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| Sunday, 19 September 2004 |
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Navy strengthens Trincomalee by Rashomi Silva
The Sri Lankan and Indian Naval chiefs Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri and Admiral Arun Prakash discussed the importance of securing the international waters off the Eastern coasts. The Navy said that they had taken maximum precautions to strengthen the security of the Trincomalee harbour, which had recently come under threat from the LTTE. With the LTTE having over 13 camps in no-man's land and in Tiger-held Sampoor and Muttur, the possibilities are high that they could launch a suicide boat attack to block the harbour mouth. Sri Lanka is keen on maintaining a cordial relationship with India and could benefit more from India than from any other country in the region. "India with its superior military powers and better training facilities can provide better assistance to us than any other country," a senior military official explained. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior Naval official said that they could not rule out the possibility of an air threat by the LTTE with increasing rumours that Tigers possess light aircraft capable of flying short distances. However, the Navy media coordinator Commodore Jayantha Perera insisted that they had identified the threat and had informed the government and the SLMM on the issue. "All the camps are in rebel-held areas and there is very little we can do about that. All we could do is to take maximum possible security measures, which we have done already," he said. Despite the LTTE's history of infiltrating civilian areas and attacking strategically important military points such as the Palaly Airport, Kankasanthurai harbour and Point Pedro from the early stage of the Eelam war, it is doubtful if the LTTE would do so at this stage. "Even if the LTTE possesses powerful weapons to attack our Palaly and Kankasanthurai Bases, we have a secure route and a base where the LTTE's powerful 130 artillery cannot reach and this will ensure a continuous supply for the troopers in the North," a senior military official said on the grounds of anonymity. The LTTE seems to understand the reality but apparently they would not want to admit what is written on the wall. But if the LTTE succeeds in blocking the harbour mouth and cutting down the life line of over 5000 troopers in the North, they would definitely have a better footing at the talks as this would again change the military balance on which the peace initiative was based on. One could be sure that even if the LTTE would not overtly declare war against the Sri Lankan state probably due to the unfavourable international conditions, they would do every thing in their power to turn the tables and to spoil the favourable footing the government is enjoying today due to the unprecedented split within the LTTE. |
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