Daily Archives: January 16, 2007
LTTE is beaten in the East
By Walter Jayawardhana
FORTIFICATIONS DESTROYED BY THE SRI LANKA ARMY DESCRIBED AS THE BEGINNING OF THE END
Advancing troops of the Sri Lanka Army demolished the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam stronghold of Panichchankerni, North of Batticaloa town of the Eastern Province killing more than 30 guerillas.
The fall of Panichchankerni was hailed as the beginning of the end of the Tamil Tigers In the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, where they were rapidly withdrawing from more than 14 garrisons in the adjacent district of Ampara in the same province unable to to face advancing elite police commandos of the Special Task Force.
In capturing the coastal Panichchankerni the army lost 4 soldiers while twenty others received minor injuries.
Sri Lanka Army said The LTTE fled leaving behind a large quantity of arms and ammunition at Panichchankerni. The army took over the third forward defense line of the LTTE.
Before taking Panichchankerni, the Sri lanka Army demolished Strategic fortifications of LTTE terrorists at Ichchalampaththu and Uppural, the army said . The fortifications fell as SL forces advanced responding to the volume of LTTE artillery and mortar barrages in the East. In taking that the army lost an officer.
Seven LTTE terrorist bodies were recovered, at Ichchalmpattu and Uppural while over two dozens were believed wounded, said a military official.
January 16 in the morning the Army saw a gathering of forces at Verugal and made a pre-emptive attack on it to neutralize it.
Amidst troops advancement, the Tigers fled that position.
Another attack by Tigers to regroup and attack the army was blasted when the army captured the third defense forward line of the Tigers at Panichchankerni.
Three mortar positions of the LTTE were completely destroyed by the Sri lanka Air Force.
The Army said they are now consolidating all areas captured.
LTTE is defeated at Panichchankerniby the advancing army
By Walter Jayawardhana
FORTIFICATIONS DESTROYED BY THE SRI LANKA ARMY DESCRIBED AS THE BEGINNING OF THE END
Advancing troops of the Sri Lanka Army demolished the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam stronghold of Panichchankerni, North of Batticaloa town of the Eastern Province killing more than 30 guerillas.
The fall of Panichchankerni was hailed as the beginning of the end of the Tamil Tigers In the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, where they were rapidly withdrawing from more than 14 garrisons in the adjacent district of Ampara in the same province unable to to face advancing elite police commandos of the Special Task Force.
In capturing the coastal Panichchankerni the army lost 4 soldiers while twenty others received minor injuries.
Sri Lanka Army said The LTTE fled leaving behind a large quantity of arms and ammunition at Panichchankerni. The army took over the third forward defense line of the LTTE.
Before taking Panichchankerni, the Sri lanka Army demolished Strategic fortifications of LTTE terrorists at Ichchalampaththu and Uppural, the army said . The fortifications fell as SL forces advanced responding to the volume of LTTE artillery and mortar barrages in the East. In taking that the army lost an officer.
Seven LTTE terrorist bodies were recovered, at Ichchalmpattu and Uppural while over two dozens were believed wounded, said a military official.
January 16 in the morning the Army saw a gathering of forces at Verugal and made a pre-emptive attack on it to neutralize it.
Amidst troops advancement, the Tigers fled that position.
Another attack by Tigers to regroup and attack the army was blasted when the army captured the third defense forward line of the Tigers at Panichchankerni.
Three mortar positions of the LTTE were completely destroyed by the Sri lanka Air Force.
The Army said they are now consolidating all areas captured.
