Chronology of LTTE terror- Part 55

From the Daily News Archives

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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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Friday July 31, 1992:

Tigers execute 25 deserters

LTTE leaders under pressure from rank and file:

The Tiger leadership in a desperate move to hold back its cadres, who are attempting to desert, executed 25 of them last week. "They were shot dead in three places in the Jaffna Paninsula," Col. Sarath Munasinghe said.

He told the Cabinet press briefing in Colombo yesterday that the Tigers were finding it difficult to keep their cadres. "Tiger leaders are under tremendous pressure from their cadres, who want to desert the LTTE", he said.

He asked the people of Jaffna to use the Kandy road to travel from the peninsula to the mainland and back. The road has been open since last year, he said.

The forces are aware that people are using the 9 mile sea route between Kilali and Nallur in Kilinochchi. There are about 45 to 50 boats using that route.

"We have not yet enforced the 'No - go area order'. We are watching the situation and we will take action to close the Kilali route when we want," he said.

He also said that an army jeep taking tea for the soldiers had hit a pressure mine at 5.30 p.m. on Wednesday in which a soldier was killed and two others injured. This happened south of Vakaneri.

On Wednesday morning 18 soldiers and 8 policemen were killed and 8 wounded when a road clearing patrol of 40 comprised soldiers and policemen. Col. Munasinghe said the terrorists had snatched some weapons but the exact number removed has yet to be ascertained. LTTE's claim that they had removed 30 machine guns was incorrect. The solders and policemen had only their personal weapons with them.

He also gave details of the Sambaltivu incident which was also reported in the Daily News yesterday.

In response to a question about the increase in numbers of army men killed in the east, Col. Munasinghe said these were isolated incidents which could not be prevented as the LTTE had the advantage of the surprise element. They choose the moment when the army was less attentive.

He said the soldiers who are required to guard roads and culverts are tired. They had been doing this for over two years.

The military is rethinking about the deployment of soldiers for jobs like guarding of roads. Offensive operations in which the army is engaged bring better results. We are daily killing a few Tigers, Col. Munasinghe said.

He said the situation in the north and the east is different. In the north the Tigers face the army and are thus destroyed. In the east they dodge when army approaches them in strength and mingle with the civilians. The army operates in small groups and that exposes them.

LTTE ethnic cleanses East

Wijitha NAKKAWITA

The LTTE terrorists under serious attack by the Sri Lankan armed forces however kept up their trail of shedding civilian blood mainly in the east and a number of incidents of killing civilians was reported during the month of July 1992.

The terrorists ambushed a van carrying Muslim civilians at Kirankulam on the Batticaloa-Kalawanchikudi road on July 15 and gunned down 18 people including 4 women and 2 children.

Another seven people who were injured in the shooting were admitted to the Batticaloa hospital, The LTTE terrorists on that occasion had worn uniforms like those worn by the Sri Lanka Army and ordered the van to stop and the driver believing they were the army had stopped the van when the terrorists started shooting the passengers in it.

On July 21 the LTTE stopped a train at Kumburupulai in the Batticaloa district by waving a red flag on the rail track when the train going to Colombo from Batticaloa was approaching.

When the train stopped the terrorists ordered some Muslims who were in it to get off the train and seven among them were shot dead while 5 were injured.

The LTTE was clearly demonstrating that they were no longer friends but the enemy of the Muslims of Sri Lanka although the Indo Lanka Accord and apologists like the Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi had always insisted that the eastern province was the 'homeland' of the 'Tamil speaking people' and therefore any solution like a devolution of power was to benefit the two ethnic groups of the north and east. By now it was patently clear that the so-called homeland would be only an LTTE dominated region where the Sinhalese and Muslim people would not have any place.

At this time some of the LTTE cadres in the north began to feel that the armed forces would defeat them as a number of their positions were overrun by the army and some young cadres had begun deserting the terrorist ranks as they were facing defeat after defeat in the north and the number of terrorists killed was high.

The LTTE leader and his senior cadres were beginning to feel that some action had to be taken to stop the dilution of their group.

Therefore on the final week of July it was reported that the LTTE traced 23 of the deserters and executed them in public at two places in Jaffna.

Monday August 31, 1992

34 injured in blast in Trincomalee town:

Tiger bomb kills 9 bus passengers

From K.D.D. Jayasekera in Trincomalee

At least nine passengers were killed and 34 others wounded when a bomb placed by LTTE terrorists exploded in a Kandy-bound private bus stationed in the Trincomalee town yesterday morning.

The explosion occurred a few minutes before the bus was due to leave with about 50 passengers on board. Another bus which had been parked alongside was also destroyed due to the explosion.

Police said the death toll may be more since there were several limbs and parts of bodies scattered over the scene of the blast.

A commuter at the bus-stand said an unidentified person handed a box to the conductor, who stored it in the boot (luggage compartment). About two minutes later, the bus exploded, he said.

On week days, hundreds of people gather at the bus stand. Yesterday, however, being a Sunday, the crowd was less.

