Civilians join mission to protect nation from terrorism

Expanded role for civil society in vigilance operations:

Saturday February 23 would have been a fateful day for many people in and around Mount Lavinia. The entire plans of the Tiger terrorists to create mayhem in Colombo went down the drain due to the extreme vigilance of the civilians about their environs.

Only 18 civilians sustained minor injuries due to the huge explosion that took place inside a private bus in Mount Lavinia junction. It was due to the timely action taken by the conductor and the driver after they were

Civil Defence Committee members checking bus passengers IDs. Pictures by Rukmal Gamage

 tipped off by a civilian about a suspicious parcel inside the bus.

The following Sunday turned into special date that evoked the enthusiasm of hundreds of civilians, many in their young ages, gathering in Colombo and suburbs.

They did not carry weapons, clubs or swords in their hands like the thugs who dominated the city streets searching for Tamils during the 83 riots. Their intention was entirely different from those politically motivated ‘patriots’ of the 83 riots.

These youth and also the people in their middle age flocked in Colombo suburbs hand in hand with the law enforcement authorities. They carried out a massive search on vehicles entering Colombo city from various directions.

The buses plying on Highlevel road were lined up at different queues at Homagama. Dozens of youth went through each and every passenger on these buses. They politely requested the commuters to produce their identity cards. There was no protest from the commuters to hand over their identity cards to these youth who were assisting the Policemen.

There was tremendous support for these youth who were engaged in search operations hand in hand with the Police personnel. They were polite enough to take the people without identity cards to the Policemen there at the checkpoint and to hear what they were saying.

They were not forced to engage in this activity but volunteered to do so. That was the type of patriotism they had shown through their acts.

These searches are not meant to track hardcore LTTE cadres or to send shock waves among the public but to give them a some sort of sense to the civil society that they can do much service in the nations thrive to eradicate terrorism from the country and to convince that they too are part and parcel of this society.

This was a healthy sign emerging from civil society that they too are shaping up themselves to take up the challenge of terrorism. They too are following the footprints of the war heroes of the country.

Though not armed with weapons, they were contributing voluntarily to defeat the terror agenda of targeting innocent civilians in the South, as their strongholds are being challenged at the hands of the Security Forces.

That was a part of the programme initiated by the Government to establish Civil Security Committees in each and every part of the country.

That was not only because the LTTE had expanded its vicious net all over the country but to prevent the possibilities of using the loopholes in the security net for the advantage of their terror plans.

The students, parents, office workers and each and every vital place in the country are organised to take up the challenge. There are no cowards who are holed up in their homes without coming out of their houses in fear of bombs and suicide attacks. Instead, they are organising themselves to face the challenge of terrorism effectively.

But it was not through a simple lesson they had learnt all these things. It was after a loss of thousands of lives to merciless bombs by Tiger terrorists, that civil society is organising itself to avert such bloodbaths in the country.

They saw all the incidents first at Nittambuwa and Seenigama, later in Ampara, Nugegoda, Dambulla and at last the inevitable suicide blast at Colombo Fort railway station on February 3 to learn all these lessons to organise to face the challenge of terrorism.

But there were many instances in which people could prevent many terror operations. The arrest of a vehicle fitted with an explosives-laden fuel tank in Borella was such an instance where Tiger plans awry due to increased vigilance of the civilians.

The detection of explosive laden lorries in Kotawehera and Trincomalee were the biggest achievements by them averting one of the biggest bloodbaths in the country.

The heroic act of the Petty Officer Bandara at the public fair in Anuradhapura was one of the best lessons given to public to be vigilant about their environs.

But this was not an awakening in the society at once. It was after a systematic process the civil society has shaped up themselves to take this challenge.

Nothing cannot be imposed on people by force. They will take part in any programme only when they get a strong feeling that they are engaged in a meaningful attempts. The two years long attempts taken by the Security Forces had effectively convinced them that they are contributing towards a worthy cause.

The shaping up of the nation to face the challenge of terrorism had come from the top. First it was President Mahinda Rajapaksa who initiated the process of defeating terrorism after exercising his patience to the maximum in the face of the provocative acts of the LTTE.

Then the proper chain of command in the defence hierarchy commencing from Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, three Forces Commanders, Police Chief, Civil Security Defence Force Chief and other personnel affiliated to the national security network of the country were put in place.

The process was initiated placing the right person at the right position by electing the most efficient three Forces Commanders to lead the Army, Navy and the Air Force - the three pillars of success in the fight against terrorism.

The Armed Forces were strengthened by recruiting the required number of soldiers and officers to all three Armed Forces which was considered one of the vital factors to outnumber the LTTE cadres. For the Army alone 30,000 youth were recruited last year while encouraging those who had already left the Army to return to their earlier positions.

This has enabled the Army to have five Reserve Divisions to confront the LTTE in the Wanni without endangering the security of the newly liberated areas in the East.

Similarly, the Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka Air Force too strengthened its manpower during last year to pose a major threat to the LTTE.

The Police Department also recruited more than 5,000 personnel to the Police Department to expand their services into the newly liberated areas.

Then the process was launched to get the Security Forces relieved from their additional duties. First they were relieved of their duties of guarding threatened villages with the formation of the Civil Defence Force. Now the Civil Defence Force is equipped with more than 40,000 personnel to engage in this duty.

Then it was the formation of Rakna Arakshana Lanka Security Company to relieve the Security Forces personnel from guarding vital Government establishments and other economic nerve centres in the South. For this thousands of Security Forces personnel who had retired from the service were recruited guaranteeing a proper security network for these places.

