Because of past scandals, the agency had largely dropped its paramilitary operations. But the war on terrorism has brought it back into the business.
The U.S. is not yet at war with Saddam Hussein. Not officially. But quietly, over the past few months, some of its savviest warriors have sneaked into his country. They have been secretly prowling the Kurdish-controlled enclave in northern Iraq, trying to organize a guerrilla force that could guide American soldiers invading from the north, hunting for targets that U.S. warplanes might bomb, setting up networks to hide U.S. pilots who might be shot down and mapping out escape routes to get them out. And they are doing the same in southern Iraq with dissident Shi'ites.
But the biggest surprise of all is that they are not even soldiers; they are spies, part of the CIA's rough and ready, supersecret Special Operations Group (SOG). Until fairly recently, the CIA, in an effort to clean up a reputation sullied by botched overseas coups and imperial assassination attempts, had shied away from getting its hands dirty. Until about five years ago, it focused instead on gathering intelligence that could be used by other parts of the government. Before that, traditional CIA officers, often working under cover as U.S. diplomats, got most of their secrets from the embassy cocktail circuit or by bribing foreign officials. Most did not even have weapons training, and they looked down on the few SOG commandos who remained out in the field as knuckle draggers, relics of a bygone era. Now the knuckle draggers are not just back; they are the new hard edge of the CIA, at the forefront of the war on terrorism. And, says a U.S. intelligence official, "they know which end the bullet comes out of."
It was George Tenet who began rebuilding the SOG five years ago when he took charge of the CIA, but the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, accelerated his efforts.
Confronted with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, an enemy that has no army, no fixed assets and no clearly defined territory, the Bush Administration needed an unconventional military force. It wanted combatants who could match al-Qaeda for wiliness, adaptability and, up to a point, ruthlessness. It wanted its own army of James Bonds. So in the past year, hundreds of millions of additional dollars have been pumped into the CIA budget by President George W. Bush, a man who may be predisposed to believe strongly in an agency his father once headed. He has ordered SOG operatives to join forces with foreign intelligence services. He has even authorized the CIA to kidnap terrorists in order to break their cells or kill them.
All of which could make for a more agile, effective intelligence agency. Or it could also mean a CIA that once again steps beyond the realm of collecting secrets to intervening forcibly in the affairs of foreign states. In that area, the agency's history has often been one of blunders and worse, from Iran and Guatemala in the 1950s through the Bay of Pigs fiasco under John F. Kennedy to the Nicaraguan war that led to the Iran- contra debacle in the '80s. Some longtime intelligence watchers are wondering whether a reinvigorated paramilitary wing of the CIA could be a mixed blessing for America once again. And the military itself is not too pleased. It believes its special-ops forces are perfectly equipped to handle these jobs. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has reacted in part by planning his own secret unit, which would function much like the SOG but would answer to him rather than Tenet.
Though tiny by Pentagon standards, the SOG has swelled to several hundred officers. They are planted in Pakistan, Central Asia, North Africa and East Asia. "These are people who are operating every day around the world," Jim Pavitt, the CIA's deputy director of operations, told TIME. "I can insert a team anywhere quickly and clandestinely." The future may bring even more ambitious missions. Last May, Bush signed a top- secret directive authorizing pre-emptive strikes by the Pentagon and the CIA against nations that are close to acquiring nuclear weapons. Administration sources tell TIME that the Department of Energy's nuclear-weapons experts are training SOG operatives on ways to attack enemy nuclear facilities. In the current crisis with North Korea, Washington so far is committed to diplomacy as a means of pressuring Pyongyang to give up its atomic-arms program, but it might well be a SOG team that gets called to action.
The latest debate over the wisdom of expanding CIA powers in this way has been confined mostly to a small group of professionals, escaping the public's notice. That's largely because the evolution of the CIA's mission has proceeded so quietly. Americans did get a glimpse into the world of the CIA paramilitary when American Johnny (Mike) Spann, 32, was killed in Afghanistan in November 2001 after being overpowered by Taliban prisoners he had been interrogating; uncharacteristically, the CIA confirmed that Spann was one of its own, a member of the sog. Another peek into the shadows came last November when it was revealed that the explosion that had carbonized a carful of alleged al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen was caused by a Hellfire missile let loose by a CIA Predator drone.
The outlines of this new mission are not new, but TIME has uncovered enough fresh details to construct the fullest picture yet of the CIA's secret army. It spoke to past and current intelligence officials, including an active member of the sog, as well as to detractors within the Pentagon. Our report:
INTO AFGHANISTAN
Officially, the war in Afghanistan began on Oct. 7, 2001, with the first round of U.S. air attacks. For the SOG, however, the battle opened on Sept. 26, just 15 days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. That was how "John," one of the SOG's paramilitary officers, unexpectedly found himself peering out the open window of a Soviet-made Mi-17 helicopter that day as it soared over the Anjuman Pass and into the Panjshir Valley, northeast of Kabul. Just ahead on the ground, John spotted a patrol of bearded men in turbans toting AK-47 rifles.
John tugged the sleeve of the pilot from the rebel Northern Alliance, who was aboard to guide the aircraft through the treacherous mountains of northeastern Afghanistan. "They're not ours," the Afghan shouted, letting John know that the helicopter could be fired on from below. The Taliban fighters, however, were so stunned by the appearance of the beastly aircraft roaring above them that they did not have time to shoulder their weapons and shoot before it flew out of range. "Wonderful," the CIA officer shouted to his Afghan comrade. Just a week earlier, John (who talked to TIME on the condition that his real name not be used) had been studying at a language school in Virginia, preparing for an entirely different assignment overseas. (What language and what posting, he would not say.) The agency yanked him out to join the first U.S. team going into Afghanistan. That was typical for a CIA paramilitary officer, who at a moment's notice may be thrown into what John calls a pickup team. John's team included four CIA officers fluent in Farsi or Dari who for years had been sneaking into Afghanistan, recruiting spies for the agency. Their mission now was to hook up with those contacts, collect intelligence for the impending U.S. aerial attack and hunt for bin Laden. Along with the light arms, radios and rations they had packed into the Mi-17 were two suitcases stuffed with $3 million. It was used for bribing Afghan warlords to fight the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
WHO JOINS UP?
Like all the SOG's other paramilitary operatives, John had spent years in the U.S. military before joining the cia; five years is the minimum requirement. CIA recruiters regularly prowl clubs like those at Fort Bragg, N.C., where the Army's Special Operations Command has its headquarters, looking for Green Berets interested in even more unconventional work and higher pay (a starting SOG officer can earn more than $50,000 a year; a sergeant in the Green Berets begins at about $41,000). Special-forces soldiers, Navy seals and Air Force commandos are routinely dispatched to the agency on a temporary basis to provide special military skills that the CIA needs for specific missions. If a soldier is assigned highly clandestine work, his records are changed to make it appear as if he resigned from the military or was given civilian status; the process is called sheep dipping, after the practice of bathing sheep before they are sheared.
Military commandos who join the CIA full time are sent to the "farm," the agency's Camp Peary training center, located on 9,000 heavily wooded acres surrounded by a barbed-wire-topped fence near Williamsburg, Va. There the soldiers go through the yearlong course that all new CIA case officers must take to learn such skills of the trade as infiltrating hostile countries, communicating in codes, retrieving messages from dead drops and recruiting foreign agents to spy for the U.S. The CIA wants its paramilitary officers to be able to steal secrets as well as blow up bridges. John proudly recalls overhearing an Afghan commander tell a comrade, "Yes, I have these Americans with me, and, yes, they have rifles, but I don't think they're soldiers. They spend all their time with laptops." Says John: "We wrote hundreds and hundreds of intelligence reports."
At Camp Peary, new SOG recruits also hone their paramilitary skills, like sharpshooting with various kinds of weapons, setting up landing zones in remote areas for agency aircraft and attacking enemy sites with a small force. Some are sent to Delta Force's secret compound at Fort Bragg to learn highly specialized counterterrorism techniques, such as how to rescue a fellow agent held hostage.
Over the years, the SOG has taken on some of the CIA's most dangerous work. Paramilitary officers account for almost half the 79 stars chiseled into the wall in the main foyer of the agency's Langley, Va., headquarters commemorating all the spies who have died since the cia was founded in 1947. The newest star is dedicated to Spann. But the CIA suffered additional casualties in Afghanistan and some injuries that the agency has not yet publicly acknowledged. A CIA officer was wounded by a bullet in the chest during a fire fight in southern Afghanistan, and one of the U.S. soldiers confirmed killed was working with a CIA team when he was hit in a separate skirmish.
IN, OUT AND IN AGAIN
The SOG traces its roots to the days of William (Wild Bill) Donovan, the general in charge of espionage and clandestine operations during World War II, whose Office of Strategic Services sent paramilitary commandos behind enemy lines. The CIA, since its founding after the war, has always had a paramilitary unit, which has carried various names. At the height of the cold war, the agency had hundreds of paramilitary operatives fomenting coups around the world. It was involved in assassination plots against the leaders of Congo, Cuba and Iraq and was linked by a 1976 Senate inquiry to ousters that resulted in the deaths of the leaders of the Dominican Republic, Vietnam and Chile. When Ronald Reagan wanted to roll back communism in the 1980s, the agency organized paramilitary operations in Central America. These adventures had checkered results. The governments that the CIA destabilized in Iran, Guatemala and Chile were replaced by repressive regimes that ended up doing more damage in the long run to U.S. foreign policy.
By 1990 the SOG had practically been disbanded, the victim of domestic and international outrage over the agency's lethal meddling in other countries. Congressional and CIA budget cutters slashed money for the clandestine force, believing that billion-dollar spy satellites collected intelligence more efficiently and without embarrassing the U.S. The pendulum soon began to swing back, however, as intelligence officials realized that technology has its limitations. Satellites, for instance, can't see inside buildings; phone taps can't capture an enemy's every move. When Tenet was installed as CIA director in 1997, he began fielding more human spies and rebuilding the SOG.
During the Balkan conflicts in the mid- and late 1990s, agency paramilitary officers slipped into Bosnia and Kosovo to collect intelligence and hunt for accused war criminals like Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his top general, Ratko Mladic. But the newly formed teams did not have enough manpower for snatches even when they were able to pinpoint Serbian targets. "The CIA," complains a former senior Clinton aide, "didn't have the capability to take down a three- or four-car motorcade with bodyguards."
Today it does, and the sog's capacities are growing. Its maritime branch has speedboats to carry commandos to shore, and the agency can rent cargo ships through its front companies to transport larger equipment. The air arm, which Pentagon officials have nicknamed the Waffen CIA, has small passenger jets on alert to fly paramilitary operatives anywhere in the world on two hours' notice. Other cargo planes, reminiscent of the Air America fleet that the agency had in Vietnam, can drop supplies to replenish teams in remote locations. For areas like Afghanistan and Central Asia, where a Russian-made helicopter stands out less, the agency uses the large inventory of Soviet-era aircraft that the Pentagon captured in previous conflicts or bought on the black market.
The part of the air arm that has received the most publicity lately is the fleet of remote-controlled Predator drones, armed with 5-ft.-long Hellfire missiles, that the agency bought from the Air Force. In November 2001 the CIA deployed the drone to eliminate bin Laden's lieutenant, Mohammed Atef. Last November's Predator hit in Yemen killed an al-Qaeda commander and his entourage of five, though the strike was controversial: one of the dead men turned out to be a U.S. citizen.
There have possibly been other missteps as well. In February 2002 a cia Predator fired at a group of Afghan men gathered around a truck, killing at least three of them. U.S. intelligence insists the men were an al-Qaeda band, but locals say they were nothing more than scrap dealers or smugglers. And as the agency tries to pull together rival Iraqi Kurdish forces into a viable guerrilla force that could take on Saddam, it must confront its sorry history in that territory. In 1995 it attempted to organize a Kurdish rebellion against Saddam, but in the end CIA officers fled their base in northern Iraq, abandoning their Kurdish agents to Iraqi police, who rounded up and executed hundreds. The Clinton Administration, fearing the operation would end in disaster, had pulled the plug. But perhaps the sog's most notable lapse in the field has been its failure to locate bin Laden. "They're still developing their capability," says a Bush Administration official who has worked with the unit. "It doesn't mean that they won't be a force to be reckoned with. But they're not there yet."
OPPOSITION AND RIVALS
The pentagon is not happy about the SOG's moving aggressively onto its turf. When aides told Rumsfeld in late September 2001 that his Army Green Beret A-Teams couldn't go into Afghanistan until the CIA contingent there had laid the groundwork with the local warlords, he erupted, "I have all these guys under arms, and we've got to wait like a little bird in a nest for the CIA to let us go in?" What's more, Rumsfeld, according to a Pentagon source, does not like the idea that the CIA's paramilitary operatives could start fights his forces might have to finish.
