would thus be inevitable.
To show that the warning was not mere rhetoric, LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran ordered a stepped up campaign to eliminate personnel of all state intelligence agencies in the East. Operatives of the country’s premier intelligence organisation, the Directorate of Internal Intelligence (DII) in the east were ordered to remain indoors. Personnel of the Army’s Directorate of Military Intelligence were told they required the permission of their superiors before they ventured out to meet informants.
In a separate development, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga tasked Major General Kapila Hendavitharana, now Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI) for a temporary foreign assignment. This came amidst reports that Tiger guerrillas had planned to eliminate him first, before they killed Lt. Col. Tuan Nizam Muthaliff. They had mounted surveillance and found that he frequented a market area on Sundays. This is where the attack was to be carried out but he had gone abroad that week, as revealed in The Sunday Times (Situation Report) of July 10.
Maj. Gen. Hendavitharana, a former Director of Military Intelligence, was attached to the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH). His post as Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI) is to remain suppressed until his return to Colombo. However, retired Major General Chula Seneviratne, Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) is to overlook his responsibilities. A routine Posting Order on Thursday attaching Maj. Gen. Hendavitharana to Army Headquarters had fuelled wild rumours that he had been removed from his post.
It turned out that intelligence operatives in the East were not the only targets Tiger guerrillas were pursuing. They were taking on troops and policemen too raising fears in the defence establishment in Colombo that a retaliatory response would only trigger Eelam War Four. Never before has the fear of the resumption of hostilities been so apparent during the three year long ceasefire.
On July 12 two guerrilla cadres fired at an Army static guard point at the Anuradhapura junction in Trincomalee. Lance Corporal Bandara was injured. On the same day, guerrilla cadres lobbed a grenade at a Police truck travelling from Alles Garden to Trincomalee along the Nilaveli Road. An Inspector, a Sub Inspector, a Sergeant and ten policemen were injured. On July 13 a group of guerrilla cadres lobbed a grenade and opened fire at an Army guard point in Soorangal. Corporal Piyadasa of the National Guard was wounded. On the same day, another group lobbed a grenade and fired at an Army platoon deployed for security at a camp in Periyapalama where internally displaced persons are located. Privates Samantha, Maduranga, Vijekumar and Anusha were wounded.
Also on July 13, a group of guerrillas attacked a tractor carrying an officer and nine soldiers from Palathoppur to Pansalwatte detachment. They ambushed the troops from two directions, lobbing hand grenades and opening fire. Lt. Samarathunga, Cpl. Sunil Shantha, Cpl. Jayakody, L/Cpl. Karunasinghe, L/Cpl. Gnanadarshana, Pvt. Sugathadasa, Pvt. Wijesekera, Pvt. Kumaratunga and Pvt. Silva sustained injuries.
On July 14 Sub Inspector Sunil Ranjit Lokuhettige was shot and wounded in Tampalagamuwa. He was returning to a Police post when the incident occurred. On the same day, an unidentified person lobbed a grenade towards and Army truck. It exploded near a barber saloon injuring two civilians. On July 16, a picket detailed to secure the main supply route in Vantharamoolai (near Batticaloa) was fired at by Tiger guerrillas. Gunner Kandepola was killed. On July 18 Gunner Jinapala was shot at wounded at Mavedivembu in the Batticaloa district.
On July 21 a guerrilla lobbed a grenade at Special Task Force (STF) and Police personnel at a centre housing internally displaced persons at Akkaraipattu. Constables Ananda, Pathiraja and Ranjith were wounded. On July 21, four policemen on duty outside the Bank of Ceylon branch at Pottuvil were fired at. Reserve PC Weerasinghe was killed. Yesterday, guerrillas attacked a Police Post in Pottuvil killing one constable and wounding two. They also attacked a Police Post in Akkaraipattu wounding two policemen. The spate of incidents caused alarm at the highest levels of the Government.
The head of the Military Intelligence branch at the Army’s 22 Division Headquarters in Trincomalee, responsible for intelligence activity in the district, was immediately transferred to Colombo. This week, President Kumaratunga spoke to General Officer Commanding (GOC) 22 Division, Major General Sumith Balasuriya, an experienced officer, about the prevailing situation in the area and on other important matters.
This came amidst a number of other steps she took in her capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The Sunday Times learnt she has initiated a top level inquiry to ascertain who was responsible for the Chelvanayakapuram incident. The probe which was under way in Trincomalee this week was also trying to ascertain whether “a hidden hand” was behind the string of incidents in the East including grenade throwing in order to sabotage the peace process.
