Terrorist elements trying to disrupt public life in Jaffna - Army

COLOMBO: Concerted efforts with complex and multifaceted dimensions appear to have been launched with full force by disguised LTTE terrorists, their supporters and proxies in the Jaffna peninsula to disrupt the public life and infuse terror among the civilians who have by now largely distanced themselves from aiding and abetting LTTE terrorism, the Sri Lanka Army Headquarters in a release said.

Those elements, mostly operating in covert manner on the instructions of their jungle-based leaders plague innocent civilians and businessmen over extortions, ransom and spate of robberies and criminal acts.

So do they with schoolchildren by inciting them to commit violence against State property or members of the Security Forces.

"In the recent past several State buses were torched after dragging schoolchildren out including the destruction caused to another passenger bus yesterday morning. It was only a couple of days ago, the Government dispatched ten brand new buses to the peninsula."

As recent independent reports confirmed, civil life in the Jaffna peninsula has reached near normalcy except for certain measures that have been adopted by the Security Forces for the greater benefit of the public and security concerns.

Schools, hospitals, District Secretariat, public and private transport services, commercial establishments, operations of food supplies, State institutions, non Governmental Organisations are functioning in full swing in the peninsula as they do elsewhere in the island.

Continuing recovery of more and more large caches of arms, claymore mines, anti-personnel mines, ammunition, explosives and other terrorist lethal that remained concealed in residential areas following information supplied to the Police and the troops by innocent civilians testified to the courage and enthusiasm of ordinary Tamil people who yearn for peace and harmony.

Those terrorist elements, perturbed at the dramatic decline of popular support earlier enjoyed by them are now resorting to mean tactics to disrupt normalcy by way of issuing death threats and intimidation.

These elements conveniently use the Jaffna University premises as one of their major centres for launch of various criminal activities, if not to commit crimes on behalf of the LTTE. This environment forced the authorities to close down the university indefinitely on many a time as against the wishes of the majority of students and academic staff.

The latest LTTE strategy with issue of "Death threats" to students who are busy with their academic sessions is a case in point and is aimed at provoking peace-loving masses as well as blaming the Security Forces for no fault of theirs.

The university was closed down in August 2006 due to intensification of violence and subsequently opened for studies on February 10, 2007. Examinations on the campus are presently in progress but those bogus threats were trying hard to cripple academic sessions.

Members of the Security Forces as well as the Police assure the students and academic staff that measures are in place to ensure the smooth function of the University regardless of the interests of those destructive elements.