Chronology Of Ltte Terror - Part 80

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 October 07, 2008]

Tiger suicide blast kills Maj. Gen. Janaka Perera

27 others killed, wife among victims:

Ranil Wijayapala and Nimal Wijesinghe Anuradhapura District group corr.

Twenty eight persons including North Central Provincial Council Opposition Leader Major General (Rtd) Janaka Perera, his wife who is also a former military officer and several other prominent UNP members in Anuradhapura district were killed as an LTTE suicide terrorist blew himself at a UNP function near the Anuradhapura old bus stand around 8.40 a.m. yesterday.

According to Police and hospital sources 22 people were killed on the spot and six others succumbed to injuries after being admitted to Anuradhapura hospital.

According to Anuradhapura Hospital director Sarath Weerabandara 86 injured people have been admitted to Anuradhapura hospital following the incident and 15 of them were critical.

The suicide cadre, a male had blown himself as Major General Perera was attending a function to open the new NCP Opposition Leader’s Office in Dharmapala Mawatha, Anuradhapura along with a few other UNP Provincial Councillors.

The suicide attack targeting Major General Perera who had been a target of the LTTE for a long period occurred just hours after the pro-LTTE Tamil-net website carried a news report under the title ‘UNP lends support to Government’s War effort’ highlighting the visit of a Colombo district UNP MP to the Sri Jayawardenapura hospital to see injured soldiers undergoing treatment there.

The LTTE suicide attack in Anuradhapura also took place just a day after Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka and all key Army officials including the field commanders from the battlefront in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu attended the Flag Blessings ceremony held at the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi on Saturday.

Investigators also believe the suicide cadre would have arrived there targeting the Army officials attending this ceremony but would have blown himself targeting this function as he was unable to carry out his mission due to intense security measures in place in Anuradhapura during the Army Flag Blessing ceremony.

UNP’s Anuradhapura district Manager Dr. John Pulle who was also the former Chairman of the Rajarata Bus Company, his wife Dr. Mrs. John Pulle, UNP Legal Advisor Attorney-at-Law A.C.S. Hameed, North Central Provincial Council UNP Member Shantha Dissanayake and UNP Provincial Council candidate Subashi Charles were also among the dead.

Sirasa and MTV Anuradhapura correspondent Rashmi Mohamed Maharoof who was covering the event also succumbed to his injuries after being admitted to the Anuradhapura hospital.

According to eyewitnesses a suicide cadre a dark and short man had reached the function and unbuttoned his shirt facing Major General Perera and the crowd instantaneously killing himself and the crowd.

According to investigators only the legs of the suicide cadre’s has been left after the blast.

“He had used a relatively large quantity of explosives for this blast as his head was also blown off without leaving a trace about his appearance.”
 

[Friday October 10, 2008]

Minister Sirisena escapes suicide blast

Rafik Jalaldeen

Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services Development Minister Maithripala Sirisena narrowly escaped an LTTE attempt on his life yesterday afternoon in Pirivena junction, Boralesgamuwa.

A female suicide terrorist blew herself targeting Minister Sirisena’s motorcade at Pirivena junction around 1.15 p.m. when the Minister was returning after a Government function in Bandaragama, Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The Minister escaped unharmed and one of the cars in the convoy was caught in the suicide attack. “A civilian was killed and five others injured including Deputy Minister Siripala Gamlath and newly appointed Ministry Secretary Ranjith Wijethilaka,” he added.

“Wijethilaka had taken oaths today in the presence of Minister Sirisena before the suicide blast,” Ministry sources said.

According to sources at Kalubowila hospital, five persons were admitted to the hospital immediately after the bomb blast. The Deputy Minister and the Ministry Secretary had been transferred to the Colombo National Hospital later.

Deputy Director of the Colombo National Hospital Dr. Anil Jasinghe told the Daily News that three injured persons had been brought to the CNH including Ministry Secretary Wijeyathilaka and two others. One succumbed to his injuries on admission to hospital.

“Ministry’s Secretary Wijethilaka who is seriously injured in the blast was treated at the ICU and the third victim Ananda Withanage had undergone brain surgery,” he added.

Two of the Minister’s vehicles and several other vehicles were damaged in the incident.

