• Elephant Pass abandoned
• Kill CBK, says Indian politico; Kadir fires off protest notes
• Crisis compels CBK to cut short visit
• All bishops on joint peace mission
• London Tiger jailed

Elephant Pass abandoned

Security forces have been ordered to withdraw from Elephant Pass but some troops still remain trapped, the BBC's Sinhala service Sandeshaya said in its news bulletin relayed over the state-run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation last night.

Quoting a report from BBC's Colombo correspondent Susie Price, Sandeshaya said the LTTE had claimed that it had captured the Elephant Pass camp and the security forces had suffered heavy losses.

She said the loss of the base was a major blow to the security forces.

The bulletin said the Iyakkachchi camp had first fallen and the troops had begun withdrawing while another report said the security forces had been ordered by their superiors to withdraw.

Meanwhile an official communique from the Defence Ministry last night confirmed that troops had 'readjusted their defence lines North of Elephant Pass' and were now consolidating their new positions.

It gave the death toll among the security forces as 49 while it also said 150 terrorists were killed during heavy fighting mostly of mortars and artillery fire.

Sandeshaya also quoted The Sunday Times Defence Correspondent Iqbal Athas as saying that according to reports Army Commander Sri- lal Weerasuriya on Friday had ordered troops based in Elephant Pass to withdraw.

He said the withdrawing troops had been confronted in certain areas while some others were trapped in the base.

A spokesman for the Joint-Operations Command media office said the JOC had no communique to issue last night but that a statement would be issued this morning on the situation at Elephant Pass.

Earlier this month, Deputy Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte told Parliament the government would never withdraw its troops from the areas they were occupying.

Minister Ratwatte speaking during the debate to extend the state of emergency on April 6 said that the government would not give in to the demand made by the LTTE to withdraw troops ahead of talks with them.

The Minister was referring to a demand made by the LTTE's Anton Balasingham that security forces should withdraw to the original positions before they recapture the Jaffna peninsula. Mr. Balasingham had made the demand in an interview with the London based Tamil guardian newspaper.

Referring to the defence situation in Jaffna Mr. Ratwatte said that security forces had successfully repulsed the attacks by the LTTE and were defending the areas in the north.

Minister Ratwatte, who ran the country's military machine against LTTE claimed credit for the recapture of the Jaffna peninsula. He was presented with a Sannasa (ceremonial scroll) during a ceremony to honour those responsible for the military opertions which led to the recapture of the peninsula.

Kill CBK, says Indian politico; Kadir fires off protest notes

By Our Diplomatic Editor

Foreign Minister Lak shman Kadirgamar has lodged strong protests with his Indian and Swiss counterparts over a rabble-rousing speech made by the leader of a Tamil Nadu based political party suggesting that the LTTE should continue its campaign to kill President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

The Sunday Times learns that Mr. Kadirgamar has written two separate letters to Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and Swiss Foreign Minister Joseph Deiss urging them to take whatever action deemed necessary against Gopalaswamy Vaiko, General Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and MP for Sivakasi constituency of Tamil Nadu, for his comments at a recent LTTE sponsored rally in Geneva.

Mr. Vaiko, whose MDMK is a breakaway from Chief Minister Mutuvel Karunanidi's DMK had addressed a 2000-strong rally of LTTE supporters from around Europe opposite the Palais des Nations to coincide with the annual sessions of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

He is reported to have said "what happened to the Pandi King who was unjust and unreasonable? Justice was won in the face of injustice. The ' Pathini ammas' curse was avenged. The primary reason for all these circumstances was slavery. Who shot the pregnant mothers? The Sinhala gangsters, weren't they? The stork will have his day.

"She needs to be lucky every time but we need to be lucky only once".

Mr. Kadirgamar has pointed out that apart from the "ethno-nationalist rhetoric," Mr. Vaiko's references to 'Pathini Amma's curse being avenged' in the context it was made, with the remark of an unnamed 'she needs to be lucky every time' while 'we' (presumably Mr. Vaiko and the LTTE) 'need to be lucky only once' is undoubtedly a reference to President Kumaratunga.

