Two boats carrying arms from India destroyed

By Walter Jayawardhana

SRI LANKA NAVY DESTROYS ANOTHER TWO BOATS CARRYING ARMS AND AMMUNITION FROM TAMIL NADU OFF KALPITIYA

Two more boats of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) carrying arms or ammunition from India were destroyed by the Sri Lanka Navy off kalpitiya off the North Western coast of Sri Lanka killing 9 Sea Tigers who were on board.

The incident occurred at Bathalagunduwa, five nautical miles off kalpitiya, the Sri Lanka Navy sources said.

The incident occurred on the fifth anniversary of the Ceasefire agreement signed by the former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran on February 22, 2002 brokered by Norway.

Since the agreement was signed the LTTE never ceased smuggling in weapons and ammunition. In contrast, then most arms shipments came in to the country from the East coast but the navy then was under the strict instructions of the Wickremesinghe government to keep a low key and not to clash with the Sea Tigers. Later when the imports of smuggled weapons increased the Navy used force and sank the LTTE gun running ships.

But now most of the arms shipments come in smaller boats mostly across the bay of Mannar from India.

The Navy said when the two suspicious boats were approaching the Navy fired two warning shots but the suspected arms carrying boats shot at them with machine guns.

When they retaliated one boat was instantly engulfed with fire indicating it was loaded with explosives.

The Navy said at least nine Sea Tigers were in the boats who perished with them. Two other boats later came to attack the Naval craft but they also fled unable to take the heavy Navy fire.

It was only a day ago, the Defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella requested India to intensify the crack down on Tamil Tigers.

At a press briefing he was quoted of having said, “Please, I request them (India) to do more, If you write a headline that India is not doing enough, they will take note of it (in New Delhi).”

Commenting on the crack down on a suicide boat by the coast guard off the coast of Tamil Nadu Rambukwella said he was seeing a new beginning regarding the crack down of the arms smuggling from India by the Indian authorities.

In 1980’s it was India who trained, funded and armed the Tamil Tigers. But in 1991 angered over the Indian Peace keeping Force Tamil Tigers assassinated Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Opposition Indian leaders have charged Tamil Nadu Chief minister M. Karunanidhi of secretly accommodating the Tamil Tigers in the South Indian state once again.