"I am so glad that I could escape the LTTE control alive; they (LTTE) have created a living hell for civilians in Wanni" said the 19 year old Tamil youth to the army officials, as he hurriedly arrived to the roadblock at Ulliyankulam on Thursday (14) morning.
Seven people including three women who had managed to escape the terror clutches in Wanni arrived at the roadblock at the fist light seeking refuge from the security forces. The refugees told defence officials that they were residents of the Adappan area; deep in the LTTE dominated territory of Wanni.
Three youths among the refugees identified them as LTTE cadres and said that had managed to rescue the others whom they called their relatives, from the remorseless LTTE tyranny.
"We have been asked to get forced labour from our own relatives at gunpoint. Our parents , grand parents and all the children are being forced to build bunkers, dig trenches, perform sentry duties and all other fatigue work like salves " one LTTE escapee said. He further introduced the other four civilians as his mother, two sisters and a cousin bother. "I would rather die, than leaving my mother and two little sisters to the rabid LTTE cadres", he added.
Defence.lk special correspondent in Mannar said that these escapees reconfirmed the reports that have been piling up on the human catastrophe crafted by the LTTE terrorists in the Wanni region.
All three youths claimed that they had been abducted and forcibly given military training by the LTTE.
As further learnt by our correspondent, two of the youth were abducted last March while they had been returning home from the Madhu church. A prominent religious figure in the region had visited the Madu shrine on the 23rd March 2007 and asked all the refugees to return to their homes saying that the church could not ensure their safety".
"We were betrayed. It was just what the LTTE wanted. They (LTTE) immediately formed several gangs and abducted over 200 youths both male and female from the families driven out from their place of refuge," said the 20-year-old youth from Adappan.
According to our correspondent, a gang led by an LTTE regional leader Thangayya was behind these abductions. Few days before the eviction, refugees inside the church assaulted Thangayya when he had entered the sacred premises with weapons and threatened the civilians to return their homes.
It is also learnt from the escapees that civilians in Madu, Parappakadaththan, Pallamaddu, Palmpiddi, and Thampanai areas are detailed for fatigue work three-four days a week at the locations ordered by the LTTE.
"The civilians in the village where the work is going on have to provide free food for the working people and the overseeing LTTE cadres. This practice has created many civil commotions, as people cannot afford to provide food for others," the youth from the Parappakadaththan area told our correspondent.
Finally, the escapees have revealed that the LTTE had suffered heavy losses in the recent battles with the security forces that its leader has coined as the "final war". According to them, many have died but the LTTE leaders no longer declare the fate of their cadres to the relatives.
"Parents are often seen at LTTE camps asking the fate of their sons and daughters. Moreover, speculations are that many have given an "enemy' burial before their own kith and kin" one of them noted.
(http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070615_04)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment