Grim choice for President: Aid or UPFA?
Lanka tells US of serious security concerns over Tiger air power

A military build up by Tiger guerrillas during the three year long ceasefire, their continuing crackdown on dissidents in the East and the occasional gunfire on security forces installations have begun to raise concerns for the UPFA Government.

That it comes when the Norwegian peace facilitators had knocked in to shape a Joint Mechanism between the Government and the Tiger guerrillas to share foreign aid equitably for tsunami recovery is bad enough. Despite all the certainty in the diplomatic community, a wide gulf still remains. That is the grim reality - whether President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga would give the final nod. If she does, aid will flow but her Government faces a break in the middle. If she does not, the aid will not come and the Government may be forced into international isolation. Either way, the choices are bad.

The Norwegians who had put a gigantic effort to make the Joint Mechanism a reality will have to get over this task first. It is only then can they get on with their next priority, work towards getting the two sides to sit down to talk peace. In other words, this mechanism has become the foundation stone on which the peace building efforts are going to be mounted. If laying such a foundation is becoming increasingly difficult due to the rapidly changing ground situation, clouds of uncertainty loom larger.

In the recent weeks, at least two dignitaries of the world's only super power, United States were in Sri Lanka looking closely at the developments. The first was Admiral William J. Fallon, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Command. Located at Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii, the Pacific Command covers more than 50 per cent of the earth's surface, nearly 60 per cent of the world's population, 43 countries, 20 territories and possessions.

He flew in to the Ratmalana airport in a US military aircraft on a two day visit on April 11. After a brief meeting at the United States Embassy, he drove to Fort for a meeting with Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar. There the senior most US military official heard Mr. Kadirgamar explain, among other matters, the security concerns of the Government. On hand were US Ambassador Jeffrey Lunstead and a Political Advisor to the Admiral who was part of the delegation. He detailed out matters relating to LTTE's acquisition of air capability, light aircraft and listed the dangers arising from them.

Later, Admiral Fallon raised the same issue with Air Force Commander, Air Marshal Donald Perera. That day he was acting as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The incumbent, Navy Commander Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri was abroad. Air Marshal Perera was chairing a meeting where the Director General - General Staff at the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH), Maj. Gen. Lawrence Fernando was making a power point presentation. It dealt with the tsunami aftermath, assistance from US troops and other issues. Army Commander Lt. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda, acting Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Mohan Wijewickrema and Director General of Military Intelligence Maj. Gen. Kapila Hendavitharana were present.

The next day, Adm. Fallon flew to Jaffna. The Security Forces Commander there, Maj. Gen. Sunil Tennekoon gave a detailed briefing. The US Admiral, among other matters, asked Jaffna's senior-most military official about LTTE acquisition of air capability. There have been rumours for a long time. It is now confirmed, he declared.

At a briefing that followed at the SLNS Uttara the main Navy establishment in the Jaffna peninsula, Rear Admiral Vasantha Tennekoon responded to queries by Adm. Fallon on how the LTTE inducted weapons. He referred to the deep seas off the Mullaitivu coast and explained how it took place. Thereafter, Adm. Fallon flew in a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter to see how the Army's check-point at Muhamalai worked.

Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were on hand, both at the Army and the guerrilla check-points seperated by a small stretch of “no man’s land.” Traffic was brought to a halt until the visit was over. Commander of the Army's 55 Division, Brigadier V.R. de Silva, gave a brief on how the check-point from where civilians crossed to and fro from the guerrilla held areas was operated.

Earlier, on his day of arrival acting Navy Commander Rear Admiral Mohan Wijewickrema hosted a dinner for Admiral Fallon at the Navy’s Ward Room. There he thanked the US Government for donating to the Navy their Coast Guard cutter USS Courageous. He said it was a valuable asset for the Navy in preventing the illegal induction of weapons into the country.