The resentment burns even more because the generals know that when it comes to special-operations soldiers, they have a deeper bench than the spooks at Langley. And in Afghanistan, the Pentagon was regularly asked to supply the CIA with people from that bench. The Defense Department already has 44,000 Army, Navy and Air Force commandos in its U.S. Special Operations Command, who are as skilled in covert guerrilla warfare as the CIA's operatives. In the basement vaults of the command's headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., sit secret contingency plans to send military special-ops teams to any trouble spot in the world, complete with infiltration routes, drop zones, intelligence contacts and assault points.
The CIA ended up having about 100 officers roaming in Afghanistan during the U.S. invasion. But the agency teams were still critically short of key operatives. "I kept signing more and more deployment orders for folks to go to the CIA," recalls Robert Andrews, who at the time was a deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations. "They were looking for any medics, operational soldiers and even intelligence specialists that we had."
Even some old agency hands think the CIA should stick to intelligence and leave the commando work to the military. "Agency operators lack the experience to be effective military operators," says Larry Johnson, a former CIA officer and State Department counterterrorism expert. "They have just enough training to be dangerous to themselves and others." And there is the historic danger that CIA paramilitary operations, cloaked in layers of secrecy, can become rogues. "Everybody has seen this movie before where secret wars have developed into public disasters," warns John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense and intelligence think tank. "We're going to wind up doing things that, when the American people hear of them, they will repudiate."
The CIA responds that its commandos take on the jobs the military can't or won't handle. The SOG prides itself on being small and agile, capable of sending teams of 10 operators or fewer anywhere in the world much faster than the Pentagon can. One reason the agency was the first into Afghanistan was that the Special Ops Command dragged its feet getting its soldiers ready for action. Intelligence sources tell Time that the CIA had requested that commandos from the U.S. Army's elite Delta Force join its first team going into Afghanistan but that the Pentagon refused to send them.
Once deployed, CIA operatives have fewer regulations to hamstring them than their military counterparts do. In Afghanistan, CIA cargo planes were dropping warm-weather clothing, saddles and bales of hay for allied Afghan foot soldiers and cavalry. One cable that officers in the field sent back to Langley read, "Please send boots. The Taliban can hear our flip-flops." Says Kent Harrington, a former CIA station chief in Asia: "If a military special-operations soldier parachuted in with $3 million to buy armies, he'd have to have a C-5 cargo plane flying behind him with all the paperwork he'd need to dispense the money."
The CIA also has far more contacts than the Pentagon among foreign intelligence services that can help with clandestine operations overseas, plus a global network of paid snitches on the ground. The agency "deals with everything from bottom feeders around the world to their governments on a routine basis," says a senior U.S. intelligence official. "Name a country anywhere, and (the CIA) can identify with a couple of telephone calls four or five people who will have a variety of skills to go into that country if it becomes a difficult place." Green Berets can operate covertly in a combat zone, but they would stick out like sore thumbs if they tried to infiltrate a foreign city, because they don't have the intelligence network in place to conceal themselves. "We have the ability to hide in plain sight, get in and get out before anybody figures out who we are," asserts a CIA source.
CIA officials, leery of being sucked into new scandals, insist that their covert operations are now subject to layers of oversight. Before an agency paramilitary team can be launched, the President must sign an intelligence "finding" that broadly outlines the operation to be performed. That finding, along with a more detailed description of the mission, is sent to the congressional intelligence committees. If they object to an operation, they can cut off its funds the next time the agency's budget comes up.
After approving a covert operation, Bush leaves the details of when and how to Tenet and his senior aides. For example, Administration officials say Bush did not specifically order the Predator attack in Yemen. But after Sept. 11 he gave the CIA the green light to use lethal force against al-Qaeda.
Rumsfeld, nevertheless, is intent on building his own covert force. He recently ordered the Special Operations Command to draw up secret plans to launch attacks against al-Qaeda around the world, and he intends to put an extra $1 billion in its budget next year for the job. Elsewhere in the Defense Department, small, clandestine units, coordinating little with the CIA, are busy organizing their own future battles. Several hundred Army agents, with what was originally known as the intelligence support activity, train to infiltrate foreign countries to scout targets. With headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Va., the unit is so secretive, it changes its cover name every six months. Delta Force has a platoon of about 100 intelligence operatives trained to sneak into a foreign country and radio back last-minute intelligence before the force's commandos swoop in for an attack.
The CIA isn't amused. "Don't replicate what you don't need to replicate," argues a senior U.S. intelligence officer. So who referees this dispute? In addition to running the CIA, Tenet, as director of Central Intelligence, is supposed to oversee all intelligence programs in the U.S. government. But the Pentagon, which controls more than 80% of the estimated $35 billion intelligence budget, doesn't want him meddling in its spying.
Ultimately, the man who chooses between them is the President. Both Tenet and Rumsfeld report directly to him. And thus far, Bush has been eager to give Tenet leeway to build up his commando force. With a major conflict looming in Iraq, units from all branches of the military are mobilizing to get a piece of the action. The CIA, at least, will have its own.
(www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030203-411370,00.html )
Monday, April 16, 2007
Monday, April 09, 2007
LTTE on high alert for deep penetration attacks
The LTTE has clamped a news blackout on attacks carried out by the military’s deep penetration unit within the Wanni and intensified checks and patrolling in areas under its control in the wake of a series of claymore mine attacks in the region.
The only two local newspapers published within the LTTE-controlled Wanni have been directed to blackout news about the attacks.
The LTTE “Boarder Force” made up of members of its Civil Defense Force has been directed to be extra vigilant about infiltration of rival groups or the deep penetration units of the military to prevent attacks against their cadres.
Before its senior members travel, the LTTE deploys its route-clearing patrols to carry out search operations to prevent any attacks, NGO sources based in the area said.
Patrolling is also carried out by the LTTE cadres before civilian movements start between Vavuniya and Kilinochchi as well as other interior main roads.
As the security for the LTTE cadres was intensified, another claymore mine attack was carried out by unidentified persons in Nattankandal of Mannar, an uncleared area killing a civilian couple.
Last week TNA MP Selvam Adaikalanathan and K. Sivanesan narrowly escaped a claymore mine explosion in Old Murukandy, 12 Km south of Kilinochchi.
LTTE’s military spokesman Rasiha Illanthiriyan told The Sunday Times that they were continuing to maintain vigil to prevent any infiltration.
“We have killed several of the deep penetration groups in the past,” he said. More than 10 attacks have been carried out by deep penetration groups in the Wanni during the past three months.
(http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070408/News/101.4news.html)
The only two local newspapers published within the LTTE-controlled Wanni have been directed to blackout news about the attacks.
The LTTE “Boarder Force” made up of members of its Civil Defense Force has been directed to be extra vigilant about infiltration of rival groups or the deep penetration units of the military to prevent attacks against their cadres.
Before its senior members travel, the LTTE deploys its route-clearing patrols to carry out search operations to prevent any attacks, NGO sources based in the area said.
Patrolling is also carried out by the LTTE cadres before civilian movements start between Vavuniya and Kilinochchi as well as other interior main roads.
As the security for the LTTE cadres was intensified, another claymore mine attack was carried out by unidentified persons in Nattankandal of Mannar, an uncleared area killing a civilian couple.
Last week TNA MP Selvam Adaikalanathan and K. Sivanesan narrowly escaped a claymore mine explosion in Old Murukandy, 12 Km south of Kilinochchi.
LTTE’s military spokesman Rasiha Illanthiriyan told The Sunday Times that they were continuing to maintain vigil to prevent any infiltration.
“We have killed several of the deep penetration groups in the past,” he said. More than 10 attacks have been carried out by deep penetration groups in the Wanni during the past three months.
(http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070408/News/101.4news.html)
Eight killed in Sri Lanka bus blast by Mel Gunasekera
Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels detonated a roadside bomb on Saturday, killing eight passengers on a bus and wounding 25, the Sri Lankan government said, marking the latest violence on the island.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) set off the blast outside the town of Vavuniya, 250 kilometres (156 miles) north of Colombo, the defence ministry said, adding a soldier was among the passengers killed.
"A Claymore mine hit the bus as it was halfway through to the destination," an area military official said. "The bomb was rigged up on a tree and manually triggered as the bus passed. It was the work of the Tigers."
However, the Tigers denied the charge and blamed military intelligence.
"The Sri Lankan military intelligence establishment has devised bomb attacks and wanton killings during the last two weeks with a sinister motive of tarnishing the image of the Tigers," LTTE spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan was quoted as saying on the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website.
Five people were dead on arrival at Vavuniya hospital, while another three passengers later died from their injuries, a hospital official said.
Seven soldiers were among those wounded, the official added.
Tamilnet said the blast killed at least seven civilians and injured 25 others, including four children.
The attack came five days after a bomb exploded inside a bus in the east of the island, killing 17 people and wounding 25.
More than 4,000 people have been killed in the latest upsurge of violence that began in December 2005 despite a truce arranged in 2002 in the bloody ethnic conflict.
The Tigers have waged a 35-year campaign for independence for the Tamil minority that has claimed more than 60,000 lives on the Sinhalese-majority island.
Saturday's bus blast comes a day after Sri Lanka's navy and Tiger rebels fought a sea battle off the island's northwestern coast with the warring parties each claiming losses for the other side.
Naval patrol boats engaged five Sea Tiger craft off the coastal district of Puttalam, sinking one, while the other four boats escaped, the defence ministry said. A naval craft was damaged and a sailor was hurt in the battle, it added.
The Tigers denied losing any craft and said only three of their boats were involved in a 15-minute confrontation. The rebels said they sank one navy inshore patrol boat.
Immediately after Saturday's blast, the government warned the public against "suspicious persons or activities" ahead of the traditional New Year next week.
"The government is requesting the general public to be cautious of suspicious persons or activities, especially at crowded places, inside buses and trains during the upcoming festive season," it said in a statement.
Security has also been intensified across the island's northern and eastern regions in a bid to prevent Tiger attacks, the government said.
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/srilankaunrestblast;_ylt=AtfMz9gZ5_CyKopRk4k.bkWaK8MA)
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) set off the blast outside the town of Vavuniya, 250 kilometres (156 miles) north of Colombo, the defence ministry said, adding a soldier was among the passengers killed.
"A Claymore mine hit the bus as it was halfway through to the destination," an area military official said. "The bomb was rigged up on a tree and manually triggered as the bus passed. It was the work of the Tigers."
However, the Tigers denied the charge and blamed military intelligence.
"The Sri Lankan military intelligence establishment has devised bomb attacks and wanton killings during the last two weeks with a sinister motive of tarnishing the image of the Tigers," LTTE spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan was quoted as saying on the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website.
Five people were dead on arrival at Vavuniya hospital, while another three passengers later died from their injuries, a hospital official said.
Seven soldiers were among those wounded, the official added.
Tamilnet said the blast killed at least seven civilians and injured 25 others, including four children.
The attack came five days after a bomb exploded inside a bus in the east of the island, killing 17 people and wounding 25.
More than 4,000 people have been killed in the latest upsurge of violence that began in December 2005 despite a truce arranged in 2002 in the bloody ethnic conflict.
The Tigers have waged a 35-year campaign for independence for the Tamil minority that has claimed more than 60,000 lives on the Sinhalese-majority island.
Saturday's bus blast comes a day after Sri Lanka's navy and Tiger rebels fought a sea battle off the island's northwestern coast with the warring parties each claiming losses for the other side.
Naval patrol boats engaged five Sea Tiger craft off the coastal district of Puttalam, sinking one, while the other four boats escaped, the defence ministry said. A naval craft was damaged and a sailor was hurt in the battle, it added.
The Tigers denied losing any craft and said only three of their boats were involved in a 15-minute confrontation. The rebels said they sank one navy inshore patrol boat.
Immediately after Saturday's blast, the government warned the public against "suspicious persons or activities" ahead of the traditional New Year next week.
"The government is requesting the general public to be cautious of suspicious persons or activities, especially at crowded places, inside buses and trains during the upcoming festive season," it said in a statement.
Security has also been intensified across the island's northern and eastern regions in a bid to prevent Tiger attacks, the government said.
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/srilankaunrestblast;_ylt=AtfMz9gZ5_CyKopRk4k.bkWaK8MA)
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Safe house - follow-up action fumbles
Parliament on Thursday approved a motion by the United National Front (UNF) Government to examine and report on the findings and recommendations of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry as well as two earlier Courts of Inquiry into the Police raid on the Army Safe House at Athurugiriya.
It will now be the task of Speaker Joseph Michael Perera to name the members of this Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) in consultation with the party leaders. Whilst the UNF and members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will serve in the PSC, The Sunday Times learns that MPs from the People's Alliance (PA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) are likely to abstain.