Elite Commandoos capture 2 more camps and consolidate power in 12 fallen Tiger garrisons
ELITE COMMANDOS CAPTURE TWO MORE LTTE CAMPS AND CONSOLIDATE POWER AT 12 FALLEN TIGER GARRISONS
Taking orders from their Commandant DIG Nimal Lewke dressed in jungle fatigues who was personally present at the forefront of the forest fighters, victorious elite commandos of the Special Task force of the Police bagged two more small Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) military garrisons in the thick jungles of the Ampara District, Monday in the besieged Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the STF said they were consolidating their power in the already captured 12 LTTE camps since January 4 by a military offensive code named “Niyathai Jaya”- Victory is Certain- in which they discovered that the Tamil separatist group were sustaining their movement by felling illicit timber in forest reserves destroying the environment, killing wild elephants for ivory for smuggling, and growing large plantations of cannabis for drug running following their one time friend, well-wisher and political supporter – the Tamil Nadu forest outlaw Veerappan.
Koose Muniswamy Veerappan killed 130 people and slaughtered 2000 elephants for ivory. He might have smuggled out tons of sandalwood from the Tamil Nadu forests before he was killed in a Tamil Nadu Special Task Force shoot out just more than two years ago in the thick jungles of the South Indian state, close to the border of Karnataka.
The LTTE who operated from these Sri Lankan Eastern Province jungle garrisons in contrast killed thousands of people and kidnapped thousands of Tamil children to be trained as child soldiers in those abominable jungle hideouts . Signs are there they felled acres and acres of trees in those virgin forest reserves to raise funds for war. Except few carcasses of elephants found dumped in jungle swamps , with tell tale signs of tusk removal the STF could not tell exactly how many elephants they may have killed in those jungles where thousands of wild elephants once roamed. But many Sri Lankans know the famous majestic elephant –Dala Puttuwa- that had two tusks crossing each other in a wild sanctuary and a very favorite target of wild life photographers was a victim of the poaching Tamil Tigers some years ago. At the least few dozen mammoth animals are suspected to have been gunned down by them for precious ivory.
Stanley, Paramananda, Bagyadhi, Janak, Jeevan, Diana, Shashi, Eleththiyan, Eleivan, Aridevan, Madurakavi and Ram were some of the more important camps out of the 12 which were seized by the STF onslaught. On Monday, January 15 two other smaller camps Nalini Base and Camp No 2 were taken in the kanjikudichchi Aru or Lahugala jungles in the ongoing military offensive that is expected to continue until the last camp is captured in the Ampara District. Everywhere what the brave combatants of the STF saw was the poaching ,thievery murderous behaviour and utter disregard for justice practiced by the Tamil Tigers over thousand acres in these lawless wilds.
Their stores were full of stolen food given by world charities for the poorest of the poor Tamil victims of the Tsunami. Even the bunker roofs were covered with sack clothes in which such aid came with the charity logos still intact. A Dutch charity said that the Tigers had equipped their hospital at the Stanley base with stolen equipment taken from their stores meant for refugees. Save the Children Fund said the boats found at one of the overrun camps have been stolen from them. The fact was glaring, that the LTTE was robbing charities to go to war.
There were kennel sized torture chambers in dungeon like darkness for those who tried to escape from forced military training and for those suspected as informers. There were dozens and dozens of motor bicycles kept ready to be used for suicide bombing- the trade mark practice of the Tamil Tigers. There were signs of luxury living like good food, comfortable vehicles and big screen television for the top leaders while the others had to be satisfied with more mundane jungle living. All camps associated with leaders have had 24 hour electricity supplied by generators installed in the jungle. In fact , the STF were able to capture 30 electric generators, and numerous water pumps both fixed and portable.
Various camps have been used for different purposes. For instance LTTE women cadres had been housed at the Diana camp lead by a female Tiger leader Swarna. At the Eleivan camp the LTTE had gathered and maintained documents of intelligence like maps. Intelligence also reveals that the LTTE had used the romantically named Madurakavi-Sweet Poems camp for not so romantic combat training and to torture cadres who were caught trying to escape. The LTTE had maintained a tailor shop at the Janak camp where uniforms were tailored for their cadres.
