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CHRONOLOGY OF LTTE TERROR- Part 65

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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Terrorists massacre villagers, eat their meals afterwards

Wijitha NAKKAWITA

The Eastern Province with sprawling jungle and wasteland cover interspersed with villages, hamlets and minor human settlements was for a major part of the history of the country a breadbasket region named Digamadulla the name given for the vast stretches of plains the people from very ancient times used for paddy cultivation.

A woman, surrounded by villagers, keeping vigil on the body of a relative.

Yet after the onset of the colonial rule when disease neglect and epidemics took severe toll of the Sinhala peasantry most of the villages and hamlets were deserted and the people of the east came to other more congenial areas to live.

After the independence and even prior to it, leaders with foresight like D.S.Senanayake started developing the neglected irrigation systems and resettling peasant farmer families, but most of the jungle covered area remained generally underdeveloped or undeveloped.

It was in this background that the separatist terrorists, the LTTE had easy access to isolated villages or small settlements to prey on the poor peasants at will as a few homeguards and police and security positions also set far apart made the bloody orgies of the terrorists much easier than in other regions.

Ranhamy was an old peasant who had been killed by the terrorists in June. The people of Gonagala near Uhana had made preparations for an alms giving the traditional rite held after three months of a death.

It was September 18, 1999 and the villages had come to Ranhamy's place in Gonagala to take part in the religious rites that day to invoke merit on the dead.

While the people men, women and children were taking part in the event about 300 LTTE killers - men and women - surrounded Ranhamy's place and started the massacre of the innocent unarmed people.

There were no homeguards and even if a few of them were there they could not have fought the 300 terrorists who were armed with automatic weapons, swords and knives.

When the killers had finished hacking the unarmed villagers with swords 48 people were dead and among them were 15 women, two pregnant and fourteen children among them some between two and six years old.

Even worse than cannibals the LTTE group sat down and ate the meals that the villagers had prepared for the alms giving.

After eating the meals they ransacked the houses of the dead people robbed their cash and valuables and left. A handful of them survived but some were critically injured and some died in hospital later, bringing the total dead to fifty two.

Though the government in power was toying with constitutional reforms with a wide devolution of power package and now and then requesting the terrorist group to talks it was very clear that the LTTE did not have any other agenda than simply killing Sinhalese and Muslims in the east so that terrorists could rule in that region.

Monday September 20, 1999:

52 civilians hacked to death by LTTE

From Keerthi MENDIS in Gonagala, Ampara

LTTE terrorists hacked to death 52 unarmed civilians including women and children, in three villages in the Uhana and Maha Oya police areas in Ampara in the early hours of Saturday (September 18).

A survivor in a state of shock before the bodies of his wife and another woman.

The funerals of 48 victims were held last afternoon at Gonagala, amidst a large gathering of mourners. Ports Development, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Minister M. H. M. Ashraff was among them.

The casualty breakdown is as follows: Gonagala (Uhana Police area), 48 civilians, including 15 women (two were pregnant) and 14 children, some between the ages of two and six and four civilians including two women in the Borapola and Badhirekka villages in the Maha Oya Police area.

Another 16 civilians were wounded in the attack and are receiving treatment in the Ampara Hospital. The survivors told this reporter that around 150 terrorists including women cadres attacked their village, known as Gonagala 31st Colony around I am on Saturday while the villages were asleep. There were no homeguards on duty in the village at the time of the attack.

The terrorists were armed with guns, swords, and other pointed instruments and had broken open the doors of the houses in the village and began hacking to death the bleary-eyed villagers and sleeping children. The villagers who tried to escape, were pursued and killed, the survivors said.

Among the dead were 14 civilians who had come to attend a 'dana' (almsgiving) given in memory of Ranhamy, a villager attached to the 31st Colony, who had been shot and killed by the terrorists three months ago.

The survivors said that after the massacre, the terrorists sat down and ate the food prepared for the 'dana' and had looted money, jewellery and electric and electronic items belonging to the villagers, before leaving the scene. Police recovered some of the looted items left behind by the terrorists who had fled the area at dawn.

They had looted cash totalling Rs. 24,000 from one villager, before cutting and hacking him to death. Survivors said that they had heard the wailing of those being massacred, but had been afraid to rush to their assistance because they were unarmed.

The 31st Colony comprises around 60 families. The villagers had earlier been living in a village close to Vellavelli, in Batticaloa. But owing to incessant terrorist attacks, they had fled their former village and had settled down in the 31st Colony in Ampara around five or six years ago.

