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The privileged few - Government leaders, Prince of Wales, foreign dignitaries, the media and a few hundred civilians - treated themselves to a spectacular three hour parade and cultural show on the banks of Diyawanna Oya last Wednesday.
Sri Lanka’s Golden Jubilee independence celebrations were for them. Armed Policemen and security forces personnel stood guard at every nook and corner, behind bunkers, at checkpoints and at lengthy bamboo lined queues frisking those entering the City.
The streets were gaily decorated. The Lion flag flew in the sweltering heat but the streets resembled a curfew day, empty and desolate.
Those tough measures had not only kept any guerrilla activity at bay but also the people in whose name independence was won five decades ago.
It was their freedoms that suffered whilst the privileged gathered to observe the glittering commemoration of independence.
If the LTTE which exploded a truck bomb at Sri Dalada Maligawa, succeeded in preventing a gala celebration in Kandy and forced a shift of venue to Colombo, it notched up another achievement - posing more threats that exceedingly heightened security in the City.
Though it prevented lakhs of ordinary people from taking part in the celebrations, the event itself went off without any untoward incidents.
That is not to say that the LTTE went quiet after the truck bomb explosion.
They were quite busy last week triggering off a string of incidents, both in the theatre of conflict and outside.
In the process they also suffered a debacle that was to be one of the worst in the 16 year long separatist war.
In the eastern Batticaloa district, which the Government boasts as a controlled area, it made the conduct of independence celebrations impossible.
In the north, they attacked security forces defences in Elephant Pass, Paranthan and Kilinochchi. The fighting still continues.
In the deep south, they disrupted traffic along highways that had hitherto remained some of the safest areas and burnt down vehicles.
And barely five hours after the Prince of Wales, the Chief Guest for the Golden Jubilee celebrations, left our shores, LTTE suicide bombers exploded killing three airmen and two women soldiers at a checkpoint in Malay Street, Kompanna Veediya (or Slave Island). It came as tough security measures, in force for three days, were scaled down.
With the truck bomb explosion at Sri Dalada Maligawa, it became clear that the LTTE was stepping up violent activity on a broader scale.
On Tuesday night (February 3), LTTE cadres blasted two electricity transformers at Sittandy and Iginiyagala. The bulk of the power supply to Batticaloa was through these two transformers. The black-out lasted throughout independence day preventing residents from watching on television live coverage of celebrations in Kotte.
On Wednesday morning artillery fire began to rain on several locations. Four airmen were injured when it fell on the SLAF base. Three more soldiers were injured when 233 Brigade Headquarters in Batticaloa came under artillery fire.
In the adjoining Kachcheri complex, an artillery shell landed near an open area where independence day celebrations were to be held.
All locally based heads of corporations, departments, religious dignitaries and leading citizens were among those invited to a security forces-Police parade and other ceremonies including the hoisting of the national flag at the auspicious time of 8.37 a.m. The timing was based on celebrations planned for Kandy.
However, last Monday, The Ministry of Home Affairs had decided the flag hoisting should be at 9.32 a.m. after new auspicious hours were worked out for the Colombo celebrations.
Hence the ceremonies were delayed by an hour. The decision saved the lives of many participants who would otherwise have been in the Kachcheri complex where the artillery attacks were directed. Did the LTTE go by the earlier auspicious times when they carried out the artillery attack ?
Independence day also saw the escalation of heavy fighting in Kilinochchi, Elephant Pass and Paranthan areas. On February 1, evidently seizing the opportunity created by the withdrawal of troops and battle tanks for ceremonies in Colombo, Tiger guerrillas launched attacks on six different points in the defences. They succeeded in breaking through three of them.
But days earlier, Brigadier Kapila Hendavithana, who was then acting Director of Military Intelligence, had told Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Rohan de S. Daluwatte, that there was a heavy build up of Tiger cadres around the defences at Kilinochchi and Paranthan.
Intelligence channels had confirmed that a massive attack was being planned since LTTE cadres were massing their strength from January 31. Lt. Gen. Daluwatte alerted the security forces command in Jaffna.
The attacks came around 1.30 a.m. last Sunday. A group of Tiger cadres broke in through the defences near the salterns at Elephant Pass. A group of Black Tiger guerrillas damaged a 200 foot tower that facilitated micro wave communications including telephones. Destroying this tower would have meant the disruption of communications between Elephant Pass and Palaly. The bodies of eight black tiger cadres with unexploded suicide jackets, together with RPGs and Light Machine Guns were found in the area.