As previously announced, the PSC wants to probe seven specific matters:
i. The basis of the findings and recommendations made by the said Court of Inquiry or Commission of Inquiry.
ii. Whether any recommendations made by such Court of Inquiry or Commission of Inquiry infringe and or interfere with the rights and privileges of Parliament and or any of its members.
iii. Whether any findings or recommendations relate to any matter under adjudication by any Court of Law.
iv. Whether any findings and or recommendations relate to any matter where provision is made for inquiry and investigation under other laws.
v. Whether it is competent for Court of Inquiry or Commission to pronounce upon such matters as referred to in (iii) and (iv) above.
vi. Whether the terms of reference, findings and recommendations of the Committee and Commission are in conformity with the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and other laws of the country.
vii. Any other matter pertaining to the conduct of the inquiry by the said Court of Inquiry and the Commission which the Select Committee finds relevant and or appropriate.
It is significant that neither the UNF Government nor the People's Alliance is challenging the legitimacy of the Safe House or the activities conducted there by the Army's Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI). That is not in dispute. In fact the two Army Courts of Inquiry in question and the Presidential Commission of Inquiry have all established the fact that the Safe House and the activities conducted from there were perfectly legitimate.
However, the UNF is at variance on some issues arising out of the findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry vis-a-vis the findings and opinions of the two earlier Army Courts of Inquiry. This is said to include references made by the Presidential Commission to some UNF leaders who are members of Parliament and the alleged propriety of apportioning blame on them. The UNF is also taking exception to procedures adopted by the Army leadership in fixing responsibility on those allegedly involved. They are of the view that some have been wrongly implicated or the correct procedure not followed.
It is exactly a month ago (on December 11), the President's Office formally released the "Findings and Conclusions" of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry chaired by D. Jayawickrema, retired Judge of the Court of Appeal.
One year and eleven months after the Police raid on No 844, Millennium City Athurugiriya, the Presidential Commission declared that it "was a total betrayal and absolute treachery to the nation." (Situation Report - December 14, 2003). Yet, a month after the findings were made known, no formal action has been taken against those on whom the Commission has made indictments. However, State media has carried out a high pitched campaign calling for deterrent punishment.
The Sunday Times learns that President Kumaratunga, before her departure to Pakistan for the SAARC summit, called upon her advisers to make a thorough study of the Commission's findings and identify the punitive measures that may be necessary. However, in view of her urgent political commitments, whether she will have the time since her return last Thursday to focus on the matter remains the question.
The Police raid on the Safe House at Athurugiriya was conducted on January 2, 2002. Immediately thereafter, then Defence Minister, Tilak Marapana, directed Army Commander Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle to appoint an Army Court of Inquiry.
In consultation with the then Defence Secretary, Austin Fernando, Lt. Gen. Balagalle named a four member court. It was headed by Maj. Gen. Ivan Dassanayake and comprised Brigadier M.R.W.de Zoysa, Col. Kanska Dharmaratne and Col. J. Pathirana.
As exclusively revealed in The Sunday Times (Situation Report - December 21, 2003), this Court of Inquiry declared in their opinion/recommendations (on January 17, 2002) that:
"The DMI (Directorate of Military Intelligence) has been carrying out covert offensive operations from beginning of 2001 in the Eastern Province. For these operations, weapons, explosives and other military equipment have been drawn with proper authority adopting the laid down military procedure."
For nearly six months after this Court of Inquiry findings were forwarded to the Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Balagalle and later sent by him to the Ministry of Defence, there was no action of any sort. A response from the Ministry of Defence came only on July 19, 2002 when then Defence Secretary, Mr. Austin Fernando wrote to Lt. Gen. Balagalle.
In the letter titled "DEPARTMENTAL INQUIRY INTO THE RECOVERY OF WEAPONS ETC. AT ATHURUGIRIYA," Mr.Fernando began by saying "Hon. Prime Minister has studied the report (reference is to Court of Inquiry) in respect of the above sent to him on 02nd of July 2002." He made four points for further action by the Army Chief. They were:
1. Reference Page 41, Section 1.e - The Board of Inquiry has recommended that weapons, explosives and other equipment be made available to the intelligence team from the nearest Brigade/ Battalion location or the Intelligence team draws these weapons and hand over these items to the above locations to be used whenever there is a requirement, under given circumstances.
Your attention is drawn to this recommendation. Necessary instructions should flow from your office, with copy to me.
2. Reference Page 42, 2.c (3) - Please explain why Captain Nilam had inadvertently failed to maintain secrecy as stated in this Section.
(NOTE: The reference is to the Court of Inquiry observing that "unclassified letters" being prepared from Athurugiriya Safe House disclosing its exact location as the originator's address.)
3. Reference Page 42, Section 2.c (4) - Please give instructions to the Court recommendations mentioned in this Section, as well as in Sections 4a. b,c, Section 5 as appearing on page 42.
(NOTE: The reference on Page 42, Section 2.c (4)in the Court of Inquiry report said: "The Court is of the opinion that Orders governing the maintaining of secrecy and security of the safe house be formulated and issued as early as possible. The DMI also should ensure its implementation by regular visits of DMI and authorised senior MI officers.")
4. Reference Page 44, Section 7.c. - should be investigated. (NOTE: Reference Section 7.c. on Page 44 of the Court of Inquiry report said "The Court recommends that both the above incidents be investigated for breach of security and leakage of secret information." The two incidents referred to are the test firing of thermo baric weapons at the Army's Test Firing Range at Panaluwa, Panagoda, that was wrongly construed as training elements to attack Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe's campaign bus during the general election period.
The other was "an unauthorised person" visitingthe Safe House at Athurugiriya on January 1, 2002,a day before the Police raid.) Acting on then Defence Secretary, Mr. Fernando's instructions, Lt. Gen. Balagalle, appointed a four member Court of Inquiry. It had been formally constituted after verbal instructions from from Fernando, that was followed up by his July 19, 2002, letter. This was to probe the "breach of security and leakage of secret information," - a point raised by the second Court of Inquiry and and follow up action called for by the then Defence Secretary.
The Court was headed by Maj. Gen. Jayantha Ranaweeera (President) and comprised Maj. Gen. Sivali Wanigasekera, Brigadier M.R.W. de Zoysa (since retired) and Colonel A.W.J.C. de Silva.
In their observations, among other matters, this is what the second Court of Inquiry (tasked to probe breach of security and leakages) had to say:
"DMI after obtaining necessary authority from the Commander of the Army had established the Safe House at Athurugiriya Millennium City housing scheme on 16th of December 2002, (NOTE: The Sunday Times found this date is erroneous. The correct date is December 7, 2001) for the purpose of conducting covert operations. A team of intelligence operatives led by Captain Nilam, was based at the said Athurugiriya Safe House. This intelligence team had carried out a number of successful covert operations against the LTTE in Batticaloa, immediately prior to occupying the Safe House....”
"The raid on the Safe House and subsequent detention of Officers and Other Ranks may have demoralised the Security Forces and completely disintegrated the intelligence network painstakingly established over a period of two decades by the DMI. The most damaging by product of the entire drama will be the serious threat on the lives of DMI operatives and their informants in the coming month/years, which no organisation will be able to prevent."
What this second Court of Inquiry forecast came right. More than 44 operatives and informants of DMI have been killed so far and the hunt for others continues. The men involved in the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRPs) have been living in fear since the incident. Many have continued to complain that the lives of their children who have to attend school daily are in danger. So are members of their family. Many have also complained of regular health problems caused by mental strain.
In respect of "breach of security and leakage of information," the second Court of Inquiry made serious indictments on a Colonel, a Major and two Corporals. It said "appropriate disciplinary action" should be taken against them for making attempts to obtain details of the Safe House and connected activities. However, this Court had declared it was "unable to ascertain how information regarding test firing of thermo baric weapons was leaked to outsiders." Yet, the Court asserted that this "test firing" had been done with proper approval of the relevant superior Headquarters.
Acting on the recommendations of this Court of Inquiry, The Sunday Times learnt that the Army Commander had immediately thereafter told the Ministry of Defence that action should be taken against those indicted. However, there had been no developments since then. The whole episode has now been revived with the findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry being made public.
Quite clearly, there are some minor deficiencies in the findings and recommendations of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry when compared with the two Courts of Inquiry held by the Army. The Presidential Commission has been a public probe wide open to anyone who was willing to testify. The two Courts of Inquiry, in contrast, are Army inquiries which were essentially an internal departmental matter. This is where positions of the United National Front and the People's Alliance differ.
Yet, there is absolutely no dispute at all over the fact that on January 2, 2002, residence No 844 Millennium City, Athurugiriya, was indeed a forward operations cell of the Army's Directorate of Military Intelligence from where operatives moved out to take on guerrilla targets in the Batticaloa district. It is a fact that operatives from this cell have assassinated important guerrilla leaders and thus caused fright in the minds of their leadership.
Yet, many critics who have derided this national effort by the Army have got themselves bogged down in semantics. That is over questions like whether this intelligence cell could be called a "Safe House" and whether the operatives can be identified as Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRPs). In the process what the men of the Army's DMI did and the disastrous consequences that followed when they were betrayed have been forgotten.
As one wag said, it is like men in the Ceylon Electricity Board insisting it is only they who are entitled to use the word Flying Squad when their men raid households that tap electricity illegally or tamper with meters. They could claim that Transport Board men who conduct surprise checks on buses for ticket-less travel by passengers cannot call themselves members of a Flying Squad. Yet others attempt to seek umbrage by citing America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) definitions to describe a Safe House. Even if one were to call House No 844 at the Millennium City, a “hide out” to please those who want to go by only CIA definitions, it was yet legitimate.
Disregarding these indisputed factual realities, some UNF Ministers even cast personal aspersions on the men involved in LRRP operations. They suggested they were profit minded individuals who did business with the Army.
However, these very men turned down UNF overtures for handsome payments and positions abroad (together with their families) if they withdrew the Fundamental Rights cases they filed in the Supreme Court against the Police. Criticising those whom they fail to silence, which includes slander, has become a trait among some UNF leaders.
It is now a month since the findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry has been given wide publicity. More Sri Lankans are now aware of the sacrifices made by the men who formed the LRRPs. They are also aware of the many that had to die as a result of the raid and the resultant publicity about the existence of the Safe House. Many more are living under threat to their lives. Yet, with a month gone after the Nation has been told how they were betrayed, nothing tangible has happened. Justice delayed, no doubt, is justice denied.
Indo-Lanka defence deal: more talks amid Tiger jitters
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who now holds the defence portfolio, will go ahead with the proposed Defence Co-operation Agreement with India.
She is sending a four member official delegation to New Delhi to pursue talks with Indian officials. Defence Secretary, Cyril Herath will lead the team that will comprise Chief of Defence Staff and Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle and Nigel Hatch, Attorney at Law. The team is due to leave on Wednesday (January 14).
The Sunday Times learns that talks in New Delhi will centre on the outlines to be covered by proposed agreement. Lt. Gen. Balagalle, who made an official visit to India in early December, last year, told the media there would be increased co-operation between the two countries on exchange of intelligence information, training of Sri Lankan security forces personnel in India and joint patrols by Indian Navy, Coast Guard and the Sri Lanka Navy. Besides these factors, supply of Indian military equipment to Sri Lanka and a variety of other related matters are expected to be incorporated in the proposed Defence Co-operation Agreement.
This Agreement was originally decided upon when Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe, held talks in New Delhi with Indian Premier, Atal Behari Vajpayee, in October, last year. A Joint Statement issued after a three day official visit said "the two Prime Ministers discussed the ongoing co-operation in training and the supply of equipment to the Sri Lankan defence forces and agreed that the two sides will commence discussions with a view to concluding a defence co-operation agreement at the earliest."
PA sources say that the proposed Defence Co-operation Agreement was between two Governments. Therefore, since the subject of defence is now in the hands of President Kumaratunga, she was pursuing the matter. However, the composition of the delegation for talks in New Delhi makes clear there is no representative from the Foreign Ministry or the Attorney General's Department, both subjects coming within the purview of the UNF Government.
If Premier Wickremesinghe's move to forge a Defence Co-operation Agreement with India angered the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, subsequent developments appear to have incensed them. These followed widespread publicity in the recent weeks on matters relating to increased military co-operation between India and Sri Lanka including New Delhi's offer to help repair the only airport runway in the Jaffna peninsula at Palaly.
Tiger guerrillas have begun a crackdown on what they call "Indian infiltrators" in the Wanni following several cordon and search operations. At least one South Indian businessman has been arrested on suspicion together with a guerrilla cadre holding the rank of "Major." This new "anti-Indian push," coming immediately in the wake of LTTE efforts to befriend India, has led to increased check-points in the Wanni and the clamp down of other security measures.
These developments come in the backdrop of the inability of both the UNF and PA leaders to reach any agreement over co-habitation. This was after President Kumaratunga took over defence, interior and mass communication portfolios on November 4.