Some of the survivors this reporter spoke to were A. Jayaratne (42), working in a quarry. H. M. Somathilaka (40) a farmer and Nandawathie (38), a farmer. In Jayaratne's case, all his three children had been massacred, and his wife and eldest daughter are warded at the Ampara Hospital with serious injures.

The names of the dead children are Ravindra Priyantha (7), Champika Priyadharshani (4), Nilanthi Maheshika (3), Nandawathie's parents (Ran Menike and Thomas Singho and sisters Dayawathi and Ranjani and brother Gunadasa were massacred.

Meanwhile, Irrigation and Power Minister and Deputy Defence Minister Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte, along with the three service commanders toured the area on Saturday and directed that an Army camp be established at Gonagala, We saw around 500 troopers brought to the area in buses while we were there. Deputy Transport Minister and Ampara District MP H. M. Weerasinghe were also present.

Monday July 26, 1999:

Patients die as LTTE keeps mum on Army proposal

The LTTE has so far failed to respond to a proposal by the Army for the transport of patients from uncleared areas requiring urgent medical attention through Pallimunai to Mannar by sea.

While awaiting a response from the LTTE, four patients from the uncleared areas deprived of medical attention had died, according to Government Agent, Vavuniya, the Defence Ministry said yesterday.

The Ministry said in a press release: "Consequent to an appeal made by the ICRC to the Army Commander Lt. Gen. Srilal Weerasooriya, the Army proposed to the LTTE that patients requiring urgent medical attention be transported by sea from uncleared areas to Palimony in Mannar. From there, arrangements were to be made for their immediate transfer to Vavuniya Hospital. It was also suggested as an alternative, the patient could be reported through any other mutually agreeable, route.

At the commencement of the operations, Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and Commander Security Forces Wanni, Major General Lionel Balagalle too agreed to transport patients through Palimony to Mannar. There has been no response from the LTTE to this proposal which is purely intended to help suffering patients.

Whilst awaiting a response from the LTTE, the Government Agent, Vavuniya intimated the deaths of four patients from the uncleared area who were unable to avail themselves for treatment at the Vavuniya hospital.

This proposal was made as an urgent interim measure until the Army and the LTTE agree to the establishment of a Civilian Safety Zone (CSZ). On July 21, the Army proposed to open a new CSZ along the Mankulam-Thunnukai Road, but the LTTE has not yet responded.

Earlier, the LTTE agreed to a CSZ from Mankulam from three different options made available.

However, they subsequently rejected the modalities that should cover such a zone. It is regretted that prolonged delays by the LTTE to respond to Army proposals is adding to the severe hardships faced by the public in uncleared areas."

Monday July 26, 1999:

LTTE blasts civilian passenger ship in Trinco

Richard DE SILVA

A privately owned civilian passenger ship was blown up and completely destroyed at Trincomalee jetty by a terrorist suicide bomb frogman at 3.30 a.m. on Sunday, Military spokesman Brigadier Sunil Tennakoon said.

Naval sources said the ship Newco Endurance was brought seven days ago to transport civilians between Trincomalee and Mutur. She could take 320 passengers at a time.

At least two Black Sea Tigers including a terrorist frogman had been used to blow up the ship.

While the suicide bomber's body was found floating in the Trincomalee jetty, there was no trace of the other Sea Tiger who could have participated in the explosion. Our Trincomalee group correspondent K. D. Jayasekera reports:

"There was not a single passenger on board the ship at the time of the blast, but the watcher on board who was seriously injured was admitted to the Trincomalee Hospital. The coxswain Arulanayagam was killed.

This ship had been engaged earlier to transport civilian passengers between Trincomalee and Jaffna.

With the destruction of Newco Endurance put into service only on July 19, the transport of civilian passengers between Mutur and Trincomalee has come to a complete standstill."

The Operational Headquarters of the Defence Ministry adds:

"On July 25 around 3.30 a.m. at Trincomalee, the LTTE blasted the ship operating between Trincomalee and Mutur to ferry civilians and goods.

This boat has the capacity of accommodating 310 passengers, and was introduced by the Government to offer better comfort and quick travelling between these two points.

This is one of the shortest route for the people living in Mutur, Seruwila, Thoppur and other areas of Trincomalee South to bring their products to the Trincomalee market to earn better finances.

With this blast, people of those areas are badly affected in mary ways, specially children who come from Trincomalee South to Trincomalee for education and people who come to Trincomalee to attend to their official/business matters."

Tuesday July 27, 1999: