Oviliamadu massacre 'firing practice' for child cadres

Welikanda: The LTTE has carried out the Welikanda civilian massacre with the intention of provoking a communal backlash and stopping development work in uncleared areas, Police sources said. Police have also firmly established that the perpetrators of the May 29 crime were from the LTTE child brigade.

Although around 15 LTTE cadres have come to the Oviliamadu village, three child soldiers among them had shot the civilians who were engaged in an irrigation project. "The LTTE made use of this opportunity to give rehearsals or firing practice for the children being trained by them," a senior Police officer said.

The village is located between Valachchenai and the Welikanda Police Station areas, 35 km away from Valachchenai and 18 km away from Welikanda. This is an uncleared area. All the victims were poor Sinhala Villagers from the adjoining villages such as Monarathenna, Aselapura, Maithreegama and Welikanda.

The assailants had questioned the victims whether they have supported the Karuna Group and it appears that they have committed this act in order to frighten the villagers, Police said.

They said the LTTE does not want any construction or development work in uncleared areas to be done by the civilians or the Government. "They have committed this ruthless act in order to frighten the people engaged in development work."

P. G. Abeysuriya of Monarathenna, Welikanda had taken a contract to construct an irrigation canal to supply water for the paddy-fields from the Mahaweli Project and he was engaged in construction work in Oviliamadu area. He had 14 persons working under him and they occupied a temporary 'Vadiya' in Oviliamadu.

According to the two villagers (W. M. Piyadasa Wijebandara and T. Upali Rajakaruna) who escaped, when they were engaged in construction work, about 15 armed LTTE cadres had come to their work site, questioned them, searched all of them, took their money, tied their hands with ropes, took all of them on to the road, got all of them to sit down and three LTTE cadres who appeared to be children fired at all of them.

Thereafter LTTE cadres set fire to the tractor, JCB backhoe machine and the motorcycle which were at the work site and left the area.