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| Photo shock: CBK's second tsunami
The Sri Lanka Air Force produced photographs at last Tuesday's meeting of the National Security Council of the two unidentified aircraft found on the newly built runway in Tiger guerrilla held Kilinochchi. They had been obtained from video footage taken a week ago by Israeli-built Searcher Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). This footage covered daytime shots obtained by the Searcher UAV as well as those taken during the night. Needless to say it stunned those who saw them. "I have been hit by two tsunamis," declared President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. The first, no doubt, was the nature's fury that struck on Boxing Day December 26. The second was proof she had seen in the form of photographs that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had acquired two unidentified aircraft. The images of the Al Qaida attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington using aircraft were evidently in her mind. She took the matter very seriously. The hour-long NSC meeting at the Janadipathi Mandiraya discussed the new air capability the LTTE had acquired and the threats it posed. For obvious reasons details of these discussions or the decisions reached cannot be spelt out. Even before the NSC meeting last Tuesday afternoon, the Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force Air Marshal Donald Perera, the strict disciplinarian that he is, ordered his Chief Provost Marshal (CPM) Group Captain Saranath Rambukwella, to find out how The Sunday Times became privy to the information about the two unidentified aircraft. State intelligence agencies, barring one which had inkling, were caught by complete surprise. The Sunday Times (Situation Report - January 16, 2005) revealed how on Wednesday (January 12), an Israeli-built Searcher UAV spotted a light aircraft on the ground. It was on the newly-built airstrip east of Iranamadu irrigation tank. The next day, Thursday (January 13), the Searcher UAV was on a night sortie when its infrared cameras picked up thermal images of another light aircraft. As revealed in these columns last week, the two aircraft whose images were picked up by Searcher UAV cameras were different. The Sunday Times now learns that the aircraft spotted during daytime was a single engine propeller driven one. The second one spotted at night is believed to be a twin-engine aircraft. Expert opinion within the Air Force leaves no doubt that the LTTE had acquired two aircraft, a fact confirmed by troops of a foreign Government now engaged in post tsunami relief and rehabilitation activity. Thereafter, efforts by their personnel to enter a vital and sensitive installation that monitors air movements were turned down by the authorities. However, the Air Force is not without sceptics who seem to believe the two aircraft were nothing but dummies. If their assertions are even remotely correct, the question arises as to whether the new 1,250 metre runway the LTTE built in Iranamadu is also a dummy. Having built a runway, why is the LTTE only placing dummies? The Sunday Times (Situation Report - December 12, 2004) exclusively revealed the existence of this newly-built airstrip in Kilinochchi, the heartland of guerrilla territory. A satellite image of this obtained by The Sunday Times and published together with this report came as clear proof that it had been newly built. Air Force aerial reconnaissance had revealed that this new airstrip is 1,250 metres long - good enough even for a Hercules C-130 aircraft to land with a full load of cargo. The satellite image is published again on this page for easy reference. Photographs shown to the National Security Council last Tuesday reveal not only clear markings on the runway. There are also markings of the runway headings. Part of it is reflected in the photographs. Air Force officials say the headings are 23 diagonal 05. When the runway came up, Secretary General of the Peace Secretariat Jayantha Dhanapala wrote a letter of protest to the Norwegian Embassy. It was also copied to the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) that is tasked to oversee the ceasefire. Whether the Government can expect anything tangible from the smooth talking retired Norwegian Major General Trond Furuhovde's SLMM by protesting over the presence of the two aircraft remains a crucial question. Instead of being treated to his double standards, perhaps the only option left would be to raise issue at the highest level on a Government-to-Government basis with Norway. In doing so, the Government will, however, be up against another issue now being raised by the LTTE - the despatching of a high level military procurement team to Iran. The Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Lt. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda, who led an eight-member delegation returned to Colombo yesterday together with the others after concluding a multi-million-dollar military deal. Last Tuesday, whilst the National Security Council was discussing the threats posed by the LTTE acquiring two unidentified aircraft, its Political Wing leader, S.P. Thamilselvan was accusing the Government of making war preparations despite the tsunami catastrophe. The same day he met a delegation from the European Union at the LTTE Peace Secretariat in Kilinochchi. He told the envoys of the LTTE's concerns over the declaration of a State of Emergency and the despatch of a delegation to Iran to procure weaponry. "The weapons to be acquired by the Government of Sri Lanka will affect the military balance. The international community and the Norwegian peace facilitators appreciated the military balance on both sides and brought about a ceasefire," he pointed out. He added: "This is why there has been peace in the past three years. It is the responsibility of the international community to ensure no side takes advantage of the situation." Quite clearly, there was no reference to the acquisition of aircraft by the LTTE. Evidently no questions were raised and no answers given. Even if it is a mere coincidence, the Sri Lanka Air Force has embarked on preparations to enhance its capabilities. One such measure is to go ahead immediately to rehabilitate the runway at Palaly. This project was on and off many times. It hinged on whether it should be carried out with the help of the Government of India or utilising funds of the Government of Sri Lanka. It has now been decided that the Government will spend its own funds to execute this project. Air Force Commander Donald Perera has assigned his deputy, Chief of Staff Air Vice Marshal Laksan Salgado to remain in Palaly to personally oversee the working of this project. He is to remain stationed there. The Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB) has