The Paramananda base had been used by Paramananda Master, the LTTE leader in charge of explosives, who brought death to hundreds of civilians and who manufactured RDX laden suicide jackets -the know how of which that had been transferred to Al Queda in exchange for weapons from Afganistan and other terror centers of the Middle East. The STF recovered a 29" Flatron TV and a DVD player from the Paramananda camp- a luxury in these remote jungles and a way of telling the master a big thank you for creating such havoc all over the world. From other bases used by leaders, STF troops recovered 29" Flatron TVs, generators, Nissan vans, double cab pick up trucks and satellite phones.
The STF said it has discovered “four main storerooms packed with large quantities of tsunami aid including canned food, dry rations, sanitary products, tents, large number of mosquito coils packets and sleeping bags. Almost all LTTE underground bunkers were roofed with sand bags made out of tsunami aid sacks.”
The camps that were run in these jungles were also a real threat to the nearby farming communities. January 2 this year the Tami Tigers kidnapped the mail man and his wife with two others from the nearby Sinhala village of Bakmitiyawa and killed them. More recently an 18 year old student from the school of the same community was kidnapped and up to today he is missing, despite demonstrations against the kidnappers by his fellow students. LTTE atrocities also prevented nearby rice farmers from using the irrigation tank that supplied water to 120,000 acres of farmland.
The STF offensive has become a landmark victory for the Sri Lankan security forces who have vowed to flush out the LTTE from the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. The LTTE has fled without coming for a face to face fight with the STF, only booby trapping their vehicles and buildings. They buried hundreds of land mines before hiding in the jungles unable to put up a fight. Since the government has appealed to surrender, five LTTE cadres have come out of jungles and surrendered so far. Surrender or not this is the worst defeat they have so far faced in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.
generator for terrorist camp
illicit felling of trees
skull of a tusker
LTTE torture chamber
motor bikes for suicide missions
Cannabis cultivation
Tamil Nadu should hold the scales evenly
by V. Anandasangaree
President of the Tamil United
Liberation Front (TULF)
This appeal comes from a senior Tamil citizen of Sri Lanka who has been in politics for over fifty years and in Parliament for over 17 years, having won four parliamentary elections. He has represented the Kilinochchi Electorate, where the LTTE has its headquarters now. This plea is to the leaders of Tamil Nadu and its people to solicit their sincere co-operation, irrespective of their political affiliations to help liberate the Tamil people of the North and East of Sri Lanka from the subjugation of the LTTE and to find a reasonable solution to the ethnic problem.
The concerns of the 60 Million people of Tamil Nadu in India for the people of the same ethnic group just 20 miles across the sea in Sri Lanka’s North and East, dominated by the Tamils and Muslims, is understandable. That is why Tamil Nadu should act with care and caution in its dealings with the Sri Lankan ethnic problem and also should not get swayed by the emotional speeches made by some of the Tamil Nadu Politicians who make speeches to incite the public with no concern for the negative reflections on Sri Lanka.
India and Sri Lanka can’t afford to quarrel each other for a variety of reasons. This was told by Mahatma Gandhi several years back when he visited Sri Lanka. It is very vital for Sri Lanka and India, more particularly Tamil Nadu, to have mutual understanding and trust between them. It is therefore obligatory on the part of the leaders on both sides to see that the people on either side are not prejudiced by the words and deeds of any one of them, although there is a determined effort by some parties with vested interest to keep the Sinhalese and the Tamils of Tamil Nadu far apart and keep on prejudicing their minds against each other. Tamil Nadu has to understand the various realities comprehensively and could help us to solve the problems of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
The demand for a separate state of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka cannot and should not come from Tamil Nadu for the simple reason that India, whichever party comes to power and whoever becomes the Prime Minister, has not failed to rule out a separate state of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. India does not want a divided Sri Lanka from the point of view of its national interests. Hence, Tamil Nadu can play a balanced constructive role to reconcile the national interests of India and the basic aspirations of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Read the rest of this entry
Workers as political pawns
The JVP has threatened to call a general strike unless the government takes steps to redress the grievances of the working class before Jan. 31. President of the National Trade Union Centre and JVP MP K. D. Lalkantha says the government has failed to honour its pledge of a better deal to the workers.
