16th January 2000

By Alia

High alert

Naval patrols along the northern coast of Colombo and police stations covering the area have been placed on high alert after reports that an LTTE hit team of six have infiltrated the City.

Police sources say the six were made up of three Black Tiger cadres and three intelligence wing members.

They reportedly arrived by boat from a location north of Mannar to a location in the southern coastal suburbs of the City.

Police say the three Black Tigers are experts at handling explosives but are not sure what their target is.

Nor do they know whether the team has been assigned for one target or more.

Embarrassing query

The regular briefing on the security situation for Colombo based Defence and Military Attaches at Army Headquarters this week saw one participant raising an interesting query.

He asked a Navy officer regularly tasked for the briefing why Sri Lanka had purchased 20 year old Israeli multi-purpose vessels when there were brand new ones on offer from Russia.

The embarrassed officer had no answer. Moreover, officers and men on the naval front have been warned to be cautious about leaks to the media and not to comment on this controversial procurement.

Gaffe by Op. Hq.

When did the Government of Sri Lanka recognise an LTTE Police Service ?

With the ongoing censorship, the only formal source of news on the ongoing separatist war both for Sri Lankans and the outside world are those news releases put out by the Operational Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence.

Here is a para from a recent news release: …According to reliable sources it has been reported that P. Nadesan, the LTTE Police chief had got seriously wounded at Iyakachchi during a confrontation with the security forces and both his legs had been amputated."

P. Nadesan was a former constable in the Police Department and was known to have vacated post.

The affable Police chief, Lucky Kodituwakku, might be amused at the news. After all, he is the only Police chief in Sri Lanka though media experts at the Op Hq have conferred that title on a one time PC who deserted post.

Tiger 'civil servant' dead

The LTTE's so called head of a "Tamil Eelam Administrative Service", Thooyavan, has died in a boat tragedy in the Kilali lagoon.

The man who signed many a warning letter to State officials and civilians in the Jaffna peninsula demanding work stoppages had been among a group of six Tiger cadres sailing in the lagoon when the boat sank. The incident, Army sources say, took place in the first week of November.

Rajpal Abeynayake's Column

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