It was only last Thursday CDS and Navy Commander, Vice Admiral Sandagiri invited acting Defence Minister, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake to commission the patrol vessel. It has been named SLNS Samudura. Vice Admiral Sandagiri was specific to tell his officials that it should not be spelt as Samudra since it was inauspicious. The Navy's deep sea going vessels have been named after Sinhala words which meant sea - like Sayura and Jayasagara.

That was how the highest ranking US Admiral in charge of the region learnt of the Government's security concerns. Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca who was in Colombo this week also made reference to the guerrilla military build up. She said the guerrillas should stop building their military power. However, she strongly backed the Norwegian efforts to formulate a Joint Mechanism for tsunami aid since it would see the entry of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) into the democratic process.

The Tiger guerrilla military crack down in the east has continued in the past several weeks. If the Tiger guerrilla attacks had extended earlier to only members of the renegade Karuna faction, in the past several weeks it has spread to other groups who are deemed rivals. And now, the Sangiliyan Force, which like the Ellalan Force is widely known to be an LTTE front group, has issued a warning in the East against civilians who support the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.

A leaflet titled "Final Warning of the Sangiliyan Force" has declared that death penalty would be imposed on those supporting the JVP in the area. They accuse the JVP of being "Sinhala chauvinistic and politically ignorant thugs who are all out to finish off the Tamil nation and create a killing spree culture.”

The leaflet adds: "We are firm in executing the death penalty without any distinction of race or religion to anyone who supports the JVP. We are not against the Tamils, Sinhalese or Muslims. We have been against only those traitors of the Tamil nation who support the JVP and the JVP itself. We are functioning as a force protecting the Tamil speaking nation."

Tomorrow, the security authorities are to raise with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) an Army complaint that for four consecutive days Tiger guerrillas have been firing in the air over a security forces checkpoint. It is located at Mahindapura, south of Trincomalee.

Army sources say the matter will be raised by the Chief of Defence Staff, Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri during their regular weekly meeting with SLMM representatives. The Army has said that the firing had originated from guerrilla hideouts in the "uncleared areas" nearby.

These developments, no doubt, will require joint measures both by the Government and the LTTE. With the Joint Mechanism still stalled, whether timely action is possible remains a crucial question. A delay can be costly. Needless to say mandarins in the Ministry of Defence, now busy compiling dossiers, should act before developments reach frightening proportions.

Mystery disappearances and baffling questions

Inspector T. Jeyaratnam

A one-time member of the People's Liberation Organisation of Thamil Eelam (PLOT), known well by his nom de guerre, Mano, checked in to a luxury hotel in Mount Lavinia last week. He had arrived from London.

Last Wednesday, he invited a family friendly with him for years to dinner. He treated Inspector T. Jeyaratnam and family lavishly. He sent a Hi-ace van driven by a Sinhala driver to pick them up and bring them to the hotel. The bill came to more than Rs 18,000. Later, the guests bid goodbye to their generous host. They were dropped at home in the same vehicle.

Hours after returning IP Jeyaratnam left home early. He had told his wife he wanted to report for work early that day at the Field Force Headquarters in Bambalapitiya. Since then nothing has been heard about him. His wife has complained to the Police about his sudden disappearance. Police investigating the case has now found that the gracious host has also gone missing. He had checked out of the hotel after settling his dues.

From his days as a Sergeant in the Police, Jeyaratnam had been assigned to counter terrorism responsibilities and was covering the LTTE. He came into prominence whilst working in the counter terrorism unit at the Mount Lavinia Police Station. He was responsible for cracking some cases leading to the arrest of guerrilla cadres operating from cells in that division.

After reported threats to his life, IP Jeyaratnam had been transferred at his own request to the Field Force Headquarters of the Police in Bambalapitiya.

A Police investigation into the mystery disappearance is now under way. Curious enough, in this backdrop there are reports from Wanni that a leading Tiger guerrilla intelligence cadre has reportedly gone missing or disappeared after a brief visit to Colombo incognito.