Last Wednesday Premier Wickremasinghe told a public rally in Panduwasnuwara that President Kumaratunga should take over the responsibility of moving the peace process forward if she insists on holding the ministries she took over from the government.
"In this regard she will have to negotiate with the LTTE and redraft the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) to reflect the realities arising since the taking over of the ministries," a press release from the Prime Minister's Office quoted Mr. Wickremasinghe as saying.
Elaborating on the point, the Press Release said, "peace negotiations entirely depend upon the successful implementation of the CFA. The CFA was signed on the basis that our government has the full power and authority to implement it. However, the action of the President has totally shattered the entire foundation on which the CFA was signed by our government. As a result, the validity of some of the clauses of the Agreement is no more there. At the same time we cannot violate the Agreement as such situation will take the country back to war."
PA sources, however, argue that Premier Wickremasinghe's assertions do not hold water since President Kumaratunga, upon take over of the three Ministries, had vowed to uphold the CFA. They say she had also directed the armed forces commanders to co-operate fully with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to ensure the CFA is fully enforced.
These sources also point out that Premier Wickremasinghe signed the CFA on behalf of the entire government of Sri Lanka and not as a leader of a political group. Hence they argue that his contention that "our government" signed the CFA is wrong. They also argue that constitutionally President Kumaratunga is the Head of Government and Head of State and, therefore, the responsibility was in any case cast on her. An official statement on the mater is expected, according to these sources.
Meanwhile the Norwegian Government which suspended its facilitator role between the Government and the LTTE due to "lack of clarity" continues to monitor developments on the ground.
Last Thursday, Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar, who was in Trincomalee met LTTE area leaders including Pathuman and Thilak in Sampur. This was after a meeting with senior military officials in the district.
In the coming week, Mr. Brattskar is expected to travel to Kilinochchi for a meeting with LTTE Political Wing leader, S.P. Tamilselvan. This week, the head of LTTE's Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi, Pulithevan, was in Colombo meeting diplomats from several Western embassies.
(http://lakdiva.org/suntimes/040111/columns/sitrep.html)
It will now be the task of Speaker Joseph Michael Perera to name the members of this Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) in consultation with the party leaders. Whilst the UNF and members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will serve in the PSC, The Sunday Times learns that MPs from the People's Alliance (PA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) are likely to abstain.
As previously announced, the PSC wants to probe seven specific matters:
i. The basis of the findings and recommendations made by the said Court of Inquiry or Commission of Inquiry.
ii. Whether any recommendations made by such Court of Inquiry or Commission of Inquiry infringe and or interfere with the rights and privileges of Parliament and or any of its members.
iii. Whether any findings or recommendations relate to any matter under adjudication by any Court of Law.
iv. Whether any findings and or recommendations relate to any matter where provision is made for inquiry and investigation under other laws.
v. Whether it is competent for Court of Inquiry or Commission to pronounce upon such matters as referred to in (iii) and (iv) above.
vi. Whether the terms of reference, findings and recommendations of the Committee and Commission are in conformity with the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and other laws of the country.
vii. Any other matter pertaining to the conduct of the inquiry by the said Court of Inquiry and the Commission which the Select Committee finds relevant and or appropriate.
It is significant that neither the UNF Government nor the People's Alliance is challenging the legitimacy of the Safe House or the activities conducted there by the Army's Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI). That is not in dispute. In fact the two Army Courts of Inquiry in question and the Presidential Commission of Inquiry have all established the fact that the Safe House and the activities conducted from there were perfectly legitimate.
However, the UNF is at variance on some issues arising out of the findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry vis-a-vis the findings and opinions of the two earlier Army Courts of Inquiry. This is said to include references made by the Presidential Commission to some UNF leaders who are members of Parliament and the alleged propriety of apportioning blame on them. The UNF is also taking exception to procedures adopted by the Army leadership in fixing responsibility on those allegedly involved. They are of the view that some have been wrongly implicated or the correct procedure not followed.
It is exactly a month ago (on December 11), the President's Office formally released the "Findings and Conclusions" of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry chaired by D. Jayawickrema, retired Judge of the Court of Appeal.
One year and eleven months after the Police raid on No 844, Millennium City Athurugiriya, the Presidential Commission declared that it "was a total betrayal and absolute treachery to the nation." (Situation Report - December 14, 2003). Yet, a month after the findings were made known, no formal action has been taken against those on whom the Commission has made indictments. However, State media has carried out a high pitched campaign calling for deterrent punishment.
The Sunday Times learns that President Kumaratunga, before her departure to Pakistan for the SAARC summit, called upon her advisers to make a thorough study of the Commission's findings and identify the punitive measures that may be necessary. However, in view of her urgent political commitments, whether she will have the time since her return last Thursday to focus on the matter remains the question.
The Police raid on the Safe House at Athurugiriya was conducted on January 2, 2002. Immediately thereafter, then Defence Minister, Tilak Marapana, directed Army Commander Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle to appoint an Army Court of Inquiry.
In consultation with the then Defence Secretary, Austin Fernando, Lt. Gen. Balagalle named a four member court. It was headed by Maj. Gen. Ivan Dassanayake and comprised Brigadier M.R.W.de Zoysa, Col. Kanska Dharmaratne and Col. J. Pathirana.
As exclusively revealed in The Sunday Times (Situation Report - December 21, 2003), this Court of Inquiry declared in their opinion/recommendations (on January 17, 2002) that:
"The DMI (Directorate of Military Intelligence) has been carrying out covert offensive operations from beginning of 2001 in the Eastern Province. For these operations, weapons, explosives and other military equipment have been drawn with proper authority adopting the laid down military procedure."
For nearly six months after this Court of Inquiry findings were forwarded to the Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Balagalle and later sent by him to the Ministry of Defence, there was no action of any sort. A response from the Ministry of Defence came only on July 19, 2002 when then Defence Secretary, Mr. Austin Fernando wrote to Lt. Gen. Balagalle.
In the letter titled "DEPARTMENTAL INQUIRY INTO THE RECOVERY OF WEAPONS ETC. AT ATHURUGIRIYA," Mr.Fernando began by saying "Hon. Prime Minister has studied the report (reference is to Court of Inquiry) in respect of the above sent to him on 02nd of July 2002." He made four points for further action by the Army Chief. They were:
1. Reference Page 41, Section 1.e - The Board of Inquiry has recommended that weapons, explosives and other equipment be made available to the intelligence team from the nearest Brigade/ Battalion location or the Intelligence team draws these weapons and hand over these items to the above locations to be used whenever there is a requirement, under given circumstances.
Your attention is drawn to this recommendation. Necessary instructions should flow from your office, with copy to me.
2. Reference Page 42, 2.c (3) - Please explain why Captain Nilam had inadvertently failed to maintain secrecy as stated in this Section.
(NOTE: The reference is to the Court of Inquiry observing that "unclassified letters" being prepared from Athurugiriya Safe House disclosing its exact location as the originator's address.)
3. Reference Page 42, Section 2.c (4) - Please give instructions to the Court recommendations mentioned in this Section, as well as in Sections 4a. b,c, Section 5 as appearing on page 42.
(NOTE: The reference on Page 42, Section 2.c (4)in the Court of Inquiry report said: "The Court is of the opinion that Orders governing the maintaining of secrecy and security of the safe house be formulated and issued as early as possible. The DMI also should ensure its implementation by regular visits of DMI and authorised senior MI officers.")
4. Reference Page 44, Section 7.c. - should be investigated. (NOTE: Reference Section 7.c. on Page 44 of the Court of Inquiry report said "The Court recommends that both the above incidents be investigated for breach of security and leakage of secret information." The two incidents referred to are the test firing of thermo baric weapons at the Army's Test Firing Range at Panaluwa, Panagoda, that was wrongly construed as training elements to attack Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe's campaign bus during the general election period.
The other was "an unauthorised person" visitingthe Safe House at Athurugiriya on January 1, 2002,a day before the Police raid.) Acting on then Defence Secretary, Mr. Fernando's instructions, Lt. Gen. Balagalle, appointed a four member Court of Inquiry. It had been formally constituted after verbal instructions from from Fernando, that was followed up by his July 19, 2002, letter. This was to probe the "breach of security and leakage of secret information," - a point raised by the second Court of Inquiry and and follow up action called for by the then Defence Secretary.
The Court was headed by Maj. Gen. Jayantha Ranaweeera (President) and comprised Maj. Gen. Sivali Wanigasekera, Brigadier M.R.W. de Zoysa (since retired) and Colonel A.W.J.C. de Silva.
In their observations, among other matters, this is what the second Court of Inquiry (tasked to probe breach of security and leakages) had to say:
"DMI after obtaining necessary authority from the Commander of the Army had established the Safe House at Athurugiriya Millennium City housing scheme on 16th of December 2002, (NOTE: The Sunday Times found this date is erroneous. The correct date is December 7, 2001) for the purpose of conducting covert operations. A team of intelligence operatives led by Captain Nilam, was based at the said Athurugiriya Safe House. This intelligence team had carried out a number of successful covert operations against the LTTE in Batticaloa, immediately prior to occupying the Safe House....”
"The raid on the Safe House and subsequent detention of Officers and Other Ranks may have demoralised the Security Forces and completely disintegrated the intelligence network painstakingly established over a period of two decades by the DMI. The most damaging by product of the entire drama will be the serious threat on the lives of DMI operatives and their informants in the coming month/years, which no organisation will be able to prevent."
What this second Court of Inquiry forecast came right. More than 44 operatives and informants of DMI have been killed so far and the hunt for others continues. The men involved in the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRPs) have been living in fear since the incident. Many have continued to complain that the lives of their children who have to attend school daily are in danger. So are members of their family. Many have also complained of regular health problems caused by mental strain.
In respect of "breach of security and leakage of information," the second Court of Inquiry made serious indictments on a Colonel, a Major and two Corporals. It said "appropriate disciplinary action" should be taken against them for making attempts to obtain details of the Safe House and connected activities. However, this Court had declared it was "unable to ascertain how information regarding test firing of thermo baric weapons was leaked to outsiders." Yet, the Court asserted that this "test firing" had been done with proper approval of the relevant superior Headquarters.
Acting on the recommendations of this Court of Inquiry, The Sunday Times learnt that the Army Commander had immediately thereafter told the Ministry of Defence that action should be taken against those indicted. However, there had been no developments since then. The whole episode has now been revived with the findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry being made public.
Quite clearly, there are some minor deficiencies in the findings and recommendations of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry when compared with the two Courts of Inquiry held by the Army. The Presidential Commission has been a public probe wide open to anyone who was willing to testify. The two Courts of Inquiry, in contrast, are Army inquiries which were essentially an internal departmental matter. This is where positions of the United National Front and the People's Alliance differ.
Yet, there is absolutely no dispute at all over the fact that on January 2, 2002, residence No 844 Millennium City, Athurugiriya, was indeed a forward operations cell of the Army's Directorate of Military Intelligence from where operatives moved out to take on guerrilla targets in the Batticaloa district. It is a fact that operatives from this cell have assassinated important guerrilla leaders and thus caused fright in the minds of their leadership.
Yet, many critics who have derided this national effort by the Army have got themselves bogged down in semantics. That is over questions like whether this intelligence cell could be called a "Safe House" and whether the operatives can be identified as Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRPs). In the process what the men of the Army's DMI did and the disastrous consequences that followed when they were betrayed have been forgotten.
As one wag said, it is like men in the Ceylon Electricity Board insisting it is only they who are entitled to use the word Flying Squad when their men raid households that tap electricity illegally or tamper with meters. They could claim that Transport Board men who conduct surprise checks on buses for ticket-less travel by passengers cannot call themselves members of a Flying Squad. Yet others attempt to seek umbrage by citing America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) definitions to describe a Safe House. Even if one were to call House No 844 at the Millennium City, a “hide out” to please those who want to go by only CIA definitions, it was yet legitimate.
Disregarding these indisputed factual realities, some UNF Ministers even cast personal aspersions on the men involved in LRRP operations. They suggested they were profit minded individuals who did business with the Army.
However, these very men turned down UNF overtures for handsome payments and positions abroad (together with their families) if they withdrew the Fundamental Rights cases they filed in the Supreme Court against the Police. Criticising those whom they fail to silence, which includes slander, has become a trait among some UNF leaders.
It is now a month since the findings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry has been given wide publicity. More Sri Lankans are now aware of the sacrifices made by the men who formed the LRRPs. They are also aware of the many that had to die as a result of the raid and the resultant publicity about the existence of the Safe House. Many more are living under threat to their lives. Yet, with a month gone after the Nation has been told how they were betrayed, nothing tangible has happened. Justice delayed, no doubt, is justice denied.
Indo-Lanka defence deal: more talks amid Tiger jitters
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who now holds the defence portfolio, will go ahead with the proposed Defence Co-operation Agreement with India.