The formation of the Civil Defence Force and Rakna Arakshan Lanka Security firms have fulfilled the required task of releasing an adequate number of well trained soldiers to the battle fronts in the North.

The Security Forces had convinced the people that their victories are realistic and longstanding ones amid adverse comments made by certain disgruntled politicians.

The military victories achieved by the Security Forces in Mavil Aru, Sampur, Vakarai and Thoppigala made them top in the society by further enhancing people’s confidence towards their efforts.

The destruction of a fleet of Tiger ships in the deep seas by the Sri Lanka Navy, and the precision air targets taken by the Air Force pilots further enhanced the people’s confidence towards the Government efforts and convinced the people that it was a genuine effort the Government is making to defeat LTTE terrorism.

They were the main contributing factors for the civil population to make their contribution towards the efforts of the Security Forces to defeat terrorism in the country. At this decisive juncture, in which the LTTE had come to its lowest ebb in its existence since early 1980’s the role of the civil society has become a vital factor.

So the shaping up of the civil society to effectively defeat LTTE terrorism is one of most welcome factors at a time Security Forces are effectively engaged in a battle to shatter the dream of ‘Tamil Eelam’ of the LTTE.

Fall of key Tiger positions imminent as troops advance

It was yet another week that brought numerous defeats for the LTTE on all fronts in the Wanni, in Mannar, Vavuniya and Weli Oya. Fierce battles erupted on the Mannar front since last Sunday with the LTTE concentrating more on the North Western coastal belt which had turned out to be the only lifeline for them.

It was on last Sunday the 9 Gemunu Watch battalion under the Command of Lt. Colonel Lal Chandrasekera advanced from their FDLs in the North of Mannar towards Manthai from the famous Thiruketheeshwaran Hindu Kovil.

It was for the first time that troops advanced ahead of Thiruketheeshwaran kovil towards Vidathalthivu. The newly appointed 582 Brigade Commander Colonel Sanjaya Wanigasinghe commanded the troops to capture one Kilometres stretch ahead of Thiruketheeshwaran Temple.

But heavy fighting broke out in Adampan area on Sunday as Tiger leader Bhanu send reinforcements to Adampan to prevent its fall to the Security Forces.

Fighter jets of the SLAF also went into action at 9 a.m. to bomb the Mannar area leaders’ base famously known Lakshman Base five Kilometres North of Giant Tank, in Parppukanduttan area. Bhanu was inside the Lakshman base.

It was reported that more than 40 Tiger cadres were killed due to the intense battle that erupted on Sunday. The Security Forces confirmed the deaths of 16 Tiger cadres by their names through the intercepted radio transmissions of the LTTE.

Five soldiers were killed and 19 soldiers sustained injuries on Sunday’s battle in Adampan.

Apart from this 10 GR troops under the command of Lt. Colonel Sarada Samarakoon also engaged the LTTE cadres in North of Uyilankulam extending their territory ahead of the earth bund captured by them earlier.

The LTTE has put more weight to the Mannar front by bringing reinforcements from the Madhu area and also from Kilinochchi to strengthen their positions. Apart from this they also have moved almost all their heavy guns including 122 mm, 130 mm and 152 mm artillery guns to Periyamadu area since they can be effectively used against the troops crossing open terrain.

Commando troops operating under the Task Force -I under the Command of Brigadier Shavindra de Silva also took a major hit on Wednesday killing six Tiger cadres including LTTE Pappamoddai area leader Victor.

The troops operating in the North of Uyilankulam also killed five Tiger cadres by deploying their snipers to target the Tiger cadres operating ahead of their defences.

Troops observed that the LTTE is strengthening their positions by constructing new trench lines and bunkers using heavy machinery and tractors. A number of LTTE heavy machinery operated in the North of Palakkuli area were destroyed in Security Forces fire recently.

Meanwhile, troops attached to 8 GW also moved ahead of Giant Tank area to destroy the strongest point of the LTTE in this area yesterday morning. Amidst stiff resistance from the LTTE 8 GW troops successfully captured the leading bunker in the Giant tank by yesterday afternoon.

In this battle 20 Tiger cadres were confirmed killed. Six weapons were also recovered from the bunker line. With the capture of this bunker line troops are now fully dominating the Parappakandal area between Andankulam and Giant Tank area.

As troops on the Mannar front was advancing towards the North the 57 Division under the command of Brigadier Jagath Dias is also heading towards Madhu from the Vavuniya front.

The 11 CLI Battalion under the command of Lt. Colonel. Senaka Wijesuriya has advanced one kilometres ahead of Mullikulam targeting to capture Palampiddi.

They are now operating four and half kilometres North of Madhu. The 11 CLI troops in ambush killed six terrorists on Wednesday. The troops in ambush observed one abandoned bunker in Mullikula area around 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

They lay ambush there after clearing the AP mines there and putting them inside the abandoned bunker. Later they engaged a group of Tiger cadres in the area. The six Tiger cadres were killed as they took cover of the abandoned bunker.

The capture of Palampiddi will lead to the fall of Madhu which is inevitable in the present context and 7 SR troops are also operating just two and half kilo metres south of Madhu.

The newly formed 59 Division under the command of Brigadier Nandana Udawatta also had bigger hits this week, capturing two of the Tiger strong points killing 14 of their cadres. With these developments the LTTE is expected to face more setbacks in the coming week.