Desperate people resort to desperate acts of retaliation.
It is vital to strengthen the security of Colombo, and not with road blocks and vehicles searches only. These searches should be conducted with equipment operated by radio waves.
A large quantity of weapons has been smuggled into the country over the past two or three years, while the ceasefire agreement was in place. These contraband weapons are being concealed on the premises of homes in Colombo (usually hidden away behind ceilings), especially in condominiums.
However unpopular these searches are, they have to be conducted for the protection of our citizens. It is the government’s primary duty to protect its citizens.
These weapons do not drop out of the sky. They are smuggled into the country and stashed away in private homes. Regular searches must be conducted in houses, house premises, and condominiums across the city, especially in Bambalapitiya, Wellawatte, Ratmalana and Kotahena. These searches should be done with radio-wave equipment.
This kind of equipment is inexpensive to make and can be devised to detect bombs and guns. These are not metal detectors. Such equipment could also be used to check vehicles for guns and bombs. Such equipment costs only about Rs. 90,000, and is available in Israel and India. It would be a great pity if the authorities did not utilize such equipment to detect bombs and guns.
If a detection is made at a house, information could be extracted about other caches of illegal weapons. By conducting such searches, the government can ferret out hidden weapons and have the Tiger suicide cadres on the run. These suicide cadres are stationed in Colombo, and they receive their instructions from the Wanni.
If the government decides on a full-scale war, it should first flush out all illegal weapons in Colombo.
Claymore mines are inexpensive. They are assembled in huts in Jaffna. They consist of 700 steel balls packed in a metal case, and they are activated by a cell phone. In addition to having sniffer dogs to search out hidden claymore mines and remote control devices to deactivate them, the security forces should be given remote car equipment to detect and deactivate claymore mines.
We should enlist the services of experts in physics, mathematics and electronics engineering at the various universities to create such a device.
Regular publicity in the electronic and print media will deter Tiger supporters from harbouring these weapons, even those who are being forced to keep these weapons.
Prabhakaran will end his acts of violence only when he knows that the government has superior weapons that can annihilate him and his cadres.
Economics sanctions should be imposed, so that the people in the North will revolt against the Tigers.
Most of the items sent to the North are seized by the Tigers.
The Tigers are waiting for the monsoon to set in November to mount a large-scale attack on our forces. A protracted war costs money and human lives.
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