Situation Report

Electronic air defence for LTTE airstrip
The Sri Lanka Air Force Bell 212 helicopter took off from the Central College grounds in Tiger guerrilla held Kilinochchi last Monday morning stirring up clouds of red dust.

At the controls was Flight Lieutenant Sumudu Dahanayake. He maintained a low altitude of 100 feet over the Alpha Nine (A-9) Kandy-Jaffna highway and headed to Vavuniya. Co-pilot Sameera Gunawardena kept a watchful eye on the ground below and over the horizon. Though there were no combat missions after the three year long ceasefire, flying over one time enemy territory made them more alert.

The time was exactly 9.40 a.m. The helicopter was over the Iranamadu irrigation tank and the guerrilla's newly built 1.2 kilometre long airstrip when a red light began to blink on the cockpit console. Flt. Lt. Dahanayake soon realised it was the Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS) being activated automatically. Simultaneously an audio warning came on his Bome Dome, the headgear military pilots wear. In other words, equipment on board the helicopter had identified a missile threat on the ground below and was warning the pilots.

Within seconds the counter missile system in the helicopter was automatically activated. It began dispensing flares, one after another, from the left side of the helicopter, the section that was facing the airstrip area. Soon the 60 flares located in a pod on the left side were exhausted.

These flares are designed to distract surface to air missiles fired at aircraft and helicopters. They create sparks, like fireworks, and attract the missiles which are heat seeking. Thus they explode in the sky instead of destroying the target. Such counter missile systems came to be equipped in Sri Lanka Air force aircraft and helicopters after it came to light in 1995 that Tiger guerrillas had acquired surface-to-air missiles.

This incident occurred last Monday when the SLAF chopper was returning after a theatre-to-theatre transfer of guerrilla cadres. It had landed earlier that day in Sampur, the area that overlooks the Trincomalee port, to pick up Soosaipillai Joseph Anthonydas or "Colonel Sornam," the military leader for the district.

Accompanying him was Elilan, the political wing leader and three others who were bodyguards. They had been summoned to Wanni for a meeting with Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

On the return journey, besides the two pilots, also on board the helicopter was a member of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the Peace Secretariat in Colombo. They were witnesses to the event.

Upon his return to Colombo, Flt. Lt. Dahanayake filed what is known in Air Force parlance as an SOR - a Special Occurrence Report. He gave all details of the encounter to Air Force Headquarters. In that report, he also observed something which had not been reported before - a tall tower close to the airstrip. Since it was located away from the runway and a smaller apron, Air Force officials say this could not be an air control tower. However, they are unable to establish what this tower is.

This no doubt will cause added concern to the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Donald Perera who has been forced to look at new guerrilla threat perceptions posed by their acquisition of air capability. This is after the LTTE built a new runway and acquired at least two light aircraft. One of them has been identified with the help of United States authorities as a Czech-built Zlin Z-143.

What is most worrying for the Air Force is the fact that similar events had taken place twice on February 10 this year. This was exclusively revealed in The Sunday Times (Situation Report - February 13, 2005). Interesting enough, that occasion too involved a theatre-to-theatre transfer of "Col. Sornam." That is not all. The pilot at the controls on that occasion was also Flt. Lt. Dahanayake. Excerpts of this report will give an idea of what happened then:

"Flt. Lt. (Sumudu) Dahanayake (erroneously referred to as Dassanayake earlier) touched down at the Air Force base in Vavuniya to re-fuel. Thereafter, in the company of a member of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and a representative of the Peace Secretariat in Colombo, who had boarded the helicopter in Hingurakgoda, he took off for Kilinochchi.

"…….When the heliclopter was on the stretch of this highway near the Iranamadu irrigation tank and the LTTE's newly built airstrip (both on his right), something unexpected happened. He saw a red light blink on his cockpit console…..

"The electronic counter missile system had automatically activated itself. The result - sixty flares located in a pod on the right side of the helicopter (facing the airstrip) were set off one after another….

"One could have dismissed the event as a malfunction in the electronic counter missile system. But in such an eventuality, a warning in the form of an amber light in the cockpit console, facing the Co-pilot, would have blinked. Moreover, the electronic counter missile system is equipped to verify a missile threat 17 times per second before triggering off a MAWS - a Missile Approach Warning System.

"The Air Force electronic counter missile system is capable of countering some of the advanced anti aircraft missiles though the Tiger guerrillas are known to have, in the past, used only Russian built SAM 7s.

"There was more when Flt. Lt. Dahanayaake was on his return journey. Again when the helicopter was over the Alpha Nine (A-9) highway near the Iranamadu tank and the LTTE airstrip, both on his left, a missile approach warning system was automatically activated. Once more, sixty flares from a pod located on the left side. Of the helicopter began firing one after another. This seemed the second fireworks display of sorts over the Kilinochchi skies within an hour."

The latest event has convinced the Air Force that the LTTE had acquired electronic air defence systems to protect their newly constructed airstrip and air assets. Any iota of doubt that other reasons caused the February 10 events where flares on an Air Force helicopter were triggered off automatically on two different occasions has now been dispelled, according to senior Air Force officials. Besides studying this new development, they are also busy trying to identify the newly-built tower near the airstrip.