"The statement appears to be not only a justification of the LTTE's attempt to kill my President but also an encouragement to continue with the LTTE strategy to eliminate her," Mr. Kadirgamar said.

Mr. Vaiko who is a member of the Lok Sabha, and his party, a constituent of the present BJP led coalition Government had compared LTTE leader Prabhakaran with Napolean Bonaparte and claimed that all European countries were prepared to support a Tamil nation.

He singled out Italy and France as examples of countries that supported their struggle and battle.

"It is necessary for the Tamil nation to have a single nation, a single country and a single language" Mr. Vaiko said.

Mr. Vaiko who had been invited as the chief speaker at the rally had concluded his speech with the words "long live Tamil Eelam".

Mr. Kadirgamar has told the Indian Foreign Minister that Mr. Vaiko's comments are "jingoistic and preposterous" and accused him of criminal conspiracy to murder the President of Sri Lanka.

He has requested his Swiss counterpart to take appropriate action to ensure the LTTE and its front organisations do not abuse Swiss hospitality to carry out such hostile activities against the security and well-being of Sri Lanka and its head of state.

Crisis compels CBK to cut short visit

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, currently in Britain for a medical check-up, is likely to curtail her stay and return to Sri Lanka in view of the deteriorating security situation at Elephant Pass.

This follows a briefing Minister Ratnasiri Wickre-manayake gave her on the telephone yesterday. Earlier, Mr. Wickremanayake, who has been placed in charge to overlook the Presidential Secretariat during her absence, spoke to Army Commander Srilal Weerasooriya in Palaly to obtain a first hand account of the situation,

President Kumaratunga has been in constant touch with both Mr. Wickremanayake and Presidential Secretary, Kusumsiri Balapatabendi with regard to the security situation.

After a briefing from Mr. Balapatabendi, she ordered the appointment of General Rohan Daluwatte, as Chief of Defence Staff and gave him full powers.

Mr. Balapatabendi signed two Gazette notifications. One related to the appointment of Gen. Daluwatte as CDS and the other on the composition of a National Security Council that will work closely with a powerful Joint Operations Command (JOC).

Gen. Daluwatte flew to Jaffna yesterday to obtain a first hand account of the latest developments. He is expected to thereafter brief President Kumaratunga.

Details of Elephant Pass events which were contained in The Sunday Times Situation Report have all been deleted by the Censor. This included references which are not covered by provisions of the ongoing censorship.

See Situation Report

All bishops on joint peace mission

By Hiranthi Fernando

In an unprecedented move, all eleven Catholic Bishops of Sri Lanka are going to the shrine of the Blessed Joseph Vaz in Goa, India to pray for peace in their war-torn motherland.

Blessed Joseph Vaz, a missionary to Sri Lankan during the period of Dutch persecution, was beatified in 1995 and is regarded as the patron of Sri Lanka.

According to church sources, this is the first time that all 11 bishops are going together on a week-long mission for peace from May 3 to 10.

Generally all bishops go together only for the World Synod of Bishops. Thus this joint peace mission to Goa is seen as one of significance.

Anuradhapura's Bishop Oswald Gomis, who is the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference and playing a leading role in peace efforts, explaining the pilgrimage said: "Blessed Joseph Vaz brought peace to the country during his mission here. We will pray at his shrine very specially for peace in our country."

London Tiger jailed

Sri Lankan Velauthan Biganathan who was arrested last year over a shooting incident at an LTTE sponsored sports festival in London has been jailed for five years by a British criminal court.

The court has also ordered the deportation of Mr. Biganathan for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and for carrying firearms in public places.

The conviction is the first significant move by a British court against LTTE activism in that country. London, along with Paris, has been long considered the LTTE's overseas headquarters.

Mr. Biganathan was one of some 30 persons arrested or questioned by police following a shoot-out between rival Sri Lankan Tamil groups at a so-called sports festival organised at Warrant Farm School in Southhall last autumn.

A.C. Shanthan, LTTE's London chief, was among those questioned by police.

A 20-year-old man was shot in the leg as firearms and petrol bombs were used in the clashes.

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