Some senior military top brass have been ticked off for not being aware of what was going on under their very nose. A state run Sunday newspaper even suggested that pro Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) recruits to the Army were behind attempts to trigger hostilities.
Here again, high ranking Army officials who spoke to The Sunday Times strictly on grounds of anonymity insisted neither the security forces nor other “outside elements” were behind the wave of incidents. “The series of grenade explosions was the result of civilians, trained by the LTTE, flexing their muscles. Civilian groups were being activated in a big way not only in the East but also in the Jaffna peninsula,” said one. In the case of the latter, large groups of civilians including drivers, conductors and three wheel taxi operators who received military training have grouped themselves in Jaffna.
“Troops have been reacting with extreme restraint and utmost caution under severe pressure and provocation. If a proper appraisal of the ground realities is not taken into consideration, the consequences could be unimaginable,” warned another. He said this situation was happening at a time when intelligence gathering work by state agencies was badly impeded. “Wrong reports on ground realities could only lead to wrong assumptions and faulty judgements that could irreparably harm national security interests,” he warned. He lamented that it had happened in the past but no lessons have been learnt.
President Kumaratunga had wanted to address senior officers of the Security Forces and the Police. They were to be summoned for a conference on Tuesday (July 26) but the meeting has now been put off for another date. She was expected to tell them of the need to protect the ceasefire and her Government’s commitment to continue with the peace process.
The defence establishment in Colombo that suspects a “hidden hand” over the recent developments was not the only party concerned. So were the Norwegian peace facilitators who were monitoring developments from Oslo although they did not apportion blame on anyone outside. They initiated a number of new measures.
The first to unfold was a statement from “Sri Lanka Peace Process Co-Chairs” issued by the United States Embassy in Colombo. It noted that an “escalation of violence resulting in the killing and injuring of persons associated with the Government of Sri Lanka, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and other political groups.”
“Unless security is guaranteed,” the statement warned “a central pillar of the Ceasefire Agreement will be undermined. If the Ceasefire Agreement ceases to function, the wider peace process would be gravely jeopardized and international support for that process would be deeply eroded.”
The thrust of the statement lay in their assertion that “the parties demonstrate the seriousness of their commitment to the Ceasefire Agreement by coming together to resolve outstanding issues and renew their commitment.” This is exactly what SLMM Head Hagrup Haukland and acting Norwegian Ambassador, Oddvar Laegreid tried to do when they spoke with S.P. Thamilselvan, LTTE Political Wing leader, in Kilinochchi.
They proposed to get Government and LTTE representatives for a meeting, either in Kilinochchi or in a “controlled area” like Omanthai to de-escalate the rising tension. “Let the Government forces first stop all their ceasefire violations and threats against LTTE fighters and behave reasonably. Let us see thereafter whether there is any possibility of having any direct talks,” declared Mr. Thamilselvan. The LTTE position was clearly spelt out in an interview he gave the Colombo based Tamil daily Sudar Oli after the talks with Mr. Haukland and party last Wednesday.
Answers he gave to questions posed by the newspaper give an idea of the LTTE thinking. Here are edited excerpts:
What subjects were discussed during talks?
The meeting was held to discuss the worsening crisis. We explained our stance.
Co-chairs of the peace process have called a halt to violence. Your comments:
It is the Government and the Security Forces that should behave properly. At a time when they have not taken any constructive measures to adhere to the ceasefire and rectify the situation, it does not appear to us that these efforts or that of the international community will be successful.
We have clearly and firmly asked for the implementation of clause 1.8 of the Ceasefire Agreement. This clause deals with the disarming of paramilitary groups. The armed groups functioning in our homeland should be removed.
Did the talks progress even in a small measure?
There has been no progress.
Did Norwegian facilitators put forward any proposal?
They want the two sides to meet and talk. It is impossible to have direct talks when our fighters cannot move around. Direct talks are possible only when goodwill is established. The Government and the Security Forces must create such a condition….
The Norwegian peace facilitators have not given up efforts to get the two sides to talk. Yesterday, Special Envoy Erik Solheim cut short a holiday in Switzerland to fly to Britain for a meeting with LTTE Chief Peace negotiator, Anton Balasingham. Joining him in London was Norway’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Hans Brattskar, who was on holiday in Oslo. The duo were due to discuss the proposal again for a meeting between the two sides to reduce tensions and urge LTTE leaders not to make provocative statements.