From 11.15a.m. passengers boarded the ill-fated bus. The driver was seen leaving the bus to go to a nearby boutique for a cup of tea.

A mother, her daughter and her five-year-old son escaped unhurt. They had just left the bus to have some refreshments.

They had hardly gone a few feet when the explosion occurred.

Police said among the passengers were Sinhalese and Muslims. The injured passengers were admitted to the Trincomalee hospital.

Massacre at Weli-Oya, though troops fight to save villagers

Terrorists attacked a Sinhala border village in the Weli-Oya area in the early hours yesterday, killing 15 civilians and wounding nine, before torching the houses of the families that lived there.

JOC spokesman Col. Sarath Munasinghe, briefing newsmen at the weekly cabinet press conference yesterday, described the attack as "an unfortunate incident," adding that it took place just 30 minutes past midnight at Kohongaswewa, about ten miles northwest of Padaviya tank.

He said there had been 20 families living in this village. The civilians killed included men, women and children.

They and the injured had all been shot.

Two platoons had been deployed in the area to guard the village. A shootout between these troops and the terrorists had taken place when the attack began and one officer and four other ranks were killed in the exchange. Three other ranks were wounded, the colonel disclosed. Terrorists casualties are not yet known.

A helicopter gunship had been called in and an aerial search of the outlying area of the village was attempted at 1.30 a.m. yesterday, but poor visibility had prevented detection of the retreating terrorists.

There was no figure given for the number of terrorists who participated in the attack, but the colonel said indications were that it would have been a large group.

A report filed by our Horowpatana correspondent estimated the number of terrorists in the raid at 150 to 200 and that small arms, mortars and grenades had been used by them. Commenting on this report when contacted by telephone, Col. Munasinghe said: "That must be correct. It was just that size of group that I call large. And they normally use mortars and grenades in this type of attack."

The nearest army detachment is at Kambiliyawa, five miles to its east in the Padaviya police area.

Wednesday September 02, 1992:

Bomb kills 22 in Ampara

Twenty two civilians were killed and 40 others wounded when a bomb believed to have been planted by the LTTE, exploded at the Sainthamaruthu bazaar, in the Ampara district yesterday morning.

Official reports said that according to preliminary investigations the bomb had been placed in an ice-cream box tied to a push bicycle, which had been abandoned in the crowded bazaar area.

The report said a lorry with a load of hay, which had been parked nearby had also caught fire due to the explosion.

The casualties were evacuated to the Base Hospital, Ampara and four among them who were seriously injured were airlifted to the Kandy hospital.

The situation was brought under control by troops from the Special Task Force who rushed to the area immediately after the incident.

Friday September 11, 1992

Tigers blow up ferry:

30 feared killed

About 30 persons were feared killed as the LTTE terrorists last afternoon blew up a ferry transporting civilians and troops from Kilaveddy, south of Trincomalee to Mutur in the Koddiyar Bay further north.

Official sources said the incident occurred at 3 p.m. The ferry was reported to have been transporting 15 to 24 soldiers, 10 civilians and an army truck.

Eleven bodies, those of two civilians, and nine soldiers have been recovered, while four other persons were reported injured.

Meanwhile, a report from Batticaloa said that troops killed the LTTE's intelligence chief in Batticaloa code named 'Master' and two of his aides, last morning at Ampalampattu.

COLOMBO: Thursday

(Lankapuvath)

Thursday July 16, 1992

Tigers kill 18 Muslims in van hold-up east

From Batticaloa special correspondent

LTTE terrorists yesterday morning attacked a civilian van between Batticaloa and Kalawanchikudy, at Kirankulam, killing 18 Muslims, including four women and two children and wounding seven others police said.

The wounded were admitted to the Batticaloa hospital. The serious cases were despatched to Colombo.

Police said the terrorists were dressed in army style uniforms. The conductor of the van escaped.

Batticaloa Police HQI Vasantha Kapukotuwa is investigating.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress yesterday, expressing "deep shock and sorrow", condemned those responsible for the massacre.

The SLMC also appealed to the President to order an impartial inquiry into the incident, and urged the Government and security authorities to provide more effective security on the trunk roads of the Eastern Province.

Wednesday July 22, 1992

Terror on B'caloa train: seven killed

Terrorists yesterday killed seven Muslim passengers on the Colombo bound train from Batticaloa and critically wounded five others at Kumburipulai (south of Valaichenai) around 11.45 a.m. Official reports said the terrorists had used red flags to bring the train to a halt. They had then stormed the train, got the passengers to disembark, and fired at them.

The JOC said the engine of the train had been set on fire. Trains Control said the train had left Batticaloa at 10.20 a.m. yesterday, and the train from Colombo to Batticaloa was held up at Valaichenai as a result of the incident. It was awaiting clearance from the security forces to transport its passengers by road to Batticaloa.

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Monday: President Premadasa killed by suicide bomber

Yesterday: Tigers massacre 55 in Muslim village