Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Velupillai Prabakharan has declared a virtual state of "emergency" in the tiger controlled regions of the Northern mainland of Wanni in the aftermath of senior leader Vaithilingam Sornalingam alias Col. Shankar being killed by a claymore mine on September 26.
The overall deputy commander of the LTTE's military division Col. Balraj has been given special powers by the tiger chief to take all measures necessary to eradicate the selective assassination campaign conducted against its high-ranking leaders allegedly by a "deep penetration commando unit of the Sri Lankan army".
Balraj while functioning as special commander of the Manal Aaru or Weli Oya region will focus his energies on preventing more infiltration into tiger-controlled areas by the army, tracking down assault units in the jungles and weeding out all suspected informants and collaborators among Tamil civilians.
Fifty-two-year-old Col. Shankar, the man in charge of the LTTE's air wing, anti -aircraft unit and military intelligence, was killed when a claymore mine was triggered off at 10.45 a.m. in the general area of Oddusuddan.
He was travelling alone in a two seater four wheeled pickup vehicle from Oddusuddan to Puthukkudiyiruppu along a seven-mile interior road when the land mine was activated.
Defence Ministry Spokesperson Brigadier Sanath Karunaratna has denied army involvement in the attack and attributed it to infighting within the LTTE.
Shankar has been associated with Prabakharan for nearly three decades and was responsible for several pioneering ventures.
He set up the first office of overseas purchases to procure arms and armaments which is now run by Kumaran Pathmanathan alias "KP".
Shankar was also the founder-commander of the Sea Tigers division, underwater attack unit, the antiaircraft unit and the air wing division.
He possessed a variety of qualifications including certificates in marine and aeronautical engineering and a pilot's license.
Shankar was a trusted deputy of Prabakharan and was associated with him on several important missions including the trail-blazing meeting with Norwegian Special Envoy Erik Solheim at Mallavi on November 1 last year.
Apart from Shankar other senior leaders like Gangai Amaran, deputy chief of the sea tigers, Nizam, political head of Batticaloa - Amparai, LTTE and Mano, communications chief of the eastern tigers, have been killed in similar claymore explosions.
LTTE Deputy Military Wing Chief Balraj, Political Wing Head Thamilchelvan and senior commander Jeyam have also been targeted but escaped through luck.
The tigers suspect the army deep penetration unit of infiltrating the jungle regions of the Wanni from the military complex in the Weli Oya region.
They also suspect some Tamil civilians of being informants and collaborators in this.
It is felt that these persons are either doing it for monetary gain or are sympathisers of anti-tiger groups or a dissident faction supporting former LTTE Deputy Leader Mahendrarajah alias Mahattaya who was executed on charges of treason.
Tamil sources in the Wanni told The Sunday Leader by telephone that the LTTE's special commando unit known as "Leopards" and the civilian militia called "Ellaippadai" have launched an intensive scouring of jungle areas in the Wanni to comb out if possible the deep penetration unit.
The border areas have also been provided enhanced security through regular tiger cadres and the special civilian militia.
The tiger intelligence wing has commenced an elaborate campaign to detect informants and collaborators. Several houses have been searched and many taken in for interrogation on suspicion.
All such activity is coordinated under the command of Balraj who has been entrusted with this task by Prabakharan
" There is an emergency like situation here and the tigers have said that they will exercise full powers to prevent this assassination campaign," said a Tamil resident from the Wanni.
Analysts feel that the Weli Oya military complex would be subject to a security cordon amounting to a siege by the LTTE to prevent suspected infiltration.
The scenario is different in the east where at least five Tamil civilians have been arrested and executed by the LTTE for being involved in the assassination campaign. These were persons who had smuggled in explosive devices to be used in ambushes for monetary gain.
The LTTE has claimed that 37 bombs were detected and confiscated by them in the East after an intensive search
The LTTE has been greatly angered by the latest killing of Shankar and has issued a statement warning the government that "prospects for peace have been further set back by the killing of this senior LTTE leader"
(The Sunday Leader - 30th September 2001)
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