For
the second Full Moon Poya in succes sion, the LTTE attempted a major City
target - the Kelanitissa Thermal Power Station at Orugodawatte.
They failed to achieve their objective - setting ablaze the power complex that supplements Greater Colombo's power supply but succeeded in laying bare for the second time in a month, how glaringly vulnerable City's security has become.
During the first few hours after the abortive incident beginning pre- dawn Friday, the Government down played it. Official news releases put out by the Operational Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence said a leaking fuel tank had caused the fire at Kelanitissa.
As a precautionary measure, the Ministry said, the area has been sealed off by the security authorities, "....movement of traffic has been suspended temporarily in the City of Colombo" the Ministry said.
The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation interrupted its programmes to repeatedly announce this statement and to appeal to the public to keep away from the City. The announcement was repeated even after the roads were cleared for traffic. Though a Poya Day, thousands who were entering or leaving the City were tremendously inconvenienced.
If that was bad enough, what was worse was the fact that the Government learnt of the LTTE involvement a whole TEN hours later. That was when the Operational Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence put out a news release to say a "very small group of LTTE terrorists had fixed explosive devices designed to set off automatically on the fuel storage tanks of the Kelanitissa Power Station."
The drama began shortly after 4.30 am on Friday, Poya Day, when two successive explosions occurred within seconds after another. They left inch sized holes in two of the four main fuel tanks located at the rear of the Thermal Power complex forcing some 400 to 500 litres of diesel to gush out. A minor fire broke out and within two hours the fire was brought under control.
The Sunday Times learnt that suspected LTTE cadres cut through the chain link fence at the rear and entered the precincts of the power complex. They walked through two tall sentry towers, reportedly both empty at that time. Thereafter they had affixed magnet laden improvised explosive devices to all four tanks with timing devices.
According to military explosives experts, the devices had been timed to explode in 15 minutes - an indication that they had been placed only hours early by the intruders. One CEB source told The Sunday Times that a Police guard was within a few feet away from the point where the intruders had placed the explosive devices.(Yet it had not caught his attention. Was he asleep? Were those men detailed to man the sentry towers not in their positions because they too were asleep? Officials The Sunday Times spoke to, did not wish to comment.
The Sunday Times learnt that two of the explosive devices exploded whilst the remaining two fell to the ground. The resultant panic brought more armed policemen rushing into the area. The word went round that the LTTE had launched another Poya Day attack. One Police official told a news agency some 15 LTTEers were inside exchanging fire with the Police. A CEB official was quoted by a private radio station as saying that the Tigers had fired a rocket propelled grenade at the thermal power plant setting it ablaze.
Wire services picked up the story and world capitals were buzzing with the story of a another Tiger attack in the City of Colombo. Barely an hour thereafter, the MOD began down playing the story by saying that it was only a fuel leak that had caused the fire.
Colombo based diplomats were shocked at the developments. One head of a western diplomatic mission who was on his way to the Colombo Airport was turned away by security forces who had hurriedly set up road- blocks. Those travelling to the Bandaranaike International Airport spent hours in traffic snarls before being allowed to leave.
The Sunday Times learnt that the abortive attack on the Kelanitissa Thermal Power plant came despite intelligence warnings a week ago. The warning also spoke of an LTTE attempt at the Central Telephone Exchange in Fort prompting the authorities to seal off Bristol Street.
Shortly after the incident, Police dogs that were brought into the scene sniffed their way to a small bag that had been left behind by the intruders. It is said to have contained a small quantity of explosives. The dogs walked near the chain link fence but lost their scent since the heavy rains had flooded the area.
Ven Gunapitiye Ariyaratna Thera who has been in charge of the small temple in front of the power plant for nearly three years, where people came running to for shelter that morning, said that on Wednesday (12th) a major search operation was conducted in the area in anticipation of a terrorist attack.
"When I heard the first explosion at 4.45 a.m. I immediately suspected an attack because of the search operation carried out just two days earlier and because of previous rumours that the power plant was a target."
P.D.Hemasiri, who was in the quarters inside the power plant at the time of the blast said that they were asleep when it happened and awoke only to see something burning. "It was not the tanks but I saw the fire from the pipe- lines. Then it was followed by about six more explosions. We did not stay back to find out. We ran away to save our lives," he said.
"Usually four stay in charge of the main gate while two others stay in charge of the small gate on the side, and the others guard around the fences. But due to the heavy showers, the guards near the fences would probably not have been on duty," he said.
S.Jayaratna, a security guard in a government factory opposite the power plant who was on the night shift that day said that he heard four blasts and the next thing he knew was that the Navy was in full control of the place.
He said: " I saw the fire from the peep hole on the gate and that there were no people on the road at the time or any other suspicious person or thing around."
According to people who have been living in the area for quite a number of years told The Sunday Times that they neither saw anyone entering or leaving the premises and if someone in fact had entered the plant it had to be from the side of the canal where there are several fully grown plants which covers the light from the towers on that side placing the area in complete darkness. They added that there is a small village on the side of the canal through where someone could have escaped.