It is in this backdrop that Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri, made an announcement to a conference of Principal Staff Officers (PSO) and Area Commanders at Navy Headquarters on Friday. He said that was the last conference he was chairing. He was quitting as Navy Commander on August 31 and a new incumbent would take his place. However, he did not name him.
It is not immediately clear whether Vice Admiral Sandagiri would continue as Chief of Defence Staff though he has readied a Navy bungalow at considerable cost for this purpose. It is likely that the Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Mohan Wijewickrema will be named the new Commander and Rear Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, the Chief of Staff. Vice Admiral Sandagiri also made reference to media reports about his overseas trips and the faulty guns from Royal Ordnance which the Navy purchased.
Whilst the Government looks for the “hidden hand” behind incidents in the east, the Norwegian peace facilitators and Co-chairs of the Peace Process are bent on de-escalating mounting tensions. For the Government, two key aspects continue to be ignored.
One is the military preparedness and a cohesive plan of action in the event attacks on Security Forces intensify. Second is the lack of any strong action against corrupt practices in military procurements, particularly urgently needed items, to ensure the lives of officers and men committed to protecting the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are safe. The vast majority are honest though a handful have emerged as billionaires or millionaires.
President Kumaratunga has publicly declared she cannot fight a war due to the lack of honest officers. It is now time she deals with those responsible since no one has been brought to book until now. Finding scapegoats after the event, as in the past, will be of no avail.
Comprehensive air training deal with India
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is likely to accept a comprehensive air defence training package for its personnel from the Indian Air Force.
The move is prompted by the acquisition of air capability by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). As exclusively revealed in The Sunday Times (Situation Report) from time to time, the LTTE has constructed a runway capable of handling even a US built Hercules C-130 transport plane and acquired at least two fixed wing aircraft. One of them has been identified as a Czech built Zlin Z-143. Recent reports have revealed that the aircraft have been used during night time for training purposes.
A five-member team from the Sri Lanka Air Force was in India last month examining the training facilities available for air defence as well as equipment to counter air threats.
The team was led by Air Vice Marshal Channa Gunaratne, Director Planning at SLAF headquarters. The other members were Air Commodore Roshan Gunathilake, Director Operations, Group Captain Gagan Bulathsinhala, Base Commander, SLAF Base, China Bay, Group Captain Rohan Pathirage, Commanding Officer, Electronics and Telecommunications Wing, SLAF Base, Ratmalana and Group Captain Vijitha Gunaratne, Commanding Officer, SLAF at the Bandaranaike International Airport. The team met the Commander of Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi and other high ranking officials.
They visited the main IAF air defence facility in Lucknow, the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh. There they saw air defence operations systems and how personnel are trained. They also visited Uterlai in the state of Rajasthan where they saw air defence equipment including radars.
Thereafter the team proceeded to Jalahalli in Bangalore, the largest training establishment of the Indian Air Force. It is from this base that the Indian troops launched the air drop of food supplies to the Jaffna peninsula in 1987. At present 20 SLAF personnel are undergoing training at this training facility in various fields including electrical and electronic courses.
The SLAF team’s visit to India came in the wake of talks President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga held with Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh during a three-day visit to New Delhi beginning June 2 this year.
Among other matters, both leaders had discussed the Tiger guerrilla acquisition of air capability. A joint statement issued at the end of the visit noted that “particular concern was expressed over the illegal acquisition of air capability.”
Before these high level talks in New Delhi, Indian External Affairs Minister Kanwar Natwar Singh declared that India is concerned about information that the LTTE had built an airstrip and acquired aircraft. He told the Chennai based The Hindu newspaper the LTTE was believed to be getting more aircraft.
The Government also circulated an aide memoire to several countries giving details of how the LTTE constructed a runway and acquired aircraft. The Government said this constituted a threat to the entire region and was in violation of the Ceasefire Agreement.
Though the SLAF team inspected air defence equipment, no decision has been made to procure them so far. However, the Government has obtained part of these needs, said to be more advanced than the ones manufactured in India, from another source.
<>A report from the SLAF delegation to India is learnt to have been sent to the Ministry of Defence. The latter is expected to finalise the training package for the Air Force.(http://www.sundaytimes.lk/050724/columns/sitrep.html)
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