Vigilance essential as LTTE’s thirst for blood rises

Prabhakaran’s speech reflects Tigers’ desperation

Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran once again gave his annual message of terror both in words and action targeting innocent civilians in the South, as he has not yet quenched his thirst for blood.

By saying “the Sinhala nation did not change even after so much destruction and loss of life. It continues on the path of violence. It only desires to find a solution to the Tamil question through military might and oppression.”

The Tiger leader gave a very clear signal that he will continue on the path of violence against the ‘Sinhala

Muhamalai FDL Pictures by Rukmal Gamage

 nation’ to achieve his goal.

But his pathetic plea to the international community to freeze the economic and military support to the Sri Lankan Government indicates he is in the weakest position ever in the history of his struggle for Tamil Eelam.

Therefore, it won’t be surprising if people compare his so called annual speech to the mourning of a convicted criminal who has been given the death sentence by a Judge for committing crimes against humanity.

Even in his confession - the annual speech about his failures - he could not hide the flames of his hatred burning inside. His hatred towards the Government which blocked each and every step in his terror campaign to achieve the goal of Tamil Eelam by preying on the lives of Tamil civilians was apparent in every word.

He not only uttered those words but also turned those words into action by triggering off one human bomb targeting Social Services and Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda and again exploding a parcel bomb at the busy Nugegoda junction in rush hour traffic on Wednesday evening.

Eighteen civilians were killed and more than 50 were injured in this bomb blast which was a deliberate attempt on civilian targets by the LTTE.

But this was not an unexpected incident for the South. It was quite expected by the people in the South and also by the intelligence agents. There were enough intelligence reports to say that Tigers were preparing to target the innocent civilians during this month but they were not sure about the location.

Why did the LTTE leader resort to this type of desperate act targeting innocent civilians? There may be more than hundred or thousand answers to this simple question.

It is obvious that the bomb attack is to hurt the Southern community for strongly backing the Government for military operations against the LTTE now entrapped in the Wanni.

For Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, this is the most effective way of conveying message to anybody in any part of the world. That is the only language he knows though he gives sermons to others about Buddhism and complains to the international community about the ‘genocidal acts’ by Security Forces.

On the other hand he doesn’t have political wit to argue and convince others about his cause like his one time colleague Minister Douglas Devananda. So he simply demonstrates his anger and incapabilities through

A scene at the Nugegoda bomb blast

 these desperate acts.

Even his proxies in the Parliament do not have the decency and the political wit to convey their message to the world according to accepted democratic norms in the world. What they are trying is to enact the jungle law prevalent in the Wanni to achieve their goals and once they fail they put the blame on the Security Forces and the international community. The second obvious reason for adopting such desperate attacks is due to the beatings they are now getting from the sea, land and air.

For the first time in the three decades long history of the conflict Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has sniffed death despite the thousands of barriers around him.

The death of LTTE Political Wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan has upset him. Apart from this the open challenge by the Security Forces Commanders to target him in the Wanni also shocked him for the first time.

It was in accordance with the policy adopted by this Government to call terrorist a terrorist without any hesitation. Not only in the Wanni but also in Jaffna FDLs the LTTE is facing blows from the Security Forces. The Tiger leader himself has admitted in his speech that more than 1,000 of their cadres have perished due to Security Forces attacks.

The Security Forces through their small group operations inflict heavy damages on the LTTE killing at least ten cadres a day.

This has brought effective results on the part of the Security Forces to reduce the threat on the Security Forces and the civilians both in Jaffna and in Wanni. Therefore the LTTE leadership desperately needs to scatter the Security Forces drawing their attention in other parts of the country by engaging in sabotage activities in the South. The attack on Thalagasamankada Army detachment inside the Yala National Park on October 15, and subsequent incidents in the South and the attack on the Air Force base Anuradhapura were such attempts by the LTTE.

Through bomb explosions of this nature the LTTE is trying their best to split the Security Forces in the North and in the Wanni to secure civil establishments in the South specially sensitive civilian targets such as schools and religious places.

But the Security Forces are effectively facing this situation even after deploying an adequate number of troops to man the Yala National Park and adjoining Tissamaharama and Hambantota areas. The Army is ready to deploy troops to protect villages threatened by LTTE activities.

