The Chief of Sri Lanka's Defence Staff, Admiral Daya Sandagiri, said on Friday that the recent landmine attacks by the LTTE in Jaffna which claimed the lives of 13 army personnel, were "not acts of war" but were "terrorist acts."
"The armed forces are not excited about these attacks," Adm Sandagiri told a news conference on Friday.
Asked if the killing of the Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was not an act of war, the Inspector General of Police, Chandra Fernando, who also addressed the press conference, said that it was "a crime and a terrorist act, not an act of war."
Adm Sandagiri said that the three services and the police were prepared to meet any challenge from the LTTE and that armed forces had supremacy over the LTTE. But they would not precipitate war, he asserted
"We have the supreme position. There is no doubt about it. But we are not thinking of war. Terrorism doesn't mean war. We are not thinking of an offensive at the moment," he said.
Asked if the LTTE was preparing for war, he said that the armed forces had "no evidence" that they were preparing for one.
Adm Sandagiri said that the Sri Lankan armed forces were committed to implementing the Rajapaksa government's policy of pursuing the peace process and maintaining the ceasefire.
"We will support the government to achieve its political objectives. If there is a choice between maintaining the Ceasefire Agreement and going to war, we will choose to maintain the ceasefire," he said.
The press conference was held at the instance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who wanted the country and the world to know what his government's thinking was on the security situation in Sri Lanka following the LTTE's attacks in the North and East which had claimed the lives of 18 servicemen in the past few days. The killings had led to speculation both in the island and abroad that war was imminent.
The press conference was addressed by the new Army Commander Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka, the Air Force Commander Air Marshal Donald Perera and the Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando also.
LTTE's naval wing intact
Asked about the challenge from the LTTE's naval wing, called the Sea Tigers, Adm Sandagiri said that like the Sri Lankan navy, the LTTE's naval wing had also suffered some damage in the tsunami of 2004, but its strength had not been depleted. There had been no change in its strength, he said.
India funds Palaly airbase modernisation
The Air Force Commander Air Marshal Donald Perera said that India was funding the resurfacing of the runway at the Palaly airbase in Jaffna, the only airport in the troubled Northern Jaffna peninsula. The damaged and potholed runway there was damaging aircraft, he said.
"An Indian team is expected shortly," he added.
Asked if India would get the right to use the airbase as part of the deal, Air Marshal Perera said that it was for the Sri Lankan and Indian governments to decide on such matters.
Asked about the LTTE's air force or "air capability" Air Marshal Perera said that the two or three small, single-engine, two-seater aircraft it seemed to have, could be loaded with bombs and used in an offensive. He said the government was trying to find out more about the LTTE's air capability.
No plan to dilute High Security Zones in Jaffna
Asked how the security forces were going to tackle the problems of peoples' agitation against the High Security Zones (HSZ) in the Jaffna peninsula, Army Commander Sarath Fonseka said that there was no proposal to roll back or dismantle these zones, as they were necessary for the security of the installations of the three services there.
"You need a large area for this," he said, justifying the large amount of land taken up by these special zones keeping the population out.
Gen Fonseka disputed the description of the agitations against the HSZ as "peoples' agitations" because only a small number of the 400,000 people of Jaffna were involved.
"And these are members of the Mahaveera families (families of LTTE cadres who had died in battle) and they agitate at the behest of the LTTE," he explained.
Fonseka went on to point out that President Rajapaksa had said that the civilian owners of lands and properties in the HSZ would be compensated.
(http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1569138,0000.htm)
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