Military officials said that 120 mm artillery guns seized by the LTTE during the July, 1996, attack on Mullaitivu Military Base was used heavily at Elephant Pass-Paranthan area causing extensive damage to buildings. The action clearly showed the LTTE was still in possession of very large quantities of artillery shells.
Another group that went for the artillery positions were beaten back. Troops of Air Mobile Brigade laid an ambush and thwarted an attempt by a group of guerrillas to take away a 130 mm artillery gun.
Simultaneously with this attack came strikes from two different fronts, from west and east of Kilinochchi defences. Troops repulsed the attack on the eastern front inflicting the highest casualties on Tiger guerrillas. On the western sector, the fighting turned out to be fierce with the attackers extending themselves to the southern FDLs of Kilinochchi. This forced the security forces to make a tactical withdrawal northwards by shrinking almost a kilometre from the southern defences of Kilinochchi.
This was to give rise to LTTE claims that they had ousted the security forces from the Kilinochchi town and planted their flag there. The LTTE on Monday admitted to the loss of 157 of its cadres. They also claimed the troops had withdrawn to Karadipokku junction (north of Kilinochchi). The claim was hotly denied by the Security Forces Commander in Jaffna, Major General Lionel Balagalle.
Military sources confirmed that the southern part of the Kilinochchi defences had fallen into LTTE hands. These sources said the security forces had fallen back to their second defensive position but would soon regain the area. A joint Commando-Air Mobile Brigade operation was launched yesterday to re-take the area. Since the security forces had fortified their defences in southern Kilinochchi to avoid LTTE artillery, the task for the troops did not appear easy.
A senior military official said the troops would move cautiously in trying to regain areas in Kilinochchi now lost to the LTTE. "We want to ensure minimum casualties. We are not in a mighty hurry," he said.
Troops engaged in the ten month long "Operation Jaya Sikurui" were to link up with the security forces defences south of Kilinochchi to complete the offensive and thus link north with the south. And now, the priority appeared to be the re-capture of the southern defences. The matter pre-occupied Joint Operations Headquarters top brass who met on Wednesday evening for an independence day party in Vavuniya. Sipping a soft drink, Overall Operations Commander (OOC), Major General Srilal Weerasuriya, was talking about the new developments with senior officers.
With counter offensives under way, Deputy Defence Minister General Anuruddha Ratwatte, who resumed his role as the man running the military machine against the LTTE flew to the north yesterday accompanied by service top brass.
Army Headquarters in Colombo were speeding up the transfer of troops (who took part in the independence celebrations) to the battle areas. Tanks and artillery were also being moved out of Colombo but officials said it would take another "day or two" to complete the task.
A larger volume of calls the Army Headquarters received in the past few days from field commanders in the battle areas were requests to hurriedly return their men and material.
The battles at Kilinochchi, Elephant Pass and Paranthan appear to have taken a heavy toll on the LTTE. Last Monday, Jaffna Security Forces Commander, Major General Balagalle, told CNN the LTTE death toll would exceed 300, a record high. He said he had offered to hand over over 200 bodies to the LTTE through the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross).
Procedural tangles including security for ICRC personnel taking part in the handing over ceremonies put paid to the event. The security forces cremated the bodies of Tiger guerrillas that were in their hands. As for security forces personnel killed in action, the Operational Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence placed the figure at 34 including an officer. Though not publicised, military officials took charge of the bodies of 41 more soldiers from ICRC at Madhu. An undisclosed number of these bodies, which were beyond identification, were cremated after a late night military ceremony on Tuesday at the 211 Brigade Headquarters in Vavuniya. On Friday, the ashes were delivered to the respective regimental headquarters where they will add to the remains of unknown soldiers. By Thursday night, further 28 soldiers were reported missing in action.
Security forces casualties were estimated at over 300 with a third described as P1 or serious cases. The Army commissioned 14 buses from Jaffna and drove them down to Paranthan under heavy escort to induct fresh troops and pick up the wounded. This is in view of the non availability of aircraft.
They were detailed for independence celebrations. However, aircraft was available to airlift a battalion from Vavuniya to the battle areas after fighting broke out.
By Tuesday, the Operational Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence placed the LTTE casualties at 350 only to be increased further on Friday by General Anuruddha Ratwatte to 450 (Daily News - February 6).