The man is being identified as Thamotherampillai alias Newton, a close confidante of Tiger guerrilla intelligence chief Pottu Amman. Newton, known to be an explosives expert, originally operated as intelligence chief for Batticaloa and was responsible for planning several attacks on VIPs and strategic targets in the city.

According to intelligence sources in Colombo, soon after the ceasefire in 2002, Newton had been re-called to Wanni and given a high profile assignment. The task had included the identification of VIP targets and strategic locations in the city of Colombo and suburbs. He had also been tasked to infiltrate cadres in order to achieve these objectives and carry out abductions. Newton's radio call sign at one time has been identified as November Whisky.

The reported presence of Newton in Colombo came to light only after it became known that an official of the Department of Education in Jaffna, a former school teacher for ten years, had disappeared. Newton is said to have met him at his Wellawatte residence on a number of occasions. He had travelled in a Hi-ace van driven by a Sinhala driver. On one occasion, he had gone in the same van for a meeting with an unknown person at a five-star hotel centrally located in the City.

Four days ago, Newton had turned up at this official's residence in a new Mercedes Benz. The vehicle had been reportedly purchased in the name of an unknown person for use by guerrilla cadres. Both Newton and the official had left the latter's Wellawatte residence.

The next of kin of the official had been told that the duo was travelling to Kandy. But alarm bells rang on Friday when it became known that the duo had not arrived in Kandy. A relative had travelled to Kandy to check with the official's brother who lived there. He had said they did not turn up there.

The Sunday Times learnt that the family of the Education Department official in Kandy made contact with the Tiger guerrilla leadership in the Wanni. They had been advised to report the disappearance to the Police but to only make reference to the official. As for the second person, they had been advised to say he went to Kandy with another friend.

However, fearing that they may be forced to bare details of the vehicles and other particulars, the relatives have been reluctant to make a formal complaint to the Police. However, they had intensified their search for the missing person.

The calm response of the Tiger guerrilla leadership had prompted some relatives of the missing Education Department official to suspect that Newton may not have gone missing. "It is possible he may have returned to Wanni. But the question is why nothing is known of our man," a relative who spoke on grounds of anonymity said.

Did this official and Newton find their way out with the help of the driver from Negombo? It is well known that clandestine boat services operate from Negombo to the Wanni. Was the same modus operandi used for the kidnap of Mano Master, the former Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF) man, who was living in Tamil Nadu. He turned a staunch supporter of LTTE renegade eastern leader, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna and came to Colombo to register a political party. Within days he was kidnapped.

Intelligence sources believe he was then moved to the Wanni. There he had been put through a process of intense interrogation. His reported revelations had led to killings of some Karuna loyalists.

No recognition for Tiger police

LTTE "policemen" outside a "Police Station" in the Wanni.

The UPFA Government last week narrowly avoided conferring formal recognition for the "Tamil Eelam Police" - the 'law enforcement arm' of Tiger guerrillas.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had made a request to the Government's Peace Secretariat in Colombo on April 7 seeking clearance and escorts for 35 members of "Tamil Eelam Police" to proceed from the Wanni to Trincomalee on 'holiday'. The request had been channelled through the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). The move was to have taken place on April 12, ahead of the National New Year.

The Peace Secretariat brought the matter to the attention of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Later, the LTTE was told through the SLMM on April 11 that such a move was not possible. This was on the grounds that the Ceasefire Agreement does not make provision for transfers of "Tamil Eelam Police" personnel but only unarmed guerrilla cadres.

The CFA allows LTTE members freedom of movement in the North and the East. They are required to carry their identity papers. "The right of the GOSL (Government of Sri Lanka) to deny entry to specified military areas applies", according to the CFA.

MoD sources believe a specific request for the transfer of 35 members of the "Tamil Eelam Police" was a ploy to gain formal recognition. "Applications for theatre-to-theatre transfers will be made only in keeping with the provisions of the CFA. The LTTE is aware of such provisions. Hence, like in other cases, they should have sought clearance for transfers in plain clothes as members," the sources added.

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