started construction work on the runway. The cost of the project, Rs 360 million, is exclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT) and is being met from funds provided by the Treasury. The SLAF will incur expenditure for transport of men, materials and machinery from Colombo to Palaly airbase. The SLAF has set a time frame of six months to complete the project. The Government will utilise the abandoned Cement Corporation complex in Kankesanthurai for extraction of limestone for the project. A team of CECB engineers and Air Force civil engineers will carry out the management aspects. The runway of the Palaly airfield is 2,300 metres long and 75 metres wide. Initial damage was caused in 1987 when the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was in Sri Lanka. This was after they began using one of the biggest aircrafts, the Ilyushin 76 transport planes. Though the Government decided to go ahead and rehabilitate the runway at its own cost, the move was delayed in October, last year. This was after an Indian defence delegation that was in Colombo to discuss the contours of a proposed Defence Co-operation Agreement also discussed Indian assistance to rehabilitate the runway. The matter was to be covered by a separate bi-lateral agreement where Indian assistance was to be provided. However, a delay in signing both these agreements has prompted the Government to go ahead on its own with the Palaly airport project. In another area, the Air Force has been compelled to change its mind on a policy decision - not to over fly terrain dominated by the LTTE. This decision (Situation Report - December 12, 2004) endorsed by then Defence Secretary Cyril Herath meant there would be no more helicopter flights for the LTTE or Norwegian peace facilitators over "uncleared" (or LTTE-held) areas. President Kumaratunga had changed the decision. Last week Mr. Herath's successor, retired Major General Asoka Jayawardena, the new Defence Secretary gave approval to an LTTE request. That was to fly Political Wing leader, Mr. Thamilselvan from the Wanni to the East on matters related to post tsunami relief and rehabilitation in guerrilla held areas. However, the LTTE later intimated to the Peace Secretariat in Colombo it would not avail itself of that opportunity. But LTTE Chief Negotiator and ideologue, Anton Balasingham took a (CH 524) Bell helicopter from the Colombo airport to Wanni on Friday. He arrived in Colombo by Emirates flight EK 348 from Dubai. The helicopter had to be diverted to Anuradhapura due to bad weather. Mr. Balasingham then created history. He became the first member of the LTTE to sit down for a meal at an Officer's Mess of the Sri Lanka Air Force. He had told his escorts that being a Diabetic, he had to have his meals on time. Air Commodore Prasanna Ratnayake Base Commander who received him when the chopper landed at the SLAF air base in Anuradhapura soon made the arrangements. He later sat down with Mr. Balasingham for a meal of rice, dhal, beans and Mukunenna Mallung. "I have no restrictions," Mr. Balasingham replied when he was asked earlier whether he had any dietary controls. Accompanied by Tom Knappskog an official of the Norwegian Embassy, Mr. Balasingham, his wife Adele and Krishantha Kumar boarded the helicopter shortly after 11 a.m. from Colombo. This was after they were received upon arrival by Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne, Director (Operations) at the Peace Secretariat. Pilot Squadron Leader Anuruddha Bandara who was at the controls reported a bad weather patch north of Vavuniya. Around 1215 hours the chopper was forced to land at the SLAF base in Anuradhapura. It was an hour later, when the weather cleared, that Mr. Balasingham and party took off. The helicopter carrying them landed at the Kilinochchi Central College grounds. Later, Mr. Balasingham, clad in a light blue striped shirt, drove straight to a secret location past Puthukudiyiruppu for a meeting with LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Pictures of his arrival and meeting Mr. Prabhakaran were posted on the Tamilnet web site. Whether some in the very top echelons of the UPFA Government will still continue to doubt whether Mr. Prabhakaran is alive remains to be seen. In fact one of them admonished a top rung security forces officer over his not knowing that Mr. Prabhakaran's body had been washed ashore after the tsunami catastrophe. It was not only Mr. Balasingham's flight to Kilinochchi that was dogged by bad weather. Yesterday, the high powered 12-member Norwegian peace facilitator delegation led by Foreign Minister Jan Petersen, took off at 7 a.m. in an M-17 helicopter from the Ministry of Defence Grounds. The Russian-built troop transport helicopter with Flt. Lt. Asela Dodanmaluwa at the controls and helped by co-pilot Flying Officer Venura Silva touched down in Vavuniya for re-fuelling. After re-fuelling, Flt. Lt. Dodanmaluwa received a bad weather warning. He took off hoping he could penetrate the cloud patch but found it difficult. He returned to SLAF base in Vavuniya. Later, Army transport was arranged for the delegation to travel to Omanthai check-point. From there, around 10.10 a.m. the team crossed the stretch of no man's land in Norwegian Embassy vehicles and reached the LTTE side to continue their journey to Kilinochchi. The LTTE had also placed two Double Cabs at their disposal. The Norwegian team met Mr. Prabhakaran for talks yesterday. Anton Balasingham told journalists after yesterday's talks with Norwegian facilitators that aid to Sri Lanka after the tsunami disaster was being misused by the Government. He said their leader Mr. Prabhakaran had also told the delegation that the Government had taken steps to purchase arms from Iran at a cost of US $ 150 million dollars. He said the LTTE considered this act as an attempt to tilt the balance of military power. Some of the post tsunami irritants, no doubt, will have to be cleared. The LTTE is incensed by the Government's refusal to allow UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to visit Wanni. This is to enable him to see personally the damage that has been caused. The LTTE argues that other dignitaries like Chris Patten from the European Union and Yasushi Akashi, Japan's Special Envoy for the Sri Lankan peace process had been given access. Moreover they argue that several UN agencies were working very closely in the Wanni. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is now finalising plans to open an office in Mullaitivu. President Kumaratunga has already declared she had been hit by two tsunamis - the natural disaster and the LTTE acquisition of two aircraft. Whether the LTTE has any more tsunamis in store only the coming weeks and months will show. |
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