Such a very heavy casualty toll meant a worst debacle for the LTTE since Major General Janaka Perera and his men repulsed a major Tiger assault on the Weli Oya Defence Complex in July, 1995.
It is no secret that figures of LTTE casualties are exaggerated. By General Ratwatte’s own admission (Sunday Island - November 2) there were only 2,500 LTTE cadres. If that is so, one fifth have already been wiped out in last week’s battles in the Wanni.
But statistics apart, there is no doubt that the security forces inflicted very heavy casualties on the LTTE in the Wanni battles. These battles came just a week after the LTTE truck bomb exploded at the Sri Dalada Maligawa. This is kind of reminder that it had not taken more than a week for a curse to strike claimed a defence official. The message from this incident was much more than mere statistics. Although the Government believes figures as the yardstick of success in this separatist war.
The Government’s impotency in dealing with such situations was very clearly demonstrated last week. Here is an occasion when the security forces had inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy and won a remarkable victory. Representatives of the world’s media was on our doorstep to report on Prince Charles’s visit and the Golden Jubilee independence celebrations. Why was not this opportunity used to show the entire world what has happened? They could have seen for themselves and judged things by themselves. Is this not the reason why the Government’s message is not reaching the outside world the way it should ? Could anyone be blamed if the Government’s own credibility is in doubt because of contradictory statistics ? The answer is not to blame the media (both local and foreign) every time there is adverse reportage or to dub them with dubious names. It has still not dawned on the PA leadership that whatever gains made by the security forces gets buried in a credibility crisis which widens every time there is a major attack. So much for the LTTE debacle in the Wanni last week.
LTTE’s efforts to destabilise the deep south also continued last week. Last Tuesday night LTTE cadres seized nine vehicles, ordered the occupants to alight, took them into the jungle and set them ablaze. The incident occurred at Wadinagala on the Amparai-Siyambalanduwa Road.
In the City, the scaling down of security measures some six hours after Prince Charles left Colombo, saw a suicide bomb explosion outside the Army/Air Force checkpoint at Malay Street on Thursday. Three airmen, two soldiers and three LTTE suicide cadres were killed. Five more civilians were injured.
Police have still not ascertained the target the suicide bomber (a girl clad in a Punjabi attire) or her accomplice carrying a brief case were planning to take. Although Police believe the explosion was triggered off by the suicide bomber wearing an explosive lined jacket, military officials are of the view that the brief case contained a bomb.
Intelligence sources say there were seven other LTTE suicide teams that have infietrated the City. The Operations Command, Colombo, Secretariat has cautioned security forces and Police to be vigilant against them.
The heightened LTTE activity calls the propaganda bluff of Deputy DefenceMinister Ratwatte that 96% of the war is over. It is a grim reminder that the war is not something to toy about as another political gimmick to gain a cheap one upmanship over political adversaries. In fact the saddest part of the tragedy of the events that challenged the Golden Jubilee celebrations was that the worst ever affront to the Nation,the attack on the Sri Dalada Maligawa was subordinated by the political theatrics that followed that calamity. It only augmented the ignominious reality that personalized political interest takes precedence over national priorities. And ironically all this was enacted at the 50th celebration of Independence. Need anything more be said of how we should fashion our attitudes and commitments in the next 50 years and into the new millenium. The other aspect of concern is that the events of the past week clearly indicates that the LTTE has widened its strategic options. That is the only way it could contain the superior strength and equipment of the Armed Forces. That is to compel the Forces to deploy into a wide range of commitments and deny them the advantage of concentrating on Operation Jaya Sikurui. Not only would this give the LTTE some tactical relief in its military effort but they would also hope to gain some political advantage by exerting pressure on the Government.
They have already created political agitation by the attack on the Maligawa and they would endeavour to maintain this pressure on the Government. By maintaining a multi-prong strategy, the LTTE would hope to maintain their image that inspite of having lost control of the Jaffna Peninsula and the pressure of Jaya Sikurui, they remain a force to be contended with both militarily and politically.
Now that the Golden Jubilee tamashas are over and the political theatricals on side stage, at least for the moment, it is time that the Government got its real act together and formulate its strategies in the larger interests of the Nation. It is not the kudos of today or a victory of one battle that matters but a national effort to win the war and de escalate political confrontations on all fronts so that the Country can look forward to prosperity in the next fifty years. That is the task in hand today to ensure the security of the nation.
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