Workers are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. But, the high inflation is not of recent origin. The general price level has remained rather high all these years, mainly due to the country’s burgeoning imports bill, low domestic production and the rapid depreciation of the rupee, in addition to the poor economic management. The unprecedented increase in defence expenditure by 45 per cent for the current year has also taken a heavy toll on the economy. Irresponsible trade unions that resort to wild cat strikes and don’t give a damn about their responsibilities and obligations have made a contribution to the poor performance of the economy in no small measure.
Why has the JVP felt the need for a strike all of a sudden? Why was the JVP silent on the workers’ plight when it was on a honeymoon with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party? What is the JVP’s real objective?
The JVP’s threat of a strike stems from anything but its love for the workers. It is only using its trade union arm to achieve a political objective. Now that President Mahinda Rajapakse has literally kept the JVP in its place by engineering defections from the UNP, the outfit is naturally frustrated. There is little that it can do on the political front to unsettle the government which is apparently on an even keel. More defections from the UNP will further strengthen the President’s hands in terms of his parliamentary majority. Although the JVP has 38 MPs, it cannot afford to rock the boat for fear of an election, which will drastically reduce its numbers in Parliament. The JVP, on the other hand, has lost its magic in the electorate, as evident from its poor performance at last year’s Local Government Elections. It may claim that its percentage vote has recorded an increase but as any psephologist will agree, at a national election, it cannot retain the same numbers as the priorities of the electorate differ at the national level and the people tend to choose between the two main parties at a general election. The internal strife of the JVP, which has developed to the level of some dissidents receiving death threats, is sapping the organisation.
Paradoxically, the biggest problem of the JVP has been its success. Its stellar performance at the 2004 election, where it had all its candidates returned and even ‘donated’ one of its parliamentary slots to the SLFP, has created a situation where it has to live up to the public expectations, if it is to retain popular support in the future. It was able to do so in the past as it had state power to carry out populist yet useful projects like the tank restoration programme. The main plank of its election platform was the North and East conflict. It opposed the policy of appeasement and a federal solution tooth and nail. Today, the government has not only stolen the JVP’s thunder where the war effort is concerned but also embarrassed the outfit that campaigned hard for his victory by toying with the idea of federalism.
The JVP is experiencing the same problems that the so-called Marxist parties underwent in the past due to their political marriage with the SLFP. The leftists who coalesce with the SLFP and a man who opts for a binna marriage (in which he lives in his wife’s house with in-laws) have one thing in common. They, as it is popularly said, run the risk of being chased away anytime. They were unceremoniously shown the door by Mrs. Sirimavo Badaranaike in 1974, exactly the way President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga smoked out the JVP in 2005. President Rajapakse has made overtures to the JVP but it is wary of rejoining government on his terms. The President cannot stick to his pre election agreement with the JVP to the letter, as he is fully awake to the political reality which is different from the JVP’s Utopia.
The JVP is in a quandary. It is neither in the Opposition nor in the government. It has fallen between two stools! It may say that it has nothing to do with the government but it cannot sell that claim to the discerning public. It is losing attraction to the people and the SLFP is eating into its vote bank slowly but steadily. Cracks have appeared in its parliamentary group with its Presidential Candidate (1999) Nandana Gunathilake having one foot in the SLFP.
Thus, the JVP has to gain a turbo boost for its political project if it is to avoid going the same way as the LSSP and the CP. It must have thought of something earth shattering to startle the government and to impress the people. That may explain why Lalkantha is threatening a general strike.
In this country where trade unions are concubines of politicians, it is not surprising that workers have become political pawns. A general strike is something that the country cannot afford at this juncture.
-The Island Editorial