According to Security Forces the Army has deployed two battalions to secure the Yala National Park and the Southern part of the country while deploying more than 1,000 Civil Security Force personnel to secure the villages adjoining the Park, without affecting their security plans in the Wanni. Therefore, it has become a futile exercise for the LTTE to weaken the Security Forces in the North and Wanni by splitting troops into various parts of the country.

According to field commanders in Wanni and Jaffna they are now witnessing the most effective troop deployment by the Sri Lanka Army which has brought positive results in ground battles against the LTTE.

Therefore, it will be difficult for the LTTE to adopt such tactics to weaken the Security Forces with the successful recruitment drive completed by the Army recently with the recruitment of over 27,000 youth into the Army.

Apart from this the most important factor behind the bomb attacks targeting civilians in the South is aimed at changing the mindset of the people in the South regarding the military thrust on the Wanni. Through the creation of a fear psychosis among the public, the LTTE can instigate the people in the South against the Government which continues its military thrust against the LTTE terror in the Wanni.

By adopting this strategy they can easily change the mindset of the people against this Government and use them to exert pressure to put a stop to the military action against the LTTE in Wanni and in Jaffna. The sensitive political scenario prevailing in the country at present will enable such a situation even to topple the Government in power easily fulfilling the objectives of the LTTE, without any cost on their part.

Therefore, people have to be more prudent in reacting to this type of desperate acts of the LTTE as they could be victims of the trap set by over reacting to such situations. Therefore, without imparting the responsibility of keeping the country free of such incidents only on the Police and the Security Forces the citizens of this country too can contribute to this task effectively.

It has now been revealed that the bomb incident at Nugegoda junction could have easily averted if civilians and the Police officers concerned acted fast and responsibly.

Initial investigations have revealed that the suspicious parcel has been handed over to the parcel counter of the No Limit fashion store by a suspicious person who was seemingly busy at that time. The security guard who had seen the person who had brought the parcel had passed the message to another security guard who in turn had gone inside the store to convey the message to the Police.

Police investigations revealed that it was a time bomb fixed inside the parcel with two to three kilos of explosives. The person who had brought and kept it at the parcel counter either had no time to move towards the expected target by the time it was fixed to explode or the person he should have handed over the parcel to had not turned up on time.

On the other hand it was suspected that either this person wanted to hand over the parcel to someone else inside the fashion store.

If he wanted to hand over the parcel he could have easily handed over the token issued to him to the other person to take the parcel from the parcel counter. According to eyewitnesses the person who handed over the parcel had not entered the shop and walked away from the scene hurriedly. If the person wanted to cause a bigger damage he could have easily taken the parcel to a more crowded area in the Nugegoda junction instead of keeping the parcel at the parcel counter. But it was difficult to keep such parcel unnoticed by the public.

Police investigators are also checking whether there was anyone waiting inside the fashion store since one suicide cadre by the name of Naguleshwaree arrested by the Police has revealed to the Police that she was to wear the suicide kit inside a fashion store pretending that she was entering the fitting room to check a new garment.

Therefore, there could have been a suicide cadre waiting to carry out the bomb to take a VIP target passing the area. But Defence authorities firmly believe that the incident would have been easily averted if the relevant authorities arrived there on time and the Police officer did not open the parcel until Bomb Disposal Unit arrived there. The number of deaths could have been averted if the people were removed from the vicinity alarming them of a suspected bomb.

Therefore, it is better to be vigilant about bombs of this nature as intelligence reports indicate that there are possibilities for the LTTE to engage in such desperate acts in the coming weeks to show off their desperation and exert pressure on the Government to stop Wanni operations.

The way Minister Douglas Devananda reacted to the suicide bomb was a classic example to demonstrate the way people should react to such situations.

It has been revealed that Minister Devananda had refused to accept the advice given by the security personnel to move away from the premises soon after the physically handicapped suicide bomber blew herself inside the Ministry, stressing that there may be another suicide bomber waiting outside the premises expecting their panic reaction.

The Minister has said that the LTTE was very well aware that it was difficult to kill him by using 200 to 300 grams of explosives as they are aware that the suicide bomber would definitely undergo checks before being sent to him. Therefore, he had advised his personal bodyguards and the Security Forces personnel on his escort not to move from the premises until the area is fully cleared. That was the reaction of a person who had survived 12 assassination attempts including two suicide attempts. Therefore, the common masses too should learn from the past incidents and should act responsibly without falling victim to Tiger traps in an extremely sensitive period like this when the Government is making every attempt to rid the country of terrorism.