Though yet to be confirmed, Air Force had also received reports of Tiger guerrilla training using the light aircraft in their possession. They are said to have been carrying out landing and take-offs using the new airstrip. There have also been reports of guerrilla cadres undergoing flight training in a foreign country.

The Government has raised issue over the airstrip with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the Air Force is formulating plans to meet the new threats posed. The SLMM had requested the LTTE for access to inspect the new airstrip following the Government's complaint that it had come up during the period of the ceasefire. In the past the LTTE is learnt to have parried such requests on the grounds that the area they wanted to visit were heavily mined and thus inaccessible.

However, The Sunday Times learnt that SLMM members told the LTTE of a date on which they wanted to proceed to the area. This was after the Peace Secretariat made repeated complaints to them about the construction of the airstrip during the ceasefire. They said it was a violation of the Ceasefire Agreement.

But SLMM members were unable to proceed to the location as planned. Along the route through a stretch of forest, they found many trees had been felled across the road. Clearing the road was impossible and they had to return without inspecting the airstrip area. Peace Secretariat officials expect the SLMM to raise issue once again with the Tiger guerrilla leadership.

The construction of a new airstrip and acquisition of light aircraft continue to worry the Government. Last month, intelligence reports that a light aircraft in knocked down condition and packed in large crates was destined for Tiger guerrillas from an Asian port prompted action at the highest levels.

The matter was raised at diplomatic levels with authorities in that country. They activated their law enforcement machinery but were unable to detect the crates. Were these crates moved out after the Government took action? The authorities in that country are conducting a detailed probe. The Government has already made available to them a dossier containing details of how the LTTE has acquired air capability.

An Indian expert who was in Sri Lanka in March this year to study some of the Government's counter measures to guerrilla air threats had viewed the subject with serious concern. So much so, he had considerably enhanced some of the measures the Government had proposed utilising sophisticated technology. He is to hand over a full report to the Government on various other aspects of his findings.

In addition, further foreign assistance in the form of training and equipment is likely soon. These developments come as the Government moved this week to address new security concerns arising out of other developments. This is mainly in the backdrop of Government plans to re-structure the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and broad base the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the resultant threats posed by trade unions. This situation is said to assume greater significance in view of Government plans to accept the Norwegian brokered Joint Mechanism with the LTTE.

Defence Secretary Major General (retd.) Asoka Jayawardena chaired a top level conference at the Joint Operations Headquarters on Thursday. It focused on ensuring that essential services are maintained and thus normal life of the community is not disrupted. Taking part in the discussion were armed forces chiefs Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri, Chief of Defence Staff (and Commander, Navy) Lt. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda (Army), Air Marshal Donald Perera (Air Force) and Chandra Fernando (Police Chief). Measures to deal with any threats of sabotage or attempts to disrupt essential services were discussed.

It was only on Friday evening that President Kumaratunga outlined details of the proposed Joint Mechanism to a delegation of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). During a four and half hour discussion, members of the JVP expressed their opposition to the move. This is likely to delay a planned announcement by the Government of its acceptance of the JM.

However, Norwegian efforts to expedite the JM are continuing. Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen is due in Colombo on May 18 for talks with Government leaders. During the same period Special Envoy Erik Solheim is expected to fly from Oslo to London for talks with LTTE chief negotiator Anton Balasingham.

The thrust of the latest initiatives by the Norwegain peace facilitators is to set the stage for a meeting of donor co-chairs to consider renewed aid pledges. The co-chairs, the United States, Japan, the European Union and Norway want to review the pledges they made during their Tokyo round. This is particularly in the backdrop of the tsunami catastrophe. However, the planned meeting of the co-chairs will hinge on the official announcement of Government's acceptance of the Joint Mechanism.

Friday's talks between President Kumaratunga and a delegation from the JVP ended inconclusively after the latter raised strong objections to the JM. Already the JVP is on the warpath over proposals to re-structure the Ceylon Electricity Board and has issued an ultimatum to President Kumaratunga to withdraw the move within one month. As our Political Editor comments on the opposite page, the four JVP Cabinet Ministers have decided to keep away from taking part in Cabinet meetings until the decision to re-structure the CEB is changed.

For a government trapped in a serious political crisis, uniting with its one time arch enemy is no doubt an uphill task. More so when the LTTE has militarily strengthened itself and acquired an air capability during the ceasefire.

The Government's mood is reflected in the light hearted banter that followed the Kumaratunga-JVP meet. In the wake of the opposition expressed by the JVP to the Joint Mechanism, Prime Minister was to remark, somewhat jocularly, that it would be better for them to cross over to the Opposition and let Ranil Wickremesinghe form a Government. "I would rather resign my Presidency than do that," quipped President Kumaratunga. That drew a sharp retort from Mangala Samaraweera. "If you resign, Ranil will become the President." There was laughter all round.

Joke or no joke, there seems little choice for the UPFA. Like the well known Sinhala adage, it has to kiss the hand it cannot cut or give the Tiger guerrillas the JM they demand without delay. In doing so, their other hand, or the junior partner, the JVP has made clear; they will not be there any more when this is done.