According to informed sources, the security in many of the strategic power stations is lax. Therefore, if an attack similar to one at the Kelanitissa Power Station (KPS) occurred in one of these locations the gravity of the situation would have been much worse.
Moreover, despite the high security at the Kelanitissa Power Station sources alleged that they were unprepared for an attack of this nature. They alleged that the authorities in charge of security at the CEB were being paid very high salaries in addition to various other benefits.
He was
the first journalist to enter the Kelanitissa power plant before dawn on Friday
as confusion and panic gripped the area over the explosions. He was the last to
leave the power station more than six hours later after being grilled and
detained by the police.
W. A. Piyadasa the Wellampitiya correspondent of our sister paper the Lankadeepa, gives a first hand account of what happened in the power station premises, what happened to him and how the solid support of some media colleagues had helped him out of police detention.
"I organised and was taking part in a perahara and Katina Poojah on that Poya morning near the Kelanitissa power station.. But we had proceeded only a short distance when we saw people running in all directions saying that the Kelanitissa power house had been attacked.
"With the journalistic instinct in me working, I ran to the power plant and came to the main gate. I was stopped by a police officer but I identified myself as a journalist. I saw a police vehicle at the main gate and a few police officers. They told me that I was the first mediaman to arrive and let me in.
"Rushing from the main gate to the barrier inside the plant which was quite a distance , I was not stopped by anyone. I ran towards the area where I saw a fire.
A Police officer there again questioned me but I identified myself and he told me they had not seen any intruders. By 5.30 a.m. they put out the fire.
"I was told the explosions had caused minor damage to the tanks but they had been quickly patched up. I saw flames going to the height of one of the tanks.
"I decided to stay around for a while and speak to the officers inside once the situation was under control. That was when I faced an ordeal.
"It was around six a.m. when a police officer( later identified as ASP G. Dissanayaka) approached me. He asked me what I was doing inside the plant and I replied I was from the media. He said no media personnel had been allowed inside and asked how I came in.
"I was then detained, first by a lady police officer and then by another and I feared I might end up on the fourth floor. I saw some newspaper colleagues standing outside the gate and in desperation I called out for help.
"My colleagues told me not to go with the police or make any statement. So I told the police I would make a statement only in the presence of my colleagues. This noisy dispute went on for sometime. "The police fired questions at me as to how and why I came, but my media colleagues from outside the gate also kept on supporting me. Some of them even staged a sit-down protest, till one police officer finally allowed me to go. By 11 a.m. I walked out, grateful and inspired by the support of the fellow journalists who stood by me.
Chandrananda
de Silva: arrives at the scene much laterOn October 14th night, there was a
heavy shower but the following day, Oct. 15, the Poya, it was all sunny again
before the Twin Tower Truck bomb attack took place.
One month later, Nov. 13, again a day before a Poya, there was a heavy shower with thunder and lightning. On the following day, calm returned but only to be shattered by a series of blasts at the Kelanitissa power stations. Are the terrorist by some twist of a sick mind now choosing Poya days to attack selected targets in the city or was this a mere coincidence?
Mediamen were at the power plant's gates, virtually in a flash. But what awaited them was harassment and humiliation. Journalists who rushed to the scene were not allowed anywhere near the site, probably on instructions from some top military officials.
It is military spokesman Brigadier Sarath Munasinghe was first quoted on radio as saying that it was not a terrorist attack but a fire caused due to some technical defect. It took them almost ten hours to admit what almost everybody knew by then — it was not an accident but a terrorist attack though a clumsy one.
City dwellers heard five or six explosions and the surrounding areas were cordoned off in the aftermath of the attack, raising doubts of the govt.'s initial claim.
Journalists pleaded with security personnel at the site that they be allowed to go in but it was like talking to walls. Defence Secretary Chandrananda de Silva who arrived well after all happened asked journalists, "What are you all doing here?" Come, come, Mr. de Silva surely, you would have known that the journalists had not come there on a sight seeing tour. A mere logical question would have been why the Defence Secretary was not there earlier.
A little later, Minister C. V. Gooneratne came and was promptly allowed in. At this stage, the journalists again asked that they too be allowed in. But there request was turned down. Mr. Gooneratne responding to the uproar of the mediamen said he too did not want to go in. So he went back, as did the journalists after a five-hour wait. Not only fuel tanks, but also media freedom came under attack.
The main opposition on Friday raised doubts about the credibility of the government following its initial announcement that the fire at the Kelanitissa power station was caused by a diesel leakage.
"If there was a fire of this nature it is not necessary to put into effect external security measures, but take only internal steps.
Therefore the government should come out with the truth", UNP General Secretary Gamini Atukorale said in a statement.
Mr. Atukorale pointed out that when the Kataragama attack took place the Government said the LTTE were not involved in the incident and attackers were wearing green caps while blaming the UNP for it. He said even during the Galadari attack the government blamed the UNP.
'There is no use of the government using the state media to carry out false propaganda. The state should act in a responsible manner when it comes to the security of the citizens', the statement said.
The UNP called on the government to end petty political differences and seek the co-operation of the people to ensure security as it has been the practice of the LTTE to carry out attacks in other areas while the troops were engaged in Operation Jaya sikurui.
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