Army Commander in ITN interview:

NGO expertise helped LTTE

*Ceasefire call was to save Prabhakaran

* Lipton Circus demonstrators were in LTTE payroll

Walter Jayawardhana

The last ditch effort made by certain Western countries to impose a ceasefire on Sri Lanka in the guise of saving civilians was actually made to save Prabhakaran and his top men, Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka said.

He said this effort was made with a long term view of destabilizing countries like India and Sri Lanka like the Middle East with a never ending problem.

General Sarath Fonseka

General Fonseka in an interview over ITN on Monday, said certain NGOs who were working in Kilinochchi have not built even a bathroom for civilians and all their money and expertise have gone into the military efforts of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He said certain boats, submarines and engines used by them had been assembled with NGO expertise and imported engines.

General Fonseka taking part in the Thulawa program said it has now been revealed after the aftermath of the annihilation of the LTTE, that certain security analysts and other media experts who were often demonstrating at Lipton Circus for press freedom, have been constantly in the LTTE’s payroll to the tune of hundreds of thousand of rupees a month.

“All these people were writing articles obstructing the legitimate activities of the Army.

As soon as the LTTE collapsed and certain sources of the LTTE revealed the information to the Security Forces, the culprits fled the country,” General Fonseka said.

“To secure the future of the country the culprits should be prosecuted for treason.”

He said the Western attired KP, who was wanted by Interpol for arms procuring who has thoroughly enjoyed life with the money collected by the Tamil people, seems to be the only senior LTTE leader trying to lead the movement.

He is also wanted in connection with the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. General Fonseka said Prabhakaran built up his army when the Sri Lanka Army was only 10,000 strong with help from India.

“Today India is very wary about the LTTE and the Sri Lanka Army is 200,000 strong. It is going to be 300,000 strong very soon.

So, it is not possible for KP to build up the LTTE again in Sri Lanka,” the Army Chief said.

General Fonseka said all top LTTE leaders have been destroyed. It has been done according to an indigenous plan by the Army. He would remind KP that it is not difficult for him to devise a similar plan to destroy his plans if he starts operating once again in Sri Lanka or abroad.

In an obvious reference to certain UNP leaders who insulted the Army, General Fonseka said they spoke like that because they were jealous and some hated the Army for personal reasons.

Referring to the person who said any fool could go to war, General Fonseka said this particular person’s close relative had been discharged from the Army. Referring to the individual who said the Army was going to Medawachchiya instead of Kilinochchi, General Fonseka said although he was trying to advise the Army, he was not fit even to stich underwear to the Army as a tailor.

General Fonseka said 95 percent of the Eelam 4 war was handed by the Sri Lanka Army. He said among the dead were 195 officers and 5,224 soldiers. Five thousand were disabled. He said the Army killed 22,000 LTTE cadres while 9,000 LTTE cadres had surrendered to the Army. During the first phase 115,000 civilians had been rescued and later 80,000 have been rescued, he said.

General Fonseka said he had to reorganize the Army according to abilities of soldiers disregarding only seniority. He also had to change the way of fighting suitable to the indigenous conditions disregarding what is said in the textbook.

Some people blamed the Government for getting involved in the war when the LTTE used drinking and irrigation water as terrorist weapon and blocked the Mavilaru sluice.

“Earlier, there was no common plan to fight the LTTE. Battles were waged to capture a road, a fortress etc. But this time he personally prepared a plan to capture all land under the LTTE within three years and it was completed within two years and 10 months killing all top leadership of the LTTE. Earlier, in contrast, it was like running about the place trying to protect a heap of oranges, General Fonseka said.

He said he was thankful to Prabhakaran for starting from Mavilaru since it was the most convenient point for Sri Lanka to enter a war.