Chronology of LTTE terror- Part 21
From the Daily News Archives
Random killings continue
Wijitha NAKKAWITA
The terrorist plan had not changed though there were attempts to
bring them round to accept a workable political solution with the Tamil
United Liberation Front promising that they would ‘behave’ during the
month of July 1986. The month of July ended and August also was ending
with more than 120 civilians among them several women and children
killed when the terrorists attacked villages, set off parcel bombs in
buses.
| When the
euphoria of victory dies down, and together with it the
media hype ceases, when the guns do not rattle and boom
anymore, and the sky, the land and the sea become calm and
serene, when tranquillity reigns through it is natural to
live in the present moment and forget the past. But one
cannot live in the present without a past. Nor can one
envision the future discarding the experience of the
preceding events. Hence the Daily News is serialising the
Chronicle of LTTE Terror taken from our own archives which
would remind our readers how it all began. An awareness of
the chronology of terror would help us prevent the
recurrence of such terror and frustrate any attempts by
misguided elements to repeat history to suit their evil
designs. It was not simple terror. Nor was terror sporadic.
It was all pre-planned, pre-determined, well-calculated
terror. The victims were innocent people. Though it is too
many innumerate we would like to recall the major episodes
in the Chronology of Terror. |
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Civilians
fleeing villages with their children - anguish in their eyes
too. |
Though a hopeful government seemed to think that the TULF and India
could rein in the terrorists on July 25 the LTTE terrorists, exploded a
parcel bomb at Isinbesgala, Medawachchiya killing 12 passengers and
injuring 28. The area an exclusively Sinhalese village was bordering the
Vavunia District and it was clearly seen that the terrorists were
determined to continue their attacks on civilians unimpressed by the
political moves that were taking place with hopes for a settlement.
On the same day at Paththalai, Batticaloa a Tamil woman Saradevi was
tied to a lamp post and shot dead and this time there were public
protests about the killing but the terrorists who had committed the
crime, known to be EPRLF were missing from the locality though some of
them were in hiding at various safe houses in the district.
Three days
later terrorists shot dead one fisherman and injured the other. These
fisher folk had come from the southern coast to fish in the eastern seas
as the sea becomes rough in the west during that season.
 Terrorists also shot and killed a Grama Niladhari Visvalinglam
Nadarasaswamy at Harbour Road Trincomalee on August 29 while he was
riding a push cycle on his way home and four policemen were seriously
injured when the terrorists ambushed them at Kamburupiddy on the same
day. On the same day terrorists also killed a lorry crew on Habarana
Road Trincomalee and robbed Rs. 50,000 cash that the driver of the lorry
was taking with him.
There was a lull during the month of August with only very small
incidents reported but again on August 29 the terrorists set up bombs on
two small railway bridges and damaged the northern railway line badly,
stopping the trains moving past Thandikulam. One bomb damaged the
railway bridge at Thandikulam, North of Vavunia and the second bomb
damaged the other bridge near the 159th mile post.
The train service that ran up to Kilinochchi up to then had to be
suspended and the railway department had to halt the train to the north
at Vavunia after that sabotage.
Terrorists attack from temple on festival eve
Terrorists opened fire at the army camp in Thondamannar on Saturday,
from the premises of the Sella Sannithy temple which is due to commence
its annual festival tomorrow, a Government release said yesterday. “The
security forces were forced to fire back, to disperse the terrorists”,
the communique said.
The terrorist attack has soured the feelings of residents in the area
against the terrorists, who have used the Thondamannar temple as a cover
for their activities against the forces, the communique added.
The trustees of the temple who describe the Sella Sannithy temple as
second in importance only to Kataragama among Hindu devotees, sought the
assistance of General Cyril Ranatunge, J.O.C. Commander, to conduct the
16-day festival without incident.
This assurance was given by General Ranatunge.
In a letter to the J.O.C. last month, the trustees asked that the
security forces’ camp be shifted from its present location opposite the
temple to a point about three miles away.
General Ranatunge replied that he had discussed the matter with
Brigadier H. F. Rupasinghe, Commander of the Security Forces in Jaffna,
and a meeting between the trustees and the brigadier was scheduled for
yesterday, to discuss what action should be taken.
“However, the security forces have promised the temple trustees full
protection and support for the festival,” yesterday’s release said.
Six terrorists captured
Security forces on Saturday arrested three suspected terrorists at
Mankulam, a Government communique said yesterday.
It said that one suspect K. Dharmalingam had confessed that he was
working in a paddy field cultivated by the LTTE.
The other two terrorists K. Kulasekeram and K. Sivanganasekeram
belong to the PLOTE.
At Batticaloa on Saturday security forces arrested three suspected
terrorists - S. Weerakanti, K. Yogarajah and R. Kavendram. They also
recovered a fibreglass boat.
Plans for extended run blasted Terrorists wreck Jaffna line
Srimal ABEYEWARDENE
The northern railway line was destroyed at two points north of
Vavuniya yesterday, by terrorists groups clearly intent on ensuring that
the Jaffna train, which was to go up to Kilinochchi after a period of
several months, did not make the extended run.
A military spokesman in Colombo said that the train steamed out of
Colombo at 5.50 a.m. yesterday and was scheduled to arrive at
Kilinochchi at 12 noon. However, the blasting of two small railway
bridges north of Vavuniya forced it to be stopped at Vavuniya.
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These people too wanted to live like
members of decent society - but terrorism made them
refugees. |
“The first explosion at Thadikulam, two miles north of Vavuniya, was
at about 9.30 a.m.
This was followed at 10.45 a.m. by an attack on a 20-foot bridge at
the 159th mile post,” the spokesman said.
“We extended the service beyond Vavuniya in an effort to serve the
travelling public. Many appeals have been made by people wanting to
travel to Jaffna to take the train at least upto Kilinochchi. It looks
as though the terrorists don’t want the people to have this service,”
the spokesman said.
The co-ordinating officer at Vavuniya made arrangements to organise
buses to transport the train passengers stranded as a result of the
attacks on the line.
Several hundred people were gravely inconvenienced. The railway,
which planned to give a weekend service upto Kilinochchi, to help
commuters between Jaffna and Colombo, intended running a train to
Kilinochchi every Friday, with the train returning on Sunday.
But in view of the attack, services will continue only upto Vavuniya
until further notice.
Landmine injures four police patrolmen
(From K.D.D. Jayasekera in Trincomalee)
Four policemen were seriously injured when terrorists exploded a
landmine near a culvert at Inner Harbour Road, on Thursday.
A group of policemen were on foot patrol when the incident took
place. The injured men were airlifted to Colombo for treatment, police
said.
They added that the culvert was completely damaged and the road
impassable at that point.
Policeman found dead
Bandarawela correspondent
Police Inspector V. S. Sumanatileka of the Moneragala Police was
found dead with gunshot injuries.
Police recovered a letter from his shirt pocket said to have been
written by him to the OIC, Moneragala. It said that he had been ailing
for a considerable time and that no one should be held responsible for
his death.
Senior SP Badulla, N. G. Randeni is investigating.
Tomorrow: Gandhi of Jaffna killed
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