The gravity of Newton's disappearance
It's now official. Thamotherampillai Sivakumar alias Newton, a high ranking official of the intelligence arm of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a man who knows many a top secret of the guerrillas, has gone missing since April 20.

LTTE Intelligence Wing leader T. Shivashankar alias Pottu Amman has launched a massive manhunt to track down his whereabouts. This has received the highest priority for his men in the Wanni after the leadership cancelled some important engagements. They also placed their cadres on high alert following fears that Newton had been captured by military intelligence or a state intelligence arm. Hence they are in deep fear that some of their best kept secrets will fall into Government hands thus making their security interests vulnerable and compromising their sources.

But highly-placed Government sources insist they know nothing about Newton except the account that appeared in The Sunday Times. One source claimed that months earlier Newton had wanted to quit the LTTE and suggested it was possible he had fled the country under some guise or the other.

Tiger intelligence cadres operating in the city and suburbs, state intelligence agencies learnt, were also scouring the city for any signs of how he disappeared together with a friend, Kanakaratnam Manoharan Nehru and driver known only as Bandi Raja.

State intelligence agencies learnt that the LTTE was so concerned by this sudden disappearance that they have launched plans to even abduct those whom they believe are in the know of Newton's whereabouts. They want to take such persons to Kilinochchi for interrogation to help track down their top most intelligence man.

Newton's disappearance became official only after 51-year-old Punithawathy Manoharan Nehru walked into the Wellawatte Police Station on April 25 to make a complaint. She told the Police that her husband Kanagaratnam Manoharan Nehru, a Co-ordinating Officer of the Education Ministry had gone missing. He was assigned to the North-East Division and functioned from Jaffna.

Punithavathy Manoharan Nehru told the Police: "On April 19 my husband went to the Education Department at Battaramulla and returned home for lunch. He received a call around 9.30 p.m. that night on their home telephone. After the call, he told me that it was from a Sivakumar from Kilinochchi. He said he needs a driver to travel to Kandy. He had wanted help.

"My husband called Bandi Raja, a driver from Negombo. After he agreed to come, my husband told him to arrive at 3 am (on April 20) at our residence. After that I do not know whether my husband called Siva or he called my husband. After the telephone call was made to Bandi Raja, around 11.30 p.m. Siva (Sivakumar alias Newton) came to our house. He came alone. He had dinner there.

"I have not seen him before. It was my husband who told me he was from Kilinochchi. He also slept in our house. Around 3.30 in the morning, Bandi Raja arrived. I gave him a cup of tea. Around 4.15 am my husband, Siva and the driver left home saying they are going to Kandy.

"My husband did not carry a mobile phone. He did not take the mobile phone because he said he was returning the same night. I do not know their vehicle. Till now they have not come home. We did not search for them on April 20.

"We did not search for them on April 21 thinking that they had gone for a job. On the morning of April 22, my husband's two brothers and an uncle, Velupillai Arunasalam went to Kandy. They searched for them at the Police Station and the Hospital. They came home in the night. On April 23 and 24, they also went to the houses of my husband's friends. The search was not successful. We have not received any information up to now.

"My husband is 56 years old. For the last time he was wearing a short sleeved blue/green checked shirt, black trouser and shoes. He is bald headed. He has a moustache. I do not remember the colour of the driver's shirt or his trousers. He is also bald headed. Because of this, the driver always wears a cap. Siva also has a normal body. He is about 40 to 45 years old. He also sports a moustache."

Punithawathy Manoharan also told the Police that when she found that the whereabouts of her husband were not known, she got in touch with Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Nadarajah Raviraj, a relative.

Mr. Raviraj, a Jaffna district parliamentarian told The Sunday Times he was very concerned about the whereabouts of Kanakaratnam Manoharan Nehru. He said he was making inquiries to trace him and others who have gone missing.

In the process, Mr. Raviraj said, he also made inquiries from the LTTE. He said they were very concerned about the whereabouts of Mr. Sivakumar and were eagerly making their own inquiries. In fact the LTTE, Mr. Raviraj said, was even willing to talk to the Government to secure his release, even offering to release anyone whom they may be holding. However, he has not made any approaches so far.

This is the first time there is official confirmation that a top rung Tiger guerrilla cadre was operating in the city and had gone missing. The first report of this disappearance appeared in The Sunday Times (Situation Report) of April 24. Although it was believed that Newton and the two others may have returned to the Wanni, it became clear later that he had not arrived there. To the contrary, his absence had raised serious concerns there.

If Newton and party went missing in the morning hours of April 20, the next day Inspector T. Jeyaratnam, who was one time attached to the counter terrorism unit of the Mount Lavinia Police, was reported missing. This was after he attended a lavish dinner hosted by Mano, a former PLOT member at a leading hotel in Mount Lavinia. He had returned home in a vehicle sent by the host and left for work early the next day.

State intelligence agencies now have confirmation that Mr. Jeyaratnam had been abducted by Tiger guerrillas and taken to Wanni. A source said he was being interrogated.

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