“The minister’s convoy vehicle bearing the number KB-0935 caught in the blast was badly damaged and several other vehicles in the vicinity were also damaged,” police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekera said. He said police beefed up security and a subsequent search operation was launched in the area. “Four police teams were deployed to conduct a full scale of investigation,” he added.

The Government Analyst had visited the scene.

He however declined to reveal the weight of the explosives used by the Tiger suicide cadre as it was early to ascertain the degree of explosives.

Minister Sirisena earlier escaped an LTTE suicide attempt on his life in Modera on March 1, 2008.

Popular Army officer turned politician killed with 26 others

Wijitha Nakkawita

The day marked an important event in the Provincial Council election campaign of the North Central Provincial Council in October 2008. The main opposition political party had chosen a retired Major General Janaka Perera as its leader among the candidates contesting the election. The UNP organizers of the province had come to Dharmapala Mawatha to attend a meeting and a function chaired by Janaka Perera who after his successful career in the army had also been appointed the Sri Lanka High Commissioner in Australia. He was a successful military officer who had routed hundreds of LTTE terrorists who came to attack the Welioya military camp he was commanding.

The UNP perhaps believed his fame as a general would make him an ideal chief minister though very clearly there was a major LTTE terrorist threat on his life. Therefore he had some of his former army men providing security for him.

On October 06 at this function in Anuradhapura a large gathering was present including former provincial council members and party activists and the meeting was going on without incident. But a short man in a checked shirt and trousers came into the premises where the function was going on. It appeared that Janaka’s security or the police who were present at the time had noticed anything strange in the short man.

As soon as he was at close range to Janka Perera the man exploded a powerful bomb that was tied to his body and 26 people including Janaka were killed instantly. Scores of others were injured.

This was not the first suicide attack on a political meeting carried out by the LTTE terrorists but the UNP charged the government of not providing sufficient security for Janaka though it was well known that he had deployed his own security men drawn from among former army personnel who were loyal to him.

The LTTE terrorists in 1994 also assassinated a former senior army officer Lucky Algama who was also equally well known as a military officer who had defeated the LTTE in the eastern province again at a political rally. The clear signal was that the terrorists would wait for months if not years to kill those they had placed on their hit list. In the case of Janaka Perera his wife Vajira was also killed with him.

Vajira too was one of the first female officers to be commissioned by the Sri Lanka Army and the two had fallen in love and married. The suicide attack on Janaka was a shock to the nation as he had served the country well.

[Friday October 17, 2008]

LTTE attacks food convoy

Lorries return to Vavuniya:

Rafik Jalaldeen

Fifty World Food Programme lorries carrying essential food items, medicine and other dry rations for Wanni civilians were forced to return to Vavuniya due to LTTE artillery fire and claymore mine attacks.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the convoy loaded with essential food items had crossed the Omanthai entry/exit point.

He said the food convoy had come under a barrage of LTTE artillery fire and a claymore mine attack and turned back to Vavuniya.

“The Tiger cadres fired indiscriminately at the food convoy for the IDPs,” Brigadier Nanayakkara told the Daily News.

The lorries were carrying a large stock of medicine and essential items such as rice, sugar and dhal, Brigadier Nanayakkara said.

He said 18 other food lorries will be sent to civilians living in IDP centres in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts.

“Five of the 18 vehicles will be distributing essential food items coordinating with relevant authorities in the Mullaitivu district while the remainder will be distributed in the Kilinochchi district,” he added. Meanwhile, the Commissioner General of Essential Services S.B. Divaratne on Wednesday submitted a report to President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the ongoing operations to supply foods to the Wanni.

The report states that the Government has been able to continue provision of sufficient food stocks to civilians in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts effectively despite non cooperation of some international aid agencies.

Further, the report recalls that it is the Government of Sri Lanka that has been providing foods to terror stricken areas during last 20 years and stated that this has been carried out with the utmost commitment to protect its own citizen but not to satisfy any international agency.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner General of Essential Services on Wednesday submitted a report President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the on going operations to supply foods to Wanni.

The report states that the government has been able to continue provision of sufficient food stocks to the civilians living in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts effectively despite non cooperation of some international aid agencies.

Tomorrow - LTTE air raid in Colombo

Yesterday - LTTE claymore in Katubedda