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Chronology of LTTE terror- Part 38
From the Daily News Archives
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.
Tuesday November 10, 1987:
Fifty killed, 100 injured, 16 vehicles destroyed:
Bomb rips Maradana
A bomb explosion ripped the centre of Maradana killing at least 50
instantaneously and injuring over 100 others as the evening's traffic
rush waned yesterday.
Ten school children in their very early teens were among the victims.
Several bodies rushed to the accident service of the general hospital
were burned beyond recognition.
IGP Cyril Herath and Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Colombo,
Neil Weerasinghe who were at the spot minutes later told the "Daily
News' the explosion had taken the men who engineered it by surprise.
"They obviously had a more definite target, and the bomb exploded
prematurely", investigators said.
The bomb was perhaps more powerful than the explosion in the Pettah
which killed 113 and injured nearly 300 grievously, in April, police
said. Its reverberation was felt as far as Dehiwela in south suburban
Colombo nearly six miles away.
Investigators said this could have been a car bomb with a more
specific destination.
It was expected that explosions of this nature were to be attempted
closer to the heart of Colombo near the Presidential Secretariat or in
the city's business quarter.
They also believe that whoever carried the bomb estimated at over 50
kg. of high explosive - was blown up in the explosion, IGP Cyril Herath
said.
The explosion went off opposite the Maradana Police Station and the
entrance to Zahira College.
Preliminary investigations pointed to the possibility that it was
carried in a vehicle moving towards Colombo.
The damage to vehicles on this traffic lane was more severe and
police found the traces of one which had been almost totally
disintegrated. Sixteen vehicles which included a CTB long distance bus
were among the severely affected.
Their passengers, some of whom were burnt beyond recognition were
among the immediately established casualties.
LTTE creates another carnage in Colombo
Rodney MARTINESZ
If the nation was stunned by the brutality of the cold blooded
massacre of 30 Jaffna University undergrads by the LTTE, the car bomb
explosion in Maradana that killed over 50 innocent civilians hardly
three weeks later went on to drive home the point that terrorism was
going to be way of life in the Southern parts of the country in the
months to come.
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Bomb blast at central bus station Pettah |
It was only three months earlier in July that a 100kg bomb ripped
through Pettah killing over 200 and injuring a further 300. Ten school
children were also blown up in the Maradana car bomb which investigators
believed were destined for another target - a likely VVIP one. It's
reverberations were felt as far as Dehiwela six miles away.
Like the Pettah bomb scene the scene of the Maradana carnage was a
pretty gruesome sight with police and the general public battling to
pull out charred remains of passengers from a line of mangled vehicles
some them turned into roaring furnaces. The square opposite the Maradana
Police station where the bomb exploded resembled a charnel house with
the many building and stores and establishments gutted by the
fires.Colombo had never witnessed such scenes before and there were well
founded fears that it has not seen the last of such attacks. It was
clear that the LTTE was feeling the heat of the IPKF operations in the
North, which were now continuing in earnest inflicting heavy casualties
on the Tiger. Prabhakaran had also not forgiven the Government for
precipitating the suicide of his top leaders after being captured on the
high seas by the Navy. Following the second deadly explosion Colombo
became a city virtually under seige. The fear driven into the public was
such that for some time there were less crowds and Traffic seen in city
which what the LTTE intended in it's bid to cripple the country's
economy.They were amply aided in the project by a another violent
campaign launched by the JVP during this period which saw public life
virtually brought to a standstill in the South.
The presence of the Indian forces on Sri Lankan soil also added grist
to the mill for this campaign.
Meanwhile the IPKF were continuing to have a rough time with five
Jawans killed in a landmine explosion between Vavunia and Jaffna on
December 1, 1987. Unlike the Lankan soldiers, here the Indian army was
at a clear disadvantage with a clear lack of knowledge of the terrain
and therefore fell easy prey to LTTE manoeuvres.
Life in the North during this time was in compete disarray with
curfews and hartals the order of the day. The Government also cancelled
the GCE O/L examination for students in Jaffna following reports of a
possible terrorist attack on examination Centres.
Meanwhile the general public braced themselves for more terrorist
attacks in the Colombo City with the escalation in fighting in the
North.
While leaders looked on with wry smiles at the irony of the Indians
fighting the terrorists they themselves armed and nurtured it was clear
during this time that the LTTE was planning huge attacks on the city to
avenge the Government. The events of the subsequent period only went on
to prove the validity of this assessment.
Wednesday December 2, 1987:
Landmine kills five IPKF at Omanthai
Five Indian soldiers were killed and four injured by a Tiger landmine
on the Vavuniya-Jaffna road on Monday night. Police said the blast
occurred between 116th and 117th mile-post at Omanthai.
The IPKF swiftly moved reinforcements to the area for a cordon and
search operation, which led to 40 arrests including three persons
described as LTTE hard core.
Among them was a man (described as a kinsman of the LTTE's Batticaloa
leader) responsible for leading a number of attacks on civilians and
wanted for masterminding the killing of the teenage son of Batticaloa
ASP Theophilus, a year ago. The boy was an A Level student at a leading
Batticaloa school. Police reports reaching Colombo yesterday said police
and IPKF had repulsed an LTTE attack on the Batticaloa police after a
seven-hour exchange of fire. One Indian soldier and a policeman were
injured in the fighting. A wife and two daughters of policemen living in
the married quarters were injured and have been hospitalised.
The curfew in Batticaloa, due to have been lifted at 6 a.m.
yesterday, was extended by 24 hours after the attack on the police
complex. Several terrorists are believed to have been killed or wounded
in the fighting.
The IPKF has rounded-up a large number of suspected terrorists in
Batticaloa town and suburbs.
Friday December 4, 1987:
Tomorrow's O/L exam cancelled in Jaffna
The GCE Ordinary Level examination which begins on Saturday will not
be held in the Jaffna peninsula, as the Government has received
intelligence reports of possible attacks on examination centres by the
LTTE, Education Ministry Secretary E.L. Wijemanne explained yesterday.
He said the Ministry had earlier been preparing to hold the
examination at certain specified centres, as a fair number of candidates
had collected the admission cards from Jaffna's Regional Director of
Education, in response to directives given over the radio.
Examination Commissioner Sterling Perera, said 130 examination
centres in the peninsula will be affected by the cancellation. The total
number of examination centres in the country is 3,168. He could not give
the exact number of students who would not be able to sit. The total
number of students sitting the examination is 530,000 this year.
A special examination will now be held for candidates in the Jaffna
peninsula. The date will be decided later, Ministry officials said.
"The examination will be held in all other parts of the Northern and
Eastern Provinces. We have issued the admission cards and sent the
question papers," Perera said.
The examination centres countrywide will have full security. Police
and Army assistance has been obtained for that purpose.
Perera said Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim refugees have been permitted
to sit at the places where they now reside.
"That involved heavy work. We had to issue fresh admission cards,"
Perera said.
Tomorrow: Mullaitivu battle kills 20 civilians
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