Chronology Of Ltte Terror - Part 68

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.

Thursday June 08, 2000:

C. V. Gooneratne assassinated by LTTE suicide bomber

By Sarath Malalasekera, Ranil Wijeyapala and

Bharatha Mallawaarachchi

Industrial Development Minister C. V. Gooneratne was assassinated by a male LTTE suicide bomber while his wife Shyama was seriously injured yesterday afternoon near Soysapura at Katubedde on Galle road Ratmalana when he was leading a War Heroes Day March.

Twenty-one others including Deputy Mayor Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Anura de Silva including four officers of the Ministerial Security Division (MSD) and a number of officials were also killed in the blast, police said.

Eight persons including Mrs. Gooneratne who were seriously injured underwent immediate operations at the Colombo South Teaching Hospital, police said.

Western Province (South) DIG Jayantha Wickremaratne who is directing investigations said that about 36 others were also injured in the blast. They included the Headquarters Inspector of the Mount Lavinia Police station.

He said four suspects alleged to be accomplices of the LTTE suicide bomber were arrested at a small cafe close to the scene of the bomb blast and are now under interrogation by the Police. The Government Analyst Ananda Mendis and Mount Lavinia Magistrate A. Sumithrapala visited the scene and made their observation.

Immediately after the blast police cordoned off the area and arrested the four suspects believed to be an accomplice of the male suicide bomber, DIG Wickremaratne said. A van was also arrested which is believed to have transported the bomber.

A bhikku from the Soysaramaya Ratmalana Gonadeniye Sumanaratana Thera who witnessed the carnage told the Daily News that a youth wearing slippers crossed the road and went close to the Minister. “Then we heard a huge explosion,” he said.

Ashok Kumar, a three-wheeler driver, said the suspected youth passed his vehicle, crossed the road and ran close to the Minister.

“We suspect that he was dropped by the van which the police detained later,” he said.

Minister Gooneratne earlier attended the National War Heroes Day to honour Government Troops at the Presidential Secretariat which was presided over by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

C. V. Gooneratne was the younger son of the late L. V. Gooneratne who was the first Mayor of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. He received his education at Royal College, Colombo where his father taught generations of pupils.

He was an outstanding student being a prefect, captain of the college rugby team and a cadet. Also he represented CR & FC soon after leaving his alma mater.

He received his higher education in economics and political science at Aquinas University College, Colombo and read for the B.Sc (Econ) London.

Minister Gooneratne entered politics as a SLFP member of the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Urban Council where he was the Leader of the Opposition. Earlier, he had been supporting his father who was the Mayor of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. He had been a member of the Central Committee of the SLFP since the early 1970s.

His first attempt to enter Parliament failed in 1977 but 12 years later, in 1989 he made his triumphant entry into the House. He was also a member of the Public Accounts Committee of the House.

Wednesday October 04, 2000:

Bomb attack an attempt to curtail freedom of expression - Prajathanthra

Prajathanthra, the Foundation for Freedom of Expression, yesterday condemned the LTTE suicide bomb attack on a National Unity Alliance election rally which killed 26 persons in Muttur, Trincomalee on Monday.

In a statement issued last night, Prajathanthra said the LTTE attack was a blow to the democratic process in the North-East. It clearly demonstrated the LTTE’s attitude towards the PA and its allied parties which oppose the political forces supported by the Tigers. Prajathanthra also deplored the LTTE suicide bomb attack at the Eye Hospital junction, the slaying of a PA Batticaloa district candidate and abortive attempts to assassinate Deputy Minister M. L. A. M. Hizabullah.

The statement noted that “so far only the PA and allied parties’ candidates and supporters have been killed by the LTTE.”

It added: “No harm whatsoever has been done to the UNP. While we do not wish any such harm to any political party, we observe that the LTTE is giving full protection and freedom to the UNP for their election campaign in the East.

“We further condemn these attacks by the LTTE as part of election related violence and an attempt to curtail the freedom of expression of the people by the free use of the ballot.”

Saturday September 16, 2000:

Six killed, 28 injured by suicide bomber

Sarath Malalasekara, Uditha Kumarasinghe and Ranil Wijayapala

Four civilians and a Police Constable were killed and twenty-eight others seriously injured when a suspected LTTE suicide bomber blew himself up opposite the Colombo Eye Hospital, yesterday morning.

The three civilians killed in the explosion and most others injured were believed to be visitors to the Eye Hospital who were waiting outside the main gate for their turn to be checked by the hospital security.

Several vehicles including an Army jeep were damaged in the blast.

The LTTE suicide bomber had been seen loitering near the Eye Hospital from the early hours of yesterday and disguised as a beggar. Police Constable Nelson of the Hospital Police Post who became suspicious of the bomber’s movements challenged the LTTE suicide bomber who had then exploded himself killing the PC and three others on the spot.