She is sending a four member official delegation to New Delhi to pursue talks with Indian officials. Defence Secretary, Cyril Herath will lead the team that will comprise Chief of Defence Staff and Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle and Nigel Hatch, Attorney at Law. The team is due to leave on Wednesday (January 14).
The Sunday Times learns that talks in New Delhi will centre on the outlines to be covered by proposed agreement. Lt. Gen. Balagalle, who made an official visit to India in early December, last year, told the media there would be increased co-operation between the two countries on exchange of intelligence information, training of Sri Lankan security forces personnel in India and joint patrols by Indian Navy, Coast Guard and the Sri Lanka Navy. Besides these factors, supply of Indian military equipment to Sri Lanka and a variety of other related matters are expected to be incorporated in the proposed Defence Co-operation Agreement.
This Agreement was originally decided upon when Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremasinghe, held talks in New Delhi with Indian Premier, Atal Behari Vajpayee, in October, last year. A Joint Statement issued after a three day official visit said "the two Prime Ministers discussed the ongoing co-operation in training and the supply of equipment to the Sri Lankan defence forces and agreed that the two sides will commence discussions with a view to concluding a defence co-operation agreement at the earliest."
PA sources say that the proposed Defence Co-operation Agreement was between two Governments. Therefore, since the subject of defence is now in the hands of President Kumaratunga, she was pursuing the matter. However, the composition of the delegation for talks in New Delhi makes clear there is no representative from the Foreign Ministry or the Attorney General's Department, both subjects coming within the purview of the UNF Government.
If Premier Wickremesinghe's move to forge a Defence Co-operation Agreement with India angered the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, subsequent developments appear to have incensed them. These followed widespread publicity in the recent weeks on matters relating to increased military co-operation between India and Sri Lanka including New Delhi's offer to help repair the only airport runway in the Jaffna peninsula at Palaly.
Tiger guerrillas have begun a crackdown on what they call "Indian infiltrators" in the Wanni following several cordon and search operations. At least one South Indian businessman has been arrested on suspicion together with a guerrilla cadre holding the rank of "Major." This new "anti-Indian push," coming immediately in the wake of LTTE efforts to befriend India, has led to increased check-points in the Wanni and the clamp down of other security measures.
These developments come in the backdrop of the inability of both the UNF and PA leaders to reach any agreement over co-habitation. This was after President Kumaratunga took over defence, interior and mass communication portfolios on November 4.
Last Wednesday Premier Wickremasinghe told a public rally in Panduwasnuwara that President Kumaratunga should take over the responsibility of moving the peace process forward if she insists on holding the ministries she took over from the government.
"In this regard she will have to negotiate with the LTTE and redraft the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) to reflect the realities arising since the taking over of the ministries," a press release from the Prime Minister's Office quoted Mr. Wickremasinghe as saying.
Elaborating on the point, the Press Release said, "peace negotiations entirely depend upon the successful implementation of the CFA. The CFA was signed on the basis that our government has the full power and authority to implement it. However, the action of the President has totally shattered the entire foundation on which the CFA was signed by our government. As a result, the validity of some of the clauses of the Agreement is no more there. At the same time we cannot violate the Agreement as such situation will take the country back to war."
PA sources, however, argue that Premier Wickremasinghe's assertions do not hold water since President Kumaratunga, upon take over of the three Ministries, had vowed to uphold the CFA. They say she had also directed the armed forces commanders to co-operate fully with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) to ensure the CFA is fully enforced.
These sources also point out that Premier Wickremasinghe signed the CFA on behalf of the entire government of Sri Lanka and not as a leader of a political group. Hence they argue that his contention that "our government" signed the CFA is wrong. They also argue that constitutionally President Kumaratunga is the Head of Government and Head of State and, therefore, the responsibility was in any case cast on her. An official statement on the mater is expected, according to these sources.
Meanwhile the Norwegian Government which suspended its facilitator role between the Government and the LTTE due to "lack of clarity" continues to monitor developments on the ground.
Last Thursday, Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar, who was in Trincomalee met LTTE area leaders including Pathuman and Thilak in Sampur. This was after a meeting with senior military officials in the district.
In the coming week, Mr. Brattskar is expected to travel to Kilinochchi for a meeting with LTTE Political Wing leader, S.P. Tamilselvan. This week, the head of LTTE's Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi, Pulithevan, was in Colombo meeting diplomats from several Western embassies.
(http://lakdiva.org/suntimes/040111/columns/sitrep.html)
7 killed, 25 injured in Vavuniya bus blast
Seven people, including two children, were killed when a state-run passenger bus was hit by a powerful claymore mine explosion at Pirimanalankulam in Vavuniya yesterday morning, a military spokesman said.
Nineteen civilians and six soldiers were injured in the blast which took place around 7.40 a.m. as the bus was heading from Mannar to Vavuniya, the spokesman said. Tiger guerrillas appeared to have misidentified the bus as a bus carrying soldiers as two soldiers on leave were on the foot-board, the spokesman said.
The claymore mine had been set on the road in a lonely area. Soon after the bus was caught in the blast the driver lost control and the bus crashed into a large tree, causing further casualties.
One of the persons killed was a soldier while the others were identified as civilians. The injured civilians were rushed to the Vavuniya hospital and four of them were in a critical condition. The soldiers injured were removed to the Anuradhapura hospital. Vavuniya District judge V. Illancheliyan visited the scene of the blast.
All vehicular traffic along the Mannar-Vavuniya road was suspended until last evening. On Sunday night, six labourers were killed in Mailambavani, Batticaloa and hours later a bus bomb went off in Kondawattuwan, Ampara killing 16 civilians and a soldier. Four more farmers were shot and hacked to death in Polonnaruwa on Thursday.
(http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070408/News/101.2news.html)
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Tamil rebels kill 4 Sinhalese day after air force bombs Tiger naval base
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels fatally shot four ethnic Sinhalese on Thursday, Sri Lankan officials said, a day after the military said it bombed the Tigers' naval headquarters as violence escalated in the island country.
The killings are ``the work of the LTTE terrorists to scare the farmers and other residents of the area'' in eastern Sri Lanka, said military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe, using the acronym for the Tigers' official name, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
No apparent motive was immediately known. The ethnic Tamil rebels typically resist having Sinhalese living near areas they control.
The Tigers have fought the government since 1983 to create an independent homeland for the country's 3.1 million Tamils, who have faced decades of discrimination by the Sinhalese. The civil war killed at least 65,000 people before a Norwegian-brokered cease-fire in 2002.
The cease-fire temporarily halted the fighting, but more than 4,000 people have died since late 2005, when violence flared again. Still, both sides still claim to be abiding by the truce.
Local journalist Gamini Obesekera, citing witnesses, said the four slain Sinhalese had come to area to buy newly harvested rice from farmers when 20 to 25 rebels emerged from the jungle, shot the victims and fled.
Obesekera rejected Samarasinghe's claim that the four dead were farmers.
Also Thursday, Samarasinghe said police found a powerful unexploded bomb hidden inside a shop near the capital, Colombo.
He said that five men were arrested after the 10-kilogram (22-pound) bomb was found. Samarasinghe accused the Tigers of hiding the bomb to use later. There was no immediate comment from the rebels.
Separately, Sri Lanka's government insisted Thursday that its air force bombed the Tigers' naval headquarters, after the insurgents denied their base was hit and said the bombs struck civilian areas.
Military officials said air force fighter jets pounded the insurgents' naval headquarters in northern Sri Lanka on Wednesday, destroying fuel reserves and igniting a large blaze amid sharply escalating violence.
``We have pictures taken by unmanned aerial vehicle, our ground intelligence and statements of former Tigers, who surrendered to us, that this was indeed the headquarters of the Sea Tigers,'' Samarasinghe said.
The rebels call their naval arm the ``Sea Tigers,'' a group known for ramming explosive-laden boats into Sri Lankan navy craft in suicide attacks.
Samarasinghe said Wednesday's air raid was ordered after intelligence had been collected on the area.
The rebels had denied the base was bombed, saying government warplanes struck civilian areas, killing two people and wounding four more.
There was no way to independently confirm what happened Wednesday in Puthukkudiyiruppu, where the base is located, in a Tiger-controlled area that is off-limits to outsiders.
If the government's claims about the air raid are true, it would be a major blow to the guerrillas, who rely on their navy to transport arms, medicine and fuel.
Violence in Sri Lanka has risen dramatically in recent days, with the military killing 23 rebels in the east on Monday.
A recent bus bombing at a military checkpoint killed 16 people and wounded 25, and the rebels attacked an air force base near the capital in their first-ever air raid days ago.
(http://www.theacademic.org/stories/11757713820/story.shtml)
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Tamil MP questioned over vehicle
| |||
| | |||
TNA MPs escape claymore attack by Chris Kamalendran
Two Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians narrowly escaped a claymore mine blast in an LTTE-held area close to Kilinochchi, one of the MPs said yesterday. An LTTE cadre was killed in the blast on Thursday and two others were injured as their vehicle — a white jeep similar to the one in which parliamentarians Selvam Adaikalanathan (Wanni district) and K. Sivanesan (Jaffna district) were travelling — was caught in the explosion on the A9 highway in the Old Murukandy area, 12 kilometres south of Kilinochchi.
“We believe that we were the target as our vehicle was similar to the ill-fated jeep. We escaped because we started our journey late,” Mr. Adaikalanathan told The Sunday Times after he reached his Mannar residence yesterday.
“When we arrived at the scene of the blast we saw the burning jeep and the body of the LTTE cadre on the side of the road while the injured were being removed to hospital,” he said. Soon after the blast, members of LTTE’s ‘border force’ and ‘police’ conducted a search operation but failed to detect any of the persons responsible for the attack, he said.
An LTTE spokesman yesterday, however, down played the incident, claiming that it was a road accident in which one of its cadres was killed.
The incident, near the famous Ganesh temple in Murukandy where travellers usually stop to pay homage, occurred a week after a director of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) and his driver were killed in a similar claymore mine attack in Periyamadu. Earlier an Education officer was also killed in a similar attack. The LTTE has blamed the army’s deep penetration unit for the attacks.
(http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070401/News/101.1news.html)
Friday, March 30, 2007
Mannar villagers seek safety from SLA deep penetration unit
Fear of armed members of Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) are forcing residents of Silavthurai, Arippu and Mullikulam in the Mannar district to leave their houses by dusk and return after dawn, civil society sources in Mannar said. Residents are alarmed at the grenade attack on a house at Savariarpuram in Silavthurai on Tuesday night by a group of armed persons believed to be belonging to the DPU, sources in Mannar said.
Mannar residents say that they have witnessed movement of strangers armed with weapons and fear that members of the DPU are on the prowl during nights in their villages in the Liberation Tigers held area in the Mannar district, civil sources said.
Mullikulam residents are spending their night at St.Mary's Church, Silavthurai residents in St.Francis Xavier Church and Arippu families in a common ground in the middle of the village, sources said.
Villagers have complained to Mannar Bishop and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in Mannar, sources said.
(www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=18043)
Kilinochchi residents condemn DPU attacks on civilians
Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) demonstrated in Kilinochchi Thursday condemning the indiscriminate penetrative attacks on humanitarian organizations working in the Liberation Tigers (LTTE) of Tamil Eelam administrated areas by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of Sri Lankan armed forces, and demanding the international community take steps to stop the attacks. civil society sources in Kilinochchi said. The demonstration, presided by the President of TRO, M. Sivanadiyan, started around 10:30 a.m. in front of the TRO Head Office in Kilinochchi and ended around 12:00 noon at the Office of the Kilinochchi Government Agent.
Hundreds of people including NGO representatives and workers gathered and marched along the A-9 road chanting slogans condemning the attacks against the humanitarian NGOs and their employees by the Sri Lankan armed forces and DPUs.
The demonstrators urged the international community and the humanitarian agencies to pressure the Sri Lankan Government to give up its anti human activities in the Tamil Homeland against the innocent civilians. They also sought the intervention of the international community against the gross human rights violations perpetrated by the Sri Lankan armed forces and paramilitary groups.
In an attack on a TRO vehicle by the DPU on 24 March, the Director of the Disaster Management was killed and other passengers were seriously injured.
(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=21709)
Mannar Education Officer succumbs to injuries
Divisional Education Officer in Mannar, Christian Rajakone, 47, succumbed to injuries early morning Thursday at the Kilinochchi hospital, hospital sources said. Rajakone sustained in the claymore mine attack by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) on Tuesday in the LTTE held area in Mannar district.
The motorbike he and Silvairasa Amalanesan, Principal of Vilathikulam School, were traveling hit a claymore mine placed by the DPU of SLA Tuesday morning.
At that time both were proceeding from Madhu to attend the sports meet of Vilathikulam School Principal died on the spot and Christian Rajakone was admitted to the Killinochchi hospital in critical condition, sources said.
