Army refutes pro-LTTE web report

COLOMBO: Following the ceasefire Army troops, have never disrupted democratic and legitimate political activities of the LTTE or any other civil organisation to-date. Nor have the troops conducted any offensives against the LTTE except for retaliatory counter attacks during last December-January months, the army said in a news release.

Those counter attacks precipitated LTTE provocations and a number of other terrorist attacks using hand grades and claymore mines on the Security Forces and the Police.

Those terrorist attacks prompted troops to detect as many as 40 LTTE claymore mines. 10 T-56 weapons, machine guns, pistols, a large number of hand grenades, explosives and military items between 04th December 2005-20th February 2006 as a result of Army search and clear operations in the North and East.

A pro-LTTE website report extracting a few comments made by the Commander of the Army, Gen Sarath Fonseka interpreted inaccurately his remarks, as the admission of a series of alleged retaliatory attacks against LTTE men and disruption of their events, including the Pongu Thamil, etc by troops.

Under no circumstances, troops harassed civilians as alleged but weapon-carrying LTTE cadres, the army stressed.

The role of the troops during the height of LTTE atrocities last December and January on the other hand in fact came under repeated praise of the public as well as many other international agencies contrary to what has been published in this untrue and malicious report.