The investigators took in for questioning one Tamil youth who was taking pictures of the scene immediately after the blast. The suicide bombing was part of an LTTE plan to try to subvert the forthcoming General Election, according to Police intelligence. Three senior Ministers were reported to be in different locations in the vicinity of suicide bomb explosion. They are Minister of Health and Indigenous Medicine Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Justice Professor G. L. Peiris and Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Yesterday’s bombing brought murders committed by the LTTE during the run up to the October 10 General Elections to eight.

Earlier, the LTTE killed two PA candidates C. Perimpenayagam and S. Manoharupillai in the Ampara District.

The People’s Alliance Media Co-ordinating Unit in a Press Release issued last night by Attorney-at-Law Sripathi Sooriyarachchi states the LTTE is trying to bring the UNP to power through such activities according to their secret alliance with the UNP.

The Director Colombo National Hospital Dr. Hector Weerasinghe said that 10 of the injured admitted to the National Hospital, were in a critical condition.

DIG Gamini Randeni and several police teams visited the scene and cordoned off the area to check whether any other suicide bombers were also in the vicinity.

There was a soldier and a naval rating among the victims admitted to the hospital.

The injured included eight Eye Hospital employees. J. W. Ariaywansa (53) one of the injured persons admitted to the hospital said he heard an explosion as he reached the main gate of the Hospital. “I saw people run helter-skelter.”

Director of the National Hospital Hector Weerasinghe said his staff rose to the occasion, treating the injured without any delay.

The injured were fortunate that we could take them to the operating table within a few minutes as the blast occurred only a few yards away from the Accident Service, he added.

Meanwhile, a communique issued by the Special Media Information Centre said;

“Six persons were killed and 28 others injured when an LTTE suicide bomber exploded himself at Dean’s Road, Colombo opposite the Colombo Eye Hospital around 9.50 a.m. yesterday.

“The communique added that three of the victims died on the spot while the other three died on admission to hospital.

Among those killed on the spot were the suicide bomber, a police constable and a civilian. Among those injured are a solider, a naval recruit and a nurse and several minor employees attached to the Eye Hospital.

Investigations have already been launched into this incident and the road was temporarily closed to facilitate investigations at the scene of the blast.

LTTE’s killing goes on

Wijitha Nakkawita

Over two decades or twenty seven years to be precise had lapsed after the separatist terrorists of the north had started their killing sprees yet there did not appear even a semblance of the main terrorist group the LTTE having made any change in their bloody modus operandi.

The month of January 2000, started with the eerie note of terrorists killing more people including two politicians one from the north and the other from the south both who believed in the democratic form of governance and both non-violent and peace loving men of high integrity. It all happened in the first week of the month with an abortive attempt to kill a third leader of the ruling People’s Alliance government near or in the precincts of the Prime Minister’s Office.

A suspicious looking woman dressed in a black pair of jeans and shirt was seen loitering on the road opposite Srimathipaya on Sir Earnest de Silva Mawatha where the Prime Minister’s office stands. The police and security personnel becoming suspicious of the woman asked her for ther national identity card and she produced it but the police suspicion of the woman was not allayed. Therefore two police women wanted to body search her but she resisted and blew herself up killing nine police personnel including the two police women and four civilians.

Two days later the flamboyant Kumar Ponnambalam parliamentarian and lawyer was killed in his car close to his residence at Wellawatte. Police found his body slumped on the driving seat of his car with a bullet wound on his head.

Kumar Ponnambalam who was a member of the Tamil United Liberation Front was also the son of the previous generation’s Tamil leader G.G. Ponnambalam a leading criminal lawyer and the founder leader of the political party the Tamil Congress who had asked for ‘fifty – fifty’ in the parliament meaning that Tamils and Sinhalese should have equal number of seats in the House. Killing Kumar Ponnambalam was a surprise as he had not openly or even covertly opposed the LTTE or other terrorist groups. Police investigating the assassination could not find a suspect and it became clear that he was killed by the LTTE.

Two days later the Minister of Industries C.V. Gooneratne and his wife were taking part in a peace march on Galle Road, Dehiwala when a suicide bomber attacked the marchers.

The minister and his wife and twenty three others most of them civilians were killed in the suicide attack. It was also a coincidence that C.V. Gooneratne’s father was also a politician who was Major L.V. Gooneratne the Mayor of Dehiwala Mt.Lavinia municipal council and was also a very popular politician loved by the common people, including the poor fisher folk of his area. C.V. Gooneratne was also a popular man who was a devout Roman Catholic and like his father was accessible to the poorest and commonest of people and was also a non-violent person who was loved by his people.

These killings of civilians and political leaders were taking place while the government was preparing a devolution package to offer the LTTE another opportunity to come for peace talks and behind the scene efforts were being made by some parties including some religious leaders to approach the LTTE to discuss a peace plan.

Tomorrow - Minister Kadirgamar assassinated

Yesterday - Bomb explodes in Vavuniya P.O.