Mr. Christian Rajakone was a graduate of Peradeniya University. He later joined the teaching profession. He served Vidathaltivu St.Joseph Vas Maha Vidiyalayam, Kakaiyankulam Muslim Maha Vidiyalayam and Anadankulam Roman Catholic Tamil Maha Vidiyalayam. Later he was appointed as acting Principal of Vilathikulam School. At that time of death he was the Divisional Educational Officer for the Madhu division in Madhu education zone, sources said.
The funeral of Mr. Amalanesan was held at Vidathaltivu Wednesday.
(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=21413)
DPU ambush kills School Principal in LTTE territory
A newly appointed principal who was on his way to Vilathikulam from the Zonal Education Office in Madhu was killed, and an Divisional Education Officer was wounded and rushed to Kilinochchi hospital for treatment Tuesday morning following a Claymore ambush by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army, said N. Selvy, Liberation Tigers Human Rights Spokesperson.
The victim, identified as Siluvairasa Amalanesan, 33, was killed on the spot.
An education official, identified as Christian Rajakone, 47, was rushed to Kilinochchi hospital.
Both were traveling in a motorbike, driven by the deceased, to attend an event at the school.
The ambush was reported around 10:30 a.m. at Sinnavalayan Kaddu in Madhu division in the LTTE controlled area in Mannar district.
Sinnavalayan Kaddu is located in Madhu education zone.
Thamileelam Police rushed to the site and launched a search operation.
(www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=21388 )
LTTE complains to SLMM of SLA's deep penetration attack
Mr.S.Iniyavan, Mannar District Political Head of the LTTE complained to the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) at a discussion held at LTTE district political secretariat located in Karukkaikulam Wednesday of escaling attacks by the deep penetration unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in the LTTE held territory in Mannar district, sources said.
Mr.S.Punithan, Madhu division political head also participated in the discussion with members of the SLMM in Mannar district, sources said.
The discussion which was to commence at about 9.30 a.m. Wednesday at Karukkaikulam located was delayed more than an hour as the soldiers of the SLA manning the sentry point at Uyilankulam did not allow the SLMM delegation to enter the LTTE area. They were allowed at around 10.30 a.m. to meet the LTTE at Karukkaikulam, sources said.
LTTE delegation brought to the notice of the SLMM the attack made DPU of the SLA on Tuesday evening in which a woman was killed, sources said.
LTTE Mannar leaders pointed out to the SLMM that the SLA is conducting clandestine attacks even in sacred areas such as Madhu, sources said.
(www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=17999)
Humanitarian worker killed, three more wounded
Muthuraja Aruleswaran, 30, an aid worker attached to the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) was killed and three more workers were injured when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers exploded a claymore mine targeting a vehicle belonging to the aid agency in Mannar at around 12.30pm on Saturday.
TRO, the largest non-governmental organisation working in the Tamil Homeland, is catering for the basic needs of thousands of civilians displaced due to recent military offensives by the Sri Lankan military in the Mannar-Vavuniya border regions.
'A high level team visited the displaced people to carry out needs assessment and monitor current relief efforts,' TRO sources in Kilinochchi said.
They came under claymore mine attack while travelling in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) administered areas.
Tamil Eelam Police says that the attack was carried out by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the SLA. 'Sri Lanka is taking advantage of low presence of LTTE cadres in vicinity surrounding the Holy Madhu Church,' police sources added.
(http://www.sibernews.com/news/sri-lanka/-200703257880/)
TRO, the largest non-governmental organisation working in the Tamil Homeland, is catering for the basic needs of thousands of civilians displaced due to recent military offensives by the Sri Lankan military in the Mannar-Vavuniya border regions.
'A high level team visited the displaced people to carry out needs assessment and monitor current relief efforts,' TRO sources in Kilinochchi said.
They came under claymore mine attack while travelling in Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) administered areas.
Tamil Eelam Police says that the attack was carried out by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the SLA. 'Sri Lanka is taking advantage of low presence of LTTE cadres in vicinity surrounding the Holy Madhu Church,' police sources added.
(http://www.sibernews.com/news/sri-lanka/-200703257880/)
Two civilians narrowly escaped with injuries in a claymore attack by the SLA in Mannar
Two civilians were injured in a claymore attack by the Sri Lankan military’s Deep Penetration Unit near Andankulam in Mannar at 12.30 pm today, 22 March 2007.
Navarathinam Santhirakanthan aged 27, father of two children and Palichchami Jeyapalan aged 31 were injured. They were going to Andankulam from Thachchanamadu, Mannar.
Injured Santhirakanthan and Jeyapalan were admitted in Pallamadu hospital in Mannar.
(http://www.ltteps.org/?view=1910&folder=2)
TRO condemns the killing of TRO staff by SL DPU attack in Mannar
Tamils Rehabilitation Organization has condemned the attack by Deep Penetration Unit of Sri Lankan Army on their vehicle, killing and injuring TRO staff belong to Disaster Management Unit today, 24th March 2007.
Full text of the TRO Statement as fallows
"Tamils Rehabilitation Organization condemns vehemently the dastardly act of attacking the TRO vehicle and killing and injuring TRO staff belong to Disaster Management Unit who were engaged in humanitarian activities by Deep Penetration Unit of Sri Lankan Army at Periyamadu in Mannar today (24th March, 2007) at 11.30 AM. In this murderous attack one TRO staff was killed and 4 senior staff were seriously injured."
"TRO staff and volunteers were providing immediate relief assistance - transport, food and water to the people who were displaced by heavy shelling and troop movements of the Sri Lankan army for the last 2days in the boarder areas of Mannar. Over 2000 families are displaced and have become refugees from boarder villages such as Periya Thampana, Periya Pandivirichan and Sinna Pandivirichan and moved to Periya Madu and Madu areas."
"TRO Disaster Management Unit driver Mr. Muthurasa Aruleswaran died on the way to hospital. TRO Deputy Executive Director Mr.Vadivel Ravichandran, International Coordination Unit Director Mr.Seenithambi Parameswaran and Mannar Deputy Director Mr. Thevasakampillai Maththiyas and Mullikulam Divisional Director Mr.Selvaratnam Nixon were seriously injured and admitted in intensive care unit in Kilinochchi."
"We call upon the International Community to prevail upon the Sri Lankan government to stop the attacks on NGO staff who are doing humanitarian activities to the benefit of the affected people."
(http://www.ltteps.org/)
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Thousands flee as Sri Lanka fighting worsens by Amal Jayasinghe
Thousands of Tamil civilians were on the run in northern Sri Lanka Sunday as troops and Tiger rebels traded artillery fire across a de facto border, with both sides claiming heavy casualties.
The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said about 2,000 men, women and children fled their homes in the district of Mannar, where heavy fighting has raged since Thursday.
Unidentified gunmen shot dead five civilians -- three in the north and two in the east -- on Sunday afternoon, police said, adding the victims were villagers who had supported the ruling party government.
One government soldier was killed and three more wounded in Mannar district in the latest shelling, the defence ministry said Sunday. It said troops retaliated in kind and inflicted unspecified casualties on the guerrillas.
The ministry estimated that at least 49 Tiger rebels were killed in the latest fighting. The military placed its own losses at 10 dead and 46 seriously wounded, with another 45 listed as minor casualties.
The LTTE said it lost 13 combatants and claimed to have killed 60 government troops. Both sides are known to overestimate losses suffered by the other.
Thousands of civilians living along the de facto border separating Tamil Tiger territory from the rest of the island fled to the safety of public buildings to avoid shelling by both sides, local officials said.
They said about 300 civilians had crossed the front lines Saturday and entered government-held areas, where they were provided with food by government troops.
The Tigers said the refugee crisis in Mannar had compounded problems for relief workers already grappling to feed nearly 300,000 internally displaced people in the island's embattled regions.
The rebels on Sunday accused the army of planting a roadside bomb that killed a local aid worker and wounded three others when it exploded near their vehicle in Mannar on Saturday.
"This is the work of the Sri Lankan army's deep penetration unit," LTTE spokeswoman Navaruban Selvy said by telephone from her office in the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi, about 300 kilometres (200 miles) north of the capital.
"The victims were trying to arrange relief for civilians displaced as a result of the latest fighting."
The worker was a volunteer with the Tamils' Rehabilitation Organisation, a local charity that operates refugee centres and distributes aid in rebel territory.
Sri Lanka's military denies carrying out bomb attacks inside rebel-held territory, but military sources have acknowledged that small groups of troops are operating behind rebel lines.
The report of the blast came as the defence ministry said it had killed two suspected Tamil Tiger rebels in the northern peninsula of Jaffna, to the north of Mannar, on Saturday.
In the east of the island, police recovered the bodies of six suspected Tiger rebels killed by troops in a confrontation over the weekend and a magisterial inquiry was held on Saturday, police said.
More than 4,000 people have been killed in a wave of fighting in Sri Lanka since December 2005. The violence comes despite a truce in place since February 2002.
The LTTE has been waging a 35-year campaign for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority in this majority Sinhalese nation.
aj/jc AFP 251302 GMT 03 07
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
LRRP infiltrates Mullaithivu
Sri Lanka army's Deep Penetration Unit known as the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, today assaulted a rebel vehicle movement deep inside rebel held Mullaithivu region.
Rebel vehicle movement from Mallavi to Palappani was interrupted due to the claymore mine explosion set off by the LRRP. The actual target or the result of this DPU attack cannot be revealed for security reasons. LRRP activity in the Mullaithivu region has vastly increased during the recent past. Many unexplained claymore explosions have been occurring in the Mullaithivu in recent past and most of these targeted tiger intelligence wing members.
Mullaithivu is a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) stronghold which is highly fortified and it is guarded by elite tiger infantry units.
Meanwhile, SLAF Kfir bombers today carried out a bombing sorties over Vallipunam (also located in Mullaithivu district). Target of the air raid was an LTTE training base. LTTE casualty details due to this attacks are yet to be known.
(http://defencenet.blogspot.com/2007/03/lrrp-infiltrates-mullaithivu.html)
LTTE Major killed in LRRP attack
A claymore mine set off by the Sri lanka army's deep penetration unit known as the Long Range Recon Patrol damaged a tractor transporting LTTE cadres in Nandunkerni (Wanni District- rebel held area) on the 10th. The attack killed a senior LTTE leader and wounded 5 others.
The perished LTTE leader is identified as Major Kannan. Kannan was a specialist in advanced weaponry and weapons training. Wounded LTTE cadres are said to be receiving treatment in Mullaithiv hostipal.
This is the third claymore explosion which went of in this area during the last few weeks. LTTE senior leadership has restricted public appearances in the face of increased DPU attacks conducted by the army. They have also deployed special teams to search and destroy DPU members but this has not lead to any success so far.
The army's deep penetration unit (LRRP) is said to be one of the most succesful Long Range Surveillance (LRS) units in the world. LRRP units boast kill ratios as high as 300 LTTE cadres for 1 LRRP member.
(
This is the third claymore explosion which went of in this area during the last few weeks. LTTE senior leadership has restricted public appearances in the face of increased DPU attacks conducted by the army. They have also deployed special teams to search and destroy DPU members but this has not lead to any success so far.
The army's deep penetration unit (LRRP) is said to be one of the most succesful Long Range Surveillance (LRS) units in the world. LRRP units boast kill ratios as high as 300 LTTE cadres for 1 LRRP member.
)
Damning report on raid by Poorna Rodrigo
Presidential commission accuses ASP Udugampola of acting like supreme commander in Athurugiriya raid; UNF government and then police chief held responsible for exposing military secrets.
A Presidential Commission which probed the controversial police raid on the Athuruguirya military safe house last year has accused ASP Kulasiri Udugampola of behaving like a "supreme commander" and acting "above the law", thus jeopardising the security and the military strategy of the armed forces.
"If one is to accept the totality of the evidence led before the commission, it seems that ASP Udugampola was immune to any supervisory procedure and he has behaved as a supreme commander who was above the law," Commissioner D. Jayawickreme said in his report.
Mr. Jayawickreme, a retired Court of Appeal judge, in a report handed over to President Chandrika Kamaratunga, said he would hold the Prime Minister and the ministers concerned, the then IGP Lucky Kodithuwakku and his successor T.E. Anandarajah and all other senior police officers, responsible for the illegal act of ASP Udugampola.
"They were simply powerless to prevent the illegal action of ASP Udugampola even after they were apprised of the facts of this safe house and the activities of its personnel."
The report warned that if such "ill conceived police actions" as it happened in the case of the safe house were allowed to continue it would be "suicidal" to the safety of the nation.
It said the Athurugiriya raid had resulted in neutralising the military strategy of the Army in combating terrorism in the North East.
The commission said the unfortunate exposure by the media of highly successful LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol) operations undertaken by the Directorate of the Military Intelligence had resulted in the LTTE acquiring the well-guarded secrets and led to a situation where the LTTE was able to liquidate those who had double crossed the group.
Stressing the need to take remedial action forthwith and punish those responsible for what the commission sees as a "great betrayal", the report recommended that steps be taken to de-politicise the Army and the Police and place them in the hands of capable young men to infuse professionalism and prepare the men for battle whenever the government wanted one.
It also recommended that military strategies of the LRRP and similar groups be known only to the Commander-in-Chief, the Commander of the Army and other Commanders and called for more punitive measures to punish people who abuse the system.
According to the report, the saga of the Army's Athurugiriya safe house began two months prior to the raid, when the then UNP Chairman Charitha Ratwatta and Vice Chairman Daya Pelpola, in a letter dated November 10, 2001, complained to the Army Commander Lionel Balagalla regarding the safe house seeing it as a bid to use explosives on meetings of the UNP leadership and the leader's campaign bus.
"The UNP Chairman warned the Army Commander that they would hold him responsible in the event of any such unfortunate incident."
"Mr. Ratwatta also has said to the commission that the information in the letter that the Directorate of the Military Intelligence was coordinating an attempt to use thermobaric explosives on the meetings held by the UNP was divulged by late Gamini Athukorala, the Deputy Leader of the UNP and unfortunately as dead men cannot speak, the Commission had no way of verifying the truth of this statement."
The report said that it was highly probable that certain officers in the Army along with ASP Udugampola, manipulated the story with the expectation that it would affect the results of the elections in favour of the UNP, and that in the event of UNP coming into power they would be adequately compensated.
However, the Army Commander convinced Mr. Ratwatte that there was "no substance in the information set out in the letter and Mr. Ratwatte was satisfied with the reply.
The matter however did not end there.
"If it was so, the matter should have ended then and there, but it did not. After the election results of December 5, 2001, the UNF came into power and within a month the Athurugiriya safe house was raided by ASP Udugampola from the Kandy Kennels Division under the guise of looking for suspects in the Udathalawinna murder case causing the greatest damage to the Army's LRRP operations which were extremely successful in countering and arresting terrorism," the report said.
Condemning the manner in which Mr. Udugampola took into custody several army personnel as illegal, immoral and in violation of all the rules and regulations of the police, the report said that it proved he had acted "arbitrarily and capriciously".
Saying that it is "unfortunate" that the new government could not prevent or control the actions of ASP Udugampola, despite the party chairman being convinced that there was no danger, the commission said that Mr. Udugampola proceeded with his illegal raid and investigations disregarding the orders from his own Inspector General of Police, Senior Police officers and even the advice of the Attorney General.
"The UNF Government's continued silence, in the wake of the obvious embarrassment, made matters worse in the case of the Athurugiriya safe house fiasco."
The report said Interior Minister John Amaratunga had himself admitted that the raid was "ill-conceived and harsh treatment was meted out to the officers. But the belated action by the Minister in refusing to issue Detention Orders on the arrest of armed personnel could by no means "rectify the damage" already caused to the Army's successful covert operations.
Minister Amaratunga had sent his own private secretary to assist ASP Udugampola in respect of the raid on the safe house and to give wide publicity to it, notwithstanding the fact he accepted it was "improper and unethical" for a Minister to interfere in police investigations, it said.
The commission said there was evidence that Lt. Col. Padmasiri Udugampola, SLCMP, brother of ASP Kulasiri Udugampola, Major General Ivan Dassanayake and Colonel K.H.N.S.S. Dharmaratna, Major A.C.A. de Soysa, SLCMP, Major B.M.A.N.S.K. Karunaratne, MIC, Corp, J.H.A.P. de Silva, JHAT-MIC and Corp. M.P.A. Pieris, JHAT-MIC, were all aware of the impending raid and had directly and indirectly assisted ASP Udugampola in raiding the safe house.
The report said that if these officers had any doubts about the safe house they should have brought it to the notice of the Army Commander and moved the military police to investigate.
"But those officers, without doing so, have conspired with Kulasiri Udugampola to raid this safe house for their own personal benefits. Moreover, none of these officers had informed the Army Commander or the Director, DMI, about it before the raid," the report said.
(http://www.dailymirror.lk/2003/12/12/front/1.asp)
EXPOSED BY A CLUMSY POLICE RAID ON ARMY SAFE HOUSE ONE INTELLIGENCE CHIEF KILLED; TWO SPIES KIDNAPPED
Thanks to the wide publicity given to a clumsy police raid on a safe house of the military intelligence unit of the Sri Lanka Army at Athurugiriya at least one person serving that unit had been killed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Batticaloa, and many more are in mortal danger, army sources revealed.
The same sources said two more spies serving the unit had been also kidnapped by the Tamil Tigers as a result of the exposure of the raid conducted by Police Superintendent Kulasiri Udugampola backed by the Interior Minister John Ameratunga.
The premises in Millennium Park, Athurugiriya, where the raid took place were rented by the Sri Lanka Army, as a safe house for a unit of the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) run under the Directorate of Military Intelligence. A police team led by Udugampola raided on the house and arrested the army captain who was in charge of the unit and five soldiers including a former member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who had now joined the unit. The unit was part of a highly successful program by the Sri Lanka Army to penetrate deep into the Tiger territory and assassinate LTTE leaders. Many such as the self-styled Colonel Shanker, a confidante of the Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had been killed by the LRRP.
Army commander Lt. General Lionel Balagalle dispatched his Director of Military Intelligence Brigadier Kapila Hendavitharana to avoid the clumsy arrest of the very efficient long-range unit from being taken away to be locked up. Hendavitharana reportedly arranged a telephone conversation between Inspector General of Police Lucky Kodituwakku and Udugampola to stop the embarrassing situation. Kodituwakku requested the SP to consider what the army intelligence man had to say. But the SP with alleged UNP connections instead phoned up Interior Minister John Ameratunga and complained there were pressures on him. To back Udugampola Ameratunga sent a senior officer of his ministry. Udugampola then arrested all men and took all weapons in to his custody. They were arrested on a charge of a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, now found to be baseless. After all the damage done and under growing protests of the army the UNF government released the arrested.
All this talk about a plot to kill Ranil Wickremesinghe was first published in the official organ of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Tamil Guardian during November of last year. It was complained to the army commander more or less the same time by the then UNP chairman Charitha Ratwatte and his deputy Daya Pelpola. Many consider it as a plant by the Tamil Tigers with the help of the UNP to destroy the LRRP unit of the army. Both the CID and the Army have found the assassination story baseless.
After details of the highly secretive unit was divulged to the police the Tamil Tigers killed the civil intelligence unit chief of the army in Batticaloa. The man, an ex-PLOTE member , Vidhyadharan was gunned down by LTTE assassins at Kottiyapula near Batticaloa on January 16. On January 21, the LTTE also kidnapped two more spies working for the same unit.
By January 4, the LTTE intelligence unit, apparently after receiving information from Police or political sources close to the Police had launched a crackdown on Tamil civilians suspected to have helped the LRRP teams in the Eastern province. The Sunday Times, a pro-government weekly in Colombo reported that an unknown number of civilians had been taken into custody for interrogation by LTTE intelligence cadres. Many of them could be dead by now, many feared.
The Lakbima newspaper quoted army commander Lt. General Lionel Balagalle of having said that the killing and the kidnapping took place because this meaningless police raid had exposed details of army intelligence. Lt.General Balagalle reportedly charged that because of a politically motivated police officer the patriotic and brave officers and their secret operations were unceremoniously exposed and now the army was finding it difficult to provide adequate security to army men thus exposed and their families.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times, a pro-government weekly owned by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe' S cousin, Ranjith Wijeyawardene said the arrest of the members of the LRRP unit has turned out to be illegal and all those who were arrested would soon file a fundamental rights case against the government.
(http://www.lankaweb.com/news/features/items02/270102-1.html)
Monday, March 26, 2007
Deep penetration hit squads: deep probe essential by D. B. S. Jeyaraj
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRP), also referred to as deep penetration hit squads are very much in the news today. Reputed political commentators are hailing President Kumaratunga for officially sanctioning the LRRP project and giving the green light for hits on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) command structure. The continuing inquiry of the Athurugiriya arsenal regularly throws up fresh yet sordid details of how a deadly 'secret weapon' like the LRRP covert action programme could be subverted for purposes not originally intended. It was the Athurugiriya incident that exposed the LRRP secret to the world at large.
Media reports reveal that persons connected with the LRRP are being systematically hunted down by the Tigers. An elaborate campaign is underfoot to blame conscientious police officers for doing their duty diligently and make them scapegoats for the LRRP fiasco. Efforts are being made to deflect attention away from the frightening ramifications of that episode and propagate a viewpoint that the country's national security has been compromised. Army Commander Lionel Balagalle has appointed a military court of inquiry with a restricted mandate that can only result in that tribunal functioning as a 'kangaroo court' and arrive at an obvious and foregone conclusion.
There is however much obfuscation and distortion of the real facts surrounding the LRRP covert action programme. The trial by media of the persons involved can only disclose partial truths. The loaded probe commissions initiated by Balagalle whose hands are extremely unclean on this matter cannot be informative in an impartial sense either. Persons involved in the Athurugiriya incident have been threatening to seek 'justice' for quite a while now without translating their words into action. Such a course of action should be welcomed as judicial proceedings held in an open court could shed more light on the dark and murky LRRP project.
Justice
It is doubtful whether those 'affected' by the Athurugiriya arrest will ever come forward and seek a legal remedy despite the self-righteous howls because of the dictum 'seek justice with clean hands.' Even if such a development occurs, the trial could only elicit part of the truth. What is required therefore in the larger interests of the country is a full-fledged public probe into the whole LRRP project with special emphasis on what transpired at Athurugiriya. Such a probe could de-mystify the LRRP hit squad project for what it is worth and prevent vested interests from misusing such types of covert activity for ulterior purposes.
Engaging in covert action projects to combat the Tamil guerrilla movement was first mooted in the mid-eighties when Lalith Athulathmudali was national security minister and Ravi Jayewardene security advisor under the J.R. Jayewardene government. Various blueprints were formatted by Israeli Shin Beth operatives and ex-SAS British mercenaries The go-ahead was given for some acts. The most notorious of these were some of the massacres of Sinhala civilians in the border areas. Hit squads impersonating Tamil militants executed them. Others involved fomenting friction between Tamils and Muslims in the east.
When the LTTE succeeded along with other groups in confining the army to military camps in the peninsula and creating a semi-liberated state in Jaffna, attempts were made to infiltrate and assassinate top Tiger figures. It is unclear as to how successful these missions were but Lalith Athulathmudali himself boasted to some foreign correspondents that the assassination attempt on former LTTE Jaffna Commander Sathasivampillai Krishnakumar alias Kittu was a "hit" scored by Sri Lankan intelligence. It was not publicised much in the Colombo based media. Subsequently Athulathmudali's claim was disputed by other observers who felt it was an internal matter. After the fall from grace of Gopalaswamy Mahend-rarajah alias Mahattaya the assassination bid on Kittu was also attributed among many things to his machinations.
The setting up of Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols to infiltrate LTTE controlled territory and assassinate top Tiger leaders was proposed to the Kumaratunga regime in 1996. It was suggested first by 'freelancing' intelligence consultants linked to the state. Plans were formulated in furtherance of this idea by Lionel Balagalle who was then the director of military intelligence. It is an open secret in defence circles that the LRRP project was fathered by Balagalle himself who was very much attached to this pet project.
Covert action
When the LRRP project proposal was submitted to President Kumaratunga for approval she rejected it out of hand. Kumaratunga, to her credit, abhorred such types of covert activity then. With her background of being involved in fiery French student politics of the late sixties, Chandrika hated all types of covert action for which the CIA was blamed then. Kumaratunga's policy as president was to defeat the LTTE militarily and not indulge in low level covert action. The project was shelved temporarily.
It was resurrected in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Kumaratunga in December 1999. Kumaratunga re-elected as president was angry and vulnerable. Shedding her earlier inhibitions she approved two covert action projects. One was the elimination of persons suspected of being LTTE supporters or sympathisers in the south. Intelligence operatives had already monitored activity of some targets and had even established links with some of them.
After getting the go-ahead signal, a high profile Tamil lawyer cum politician was decoyed away from home and gunned down brutally in Colombo. A red herring that a Sinhala fascist outfit was responsible was strewn across the trail. The reaction to the killing was tremendous with a massive public outcry. With the finger of guilt being pointed by many to the then occupant of Temple Trees, the powers that be became worried about continuing with that project and so it was put on hold. Thus many other Tamils on that list are alive today.
The second project of setting up LRRP teams was also approved by Kumaratunga in 2000 but that too was put on the backburner because of the fallout to the first phase of the "elimination of the Tiger network." Also, the Norwegian facilitated peace process had begun and attempting to infiltrate the Wanni and assassinating LTTE leaders in the Wanni would have been problematic then. Subsequently in 2001 the governing elite in Colombo found the ongoing peace process an embarrassment. It was decided to provoke the Tigers into abandoning their unilateral ceasefire and resorting to war again. The LRRP plan of assassinating top LTTE leaders was regarded as suitable to goad the Tigers into war again.
Terrorism
Even as the plan was being put into action the armed forces launched a massive operation code-named 'Agni Kheela' to retake Elephant Pass. It was routed conclusively by the LTTE. This made the defence top brass realise that invading and acquiring Tiger territory through frontal assaults was ruled out for the time being. So insidious LRRP hit squads had to be deployed not only to disrupt the peace process but also as a means to hit back at the enemy. The state had been reduced to the level of 'terrorism.' If the LTTE could infiltrate the concrete jungles of Colombo and wipe out human targets, the LRRP too could do so in the north east jungles was the logic. The successful LTTE attack on Katunayake spurred the deep penetration squads further.
The LRRP was a top secret project launched covertly by military intelligence. But Defence Ministry circles say that Lionel Balagalle was personally supervising the programme from its inception. Specially trained commandos and from the special forces were deployed. Also inducted were Tamil and Muslim ex-militants from the north east. They brought in the intelligence input and knowledge of terrain required. The Muslims were from the home guard units doubling up as groups known as 'Jihad' and 'Hizbullah' etc. The Tamils were ex-LTTE men from the 'Mahathaya' faction, members of the EPRLF's 'Razeek' group and from the PLOTE faction led by Mohan. Some of these were inducted into the army as regulars while others collaborated on an assignment basis. Some Tamil civilians were also paid well to provide information and safe houses.
The LRRP squad made its first big hit by exploding a claymore mine at Kokkavil. LTTE Political Wing Chief, S.P. Thamilchelvan was targeted but the wrong vehicle was blown up and it was only the bodyguard who succumbed. Thamilchelvan was on his way to meet Norwegian Peace Envoy Erik Solheim at Mallavi. The LTTE charged publicly that the "claymore blast was set off by a deep penetration team of the Sri Lanka Army." Defence Ministry Spokesman Sanath Karunaratne denied government forces were responsible. "We have no involvement whatsoever in this," Karunaratne said. "This is an area where we don't have our troops."
Thereafter, several such attacks occurred at regular intervals in the north east. Top LTTE leaders were targeted. Among those killed were Pirapaharan's close friend and confidante, Col. Shankar, the head of the LTTE Air Wing. Lt. Col. Gangai Amaran, the deputy chief of the Sea Tigers was killed. Major Nizam, the eastern regional intelligence head was also killed. Among those who escaped assassination attempts were Thamilchelvan, Deputy Military Chief, Balraja, Wanni Commander, Jeyam, Batticaloa-Amparai Commander, Karuna Amman and Eastern Regional Political Commissar, Karikalan.
Denial
The LTTE's accusations that an army deep penetration squad was responsible was denied by the state. Instead counter propaganda that the killings were due to internecine fighting between LTTE cadres was propounded. Ironically the army denials were believed by many in the south because they never thought the armed forces were capable of such successful strikes. On the other hand, the armed forces enjoying some degree of success through the LRRP project could not flaunt it publicly. They were denying the only successful project they had launched in many years.
This was because the LRRP project, though euphemistically termed as covert action, was nothing but an exercise in cold blooded assassination. It was a glaring example of state terrorism. If the LTTE was terrorist because it targeted prominent government figures in Colombo and killed innocent civilians as 'collateral damage,' the LRRP assassinations also could be described as terroristic. It was not top LTTE leaders who alone died, but also civilians. A pathetic example was the blowing up of a tractor with civilians at Vaakharai in the east. Thus, in spite of the high degree of success achieved, neither the government nor the armed forces could take public credit for it. No democratically elected government claiming to fight a just war and dependent on western aid could own up publicly to deploying killer squads deliberately. Likewise no self-respecting army could claim responsibility either.
The LRRP activity however troubled the LTTE greatly. The Tiger reputation of impregnability and invincibility had been eroded greatly. Moreover the LTTE supremo Pirapaharan himself was vulnerable. The Tigers combed the north east jungles and border areas with their leopard commandoes and also the border security forces. The intelligence wing conducted a deep and wide ranging search. Also top LTTE leaders changed their mode of travelling in a bid to avert attention.
Windfall
The LTTE was successful to some extent initially in identifying civilian accomplices and uncovering safe houses in the east. Five persons including a woman were executed and 29 claymore mines seized. A Tiger suicide bomber exploded himself in Batticaloa town and killed three Tamils working on the deep penetration project as part of military intelligence.
A major windfall for the LTTE was when the Tigers arrested a group of five men in the western regions of Batticaloa in December last year. They were suspected to be LRRP squad members. It was a heterogenous mix of Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala persons. Although some initial publicity was given in LTTE journals, a news blackout set in soon after. Obviously, the Tigers were keeping the matter under wraps for further interrogation and information gathering. Interestingly there was not a whimper in the south regarding this development.
This was understandable because officialdom could not accept openly that the killer squad was theirs. It was thought then that the LTTE would expose the capture of LRRP men at a conveniently time and embarrass the state. It is now believed that upon finding the group had been responsible for some killings the squad had been executed. Also, much information about the inner workings of the LRRP squads was also gleaned. This however was not put to much use as the December 5 elections saw Ranil Wickremesinghe becoming premier, leading to a transformation of the political climate.
The discovery of an arms cache including thermobaric weapons at Athurugiriya along with 66 LTTE uniforms and cyanide capsules was a further revelation and confirmation of the LRRP phenomenon. It proved among other things that the deadly and destructive thermobaric fire bombs were being used by the army. Balagalle had denied such allegations earlier as these weapons are tabooed by most civilised nations. Few governments would use them against their own people.
Dirty tricks
Moreover the discovery of LTTE uniforms, cyanide capsules and the presence of Tamil speaking personnel indicated that the 'dirty tricks department' was capable of conducting terrible acts and pinning the blame on the LTTE.
Interestingly enough and to the eternal shame of any professional army, the arrested persons through media outlets blew their cover wilfully. No covert action group or person would ever own up if captured or arrested but the Athurugiriya crowd did so. They claimed that they had engaged in LRRP work in the east and that they were in Colombo in that respect. In one move, the covert action programme was exposed by persons wanting to be freed from arrest, After an inexplicable initial silence, Balagalle also began to support the group who were later released.
It was widely suspected that there was a plot to assassinate Wickremesinghe and pin the blame on the LTTE. The squad in Athurugiriya was thought to be part of that. The explanation proffered eagerly by the arrested persons that they were part of a LRRP team was seen as an excuse to avoid apprehension. Patriotism and interests of national security inevitably invoked by anyone needing to hide anything sinister were bandied about. What many suspected was that the covert action programme was being abused to wipe out a political rival.
There were also reports that the five arrested at Athurugiriya had nothing to do with the LRRP squads at all. The police officer investigating the case has been pilloried and pressurised but nevertheless continues with his probe in a dogged manner. If Defence Minister Marapone and Internal Security Minister Amaratunga realise the gravity of the situation there is no doubt that the matter would not be treated in this way. But then certain ministers of this government are proving to be great disappointments in political acumen and administrative efficiency.
The Athurugiriya arsenal affair and consequent publicity provided the LTTE and the world with ample proof of deep penetration squads. It was indeed hilarious to see a bunch of 'toughies' claiming to be covert actionists pleading for clemency by admitting they were covert operatives; probing policemen were being accused of compromising national security. Suddenly the LRRP secret became a public achievement. Kumaratunga was praised for sanctioning such state terrorism. It was portrayed as the single biggest military achievement of the armed forces.
Stark reality
In fact the LTTE was perceived as being prepared to talk peace only because the Tigers feared the LRRP teams. It was indeed pathetic to see knowledgeable persons ignoring the stark reality behind the covert action project and proclaiming it to be a 'legitimate' success. It was like the American public lulling itself into a false consciousness about the Vietnam war through Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris movies. The LTTE however obtained the concurrence of the government in tabooing the deployment of LRRP squads in the north east in the ceasefire accord. The Tigers also got the CFA to stipulate that no Tamil paramilitary group would be allowed to function in the north east with arms. The Tigers thought that with these ceasefire agreement provisions, the deep penetration squad problem would go away. But it did not and the next twist was when the LTTE discovered signs of a plot to place explosives at a point close to where LTTE Leader Pirapaharan was staying. It was this that influenced the LTTE into staging massive security arrangements for the LTTE leader's press conference on April 10.
With the rekindling of suspicion that the deep penetration squads were being activated again, the Tigers began a hard response. Without adequate proof, complaining to the monitoring mission was ruled out. Instead a counter strike was planned. Intelligence Wing Chief, Pottu Amman travelled to the Eastern Province on a special mission to strengthen the intelligence network there. An important aspect of that enterprise was to focus on the activity and support structure of the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols. Thereafter, reports are emanating about Tamils involved in the covert action project being targeted, one in Colombo too was shot and wounded. As long as state agencies cover up the covert activity and target the LTTE in more ways than one, retaliatory responses will recur.
Total dismantling
What is needed therefore at this juncture is the total dismantling of this covert action project. If LRRP acts continue clandestinely, then the Tigers too are likely to reciprocate. Moreover, the LTTE would eliminate Tamil collaborators as vengeful punishment and also to demolish the LRRP structure. Censuring and compelling the LTTE to desist from such activity can be successful only if the Directorate of Military Intelligence stops its provocative acts. The dogs of war must be called off by both sides.
In order to ensure that the Ranil Wickremesinghe government should know clearly and exactly all the ramifications concerning the LRRP project, it is imperative that the government knows what is happening in order to protect itself. There are many observers who feel that the government has not awoken to the harsh reality behind the Athurugiriya arsenal. It is very necessary that a detailed investigation be launched into the entire covert action project particularly at a time when Kumaratunga and cohorts are planning a prime ministerial 'change.' The deep penetration hit squads need to be probed deeply in the interests of national security and the nation at large.
(http://www.tamilcanadian.com/tools/print.php?id=965)
Friday, March 23, 2007
SLA takes human shields in Vavuniya Mannar border - LTTE
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam officials in Kilinochchi Friday charged that more than 300 Sri Lankan Army (SLA) troopers had breached 2 km into LTTE territory and taken more than 120 villagers of Periyathampanai, around 10 km southeast of Madu, in Vavuniya Mannar border, as human shields Friday morning around 7:30 a.m.
More than 300 SLA troopers were engaged in the ground offensive.
The SLA offensive follows heavy artillery shelling by the SLA and a Deep Penetration Unit Claymore attack wounding 2 civilians in Parappukkandanthan, 18 km northwest of Madu Thursday.
Periya Pandivirichchan is located in Vavuniya district.
(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=21644)
DPU ambush kills School Principal in LTTE territory
A newly appointed principal who was on his way to Vilathikulam from the Zonal Education Office in Madhu was killed, and an Divisional Education Officer was wounded and rushed to Kilinochchi hospital for treatment Tuesday morning following a Claymore ambush by the Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) of the Sri Lanka Army, said N. Selvy, Liberation Tigers Human Rights Spokesperson.
The victim, identified as Siluvairasa Amalanesan, 33, was killed on the spot.
An education official, identified as Christian Rajakone, 47, was rushed to Kilinochchi hospital.
Both were traveling in a motorbike, driven by the deceased, to attend an event at the school.
The ambush was reported around 10:30 a.m. at Sinnavalayan Kaddu in Madhu division in the LTTE controlled area in Mannar district.
Sinnavalayan Kaddu is located in Madhu education zone.
Thamileelam Police rushed to the site and launched a search operation.
(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=21388)
Christian family wounded in DPU attack in Madu
A 4-year-old girl, 15-year-old boy and their parents riding in a motorbike to Madu church from Andankulam through parappukandanthan road were wounded in a Sri Lanka Army Deep Penetration Unit Claymore attack Wednesday around 10:00 a.m., 6 km away from the church. This is the second DPU attack on civilians inside Liberation Tigers territory within the last 24 hours.
Henry Anthonymuttu, 40, a farmer, his wife Henry Uchrista, 42, and their children Angele Shiami, 04 and Sam Surendran Henry, 15, were wounded and rushed to Adampan District Hospital by the ICRC and later transferred to Mannar General Hospital.
The attack was reported at Periyavil on Parappukadanthan Road.
On Tuesday, a school principal was killed and an education official was wounded in Madu.
The ambush units known as Deep Penetration Units (DPUs) are officially named Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) units, is a borrowed term from the LRRP/Ranger detachments deployed for covert operations by the U.S. military in the Vietnam war.
The Sri Lankan LRRP units are increasingly deployed to attack civilian vehicles in addition to military targets in the LTTE territory.
(http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=21395)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
