Black Tigers- the ultimate weapon

War and Peace - The Defence Diary by Ranga Jayasuriya

If the Tigers could succeed in throwing the entire nation into a sense of uncertainty, the fear psychosis and increasing uncertainty within the LTTE itself was very evident last week.

The Tigers who throughout the truce agreement marked the anniversary of Black Tigers or the suicide cadres, their ultimate weapon, in a big show had to relegate it to a low-key event this week.

During the past occasions, the Black Tigers were displayed public. They rallied on the parade grounds with their faced covered in black mask to avoid identification.

It was the very deeds of Army the Tigers, specially Black Tigers - two of them recently targeted the Commander and Deputy Chief of Staff- and fear and uncertainty of an eventual and sudden reaction by the Security Forces that forced the Tigers to rethink about the procedures.

The LTTE marked the Black Tiger day on July 5 in much scaled down ceremonies in impoverished Eastern villages of the Tiger held Sampur and Verugal.

The pomp was absent in the celebrations and only the local heads of the LTTE were seen addressing the public.

On July 5, 1987, the first Black Tiger Vallipuram Vasanthan alias Miller - a captain in the LTTE ranks- drove an explosive laden truck to the Nelliadi Central College where the advancing troops of the Operation Liberation garrisoned.

Since then, 273 Black Tigers have died, of course killing those around and advancing the LTTE's cause, according to statistics revealed by the LTTE itself last week on the eve of the 19th anniversary. Earlier the figure stood at 240 based on a Memorial Souvenir published by the LTTE International Secretariat in 2003.

Chronology of Black Tigers

A 96-page book, titled Sooriya Puthalvargal, outlined the chronology of the black Tigers who died since Miller exploded himself at the gates of the Nelliadi school on July 5, 1987 to a lesser known suicide cadre Valavan alias Murugesu Uthayakumar from West Manipay who died on November 9, 2001. That was the last acknowledged suicide operation by the Tigers. But statistics revealed last week by the LTTE International Secretariat setting the new toll at a staggering 273, proves that the Tigers have carried out the suicide attacks during the ceasefire. That is common knowledge indeed. But, it must be noted that the Tigers have denied or kept themselves silent over almost all suicide killings since the signing the truce agreement.

To be fair by the LTTE, it must be accepted that certain suicide operations the Tigers have hitherto disowned must have been added to the latest statistics of Black Tiger fatalities.

The fact that the LTTE international secretariat did not update its latest additions of Black Tiger "martyrdoms" with their profiles and ultimate operations increase the ambiguity of the situation.

The saga of the first female Black Tiger itself is an ambiguity.

The first female Black Tiger as acknowledged by the Sooriya Puthalvargal, the memorial souvenir is Angayarkani, a captain in the LTTE ranks whose birth-name was Pushpakala Thuraisingham from Velanai, Kayts died on August 10, 1994.

But, it was common knowledge that a woman Black Tiger Dhanu, with an explosive belt wrapped around her belly blew herself up killing former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991 at Sri Perumbudur in Tamilnadu.

However, the LTTE has hitherto disowned Dhanu's operation for understandable political reasons even though Tiger political theoretician Anton Balasingham put his foot in the mouth and said to have courted wrath from the Tiger chieftain Prabhakaran when he told Indian television channel NDTV that the killing of Rajiv Gandhi "was a monumental tragedy... which we regret...." And wanted Indians to be "magnanimous and put the past behind".

Tactical apology

The LTTE peace secretariat chief Pulithevan later tried to placate the situation when he said Balasingham did not own the killing of the late Indian Prime Minister and that he only "regrated the killing".On face value, that sounds true, but reading between the lines of Balasingham's remarks coupled with the extremely secretive nature of suicide operations gives the understanding that the Tigers wanted to rebuild rapport with the Indians, onetime mentors of the LTTE. perhaps Balasingham seemed to have thought a tactical apology would worth the cost.

In the gory history of Black Tiger operations, understandably it is not only Dhanu who remains a ghost figure. But, the ultra-secretive nature of the Black Tiger affairs keep them away from the public discourse.

Among the suicide attacks yet to be owned by the Tigers are the assassination attempt of the EPDP leader Douglas Devananda by the female suicide bomber Thyagarasa Jayarani July 2004, Army Commander Gen.Sarath Fonseka in April this year by a female suicide bomber and the killing of Deputy Chief of Staff Major Gen Parami Kulatunga two weeks ago.Admission of these attacks would be delayed understandably owing to the ceasefire agreement.

Apart from these attacks, the other Black Tiger attacks during the truce agreement are the suicide attack on a Dvora Fast Attack Craft (FAC) escorting the passenger carrier Pearl Cruiser in the seas off Point Pedro.

Several Black sea Tiger boats were said to have been involved in the attack which caused a fierce sea battle between four Dvora FACs and about fifteen sea Tiger boats.

Sea Black Tigers

Two months ago, a navy Inshore Patrol Craft (IPC) on a sea patrol off Kalpitiya destroyed a sea Tiger boat believed to have been a suicide boat. Sea Tiger suicide boats are a kind of innovation. These boats, called "Mirage" manned by a lone suicide cadre could be powered by three or four outboard engines to enhance speed.

These boats have sharp iron rods at its front end which goes through the hulk when it rams on the ship or the gunboat. Then follows the explosion.

Black sea Tigers are the ultimate weapon of the sea-going wing of the LTTE.

This is very evident in the statistics, according to which 194 of the total fatalities of the Black Tigers are sea Tigers. This incudes 56 female sea Tiger cadres. The number of Black Tigers who died in the land is 79, of them 18 are women.

In the absence of fire power to counter the Navy's fleet of Dvora gunboats, black sea Tigers have been a substitute. Suicide attacks are the main catalysts for the losses of the Navy in the sea. The prospect of a black Tiger driving an explosive laden vehicle in to the camp gates as in the adventure of Miller in 1987 is now remote due to the few layers of bunker lines which have to be passed during the course of action. But, Black Tigers have also been used to neutralise the artillery positions during the major offensives by the Tigers. That is a standard practice of the LTTE during the major attack on the military camps. However, the gravest Black Tiger operation was directed at the Katunayake International Airport and adjacent Airforce base, during which 13 aircraft including eight military aircraft were destroyed.

Last week Yogaratnam Yogi, LTTE chief peace negotiator during the peace process with the Chandrika Kumaratunga Administration extolled the glory of the black Tigers in a much publicised speech delivered over the Voice of the Tigers (VoT).

Yogi was earlier demoted from his influential role in the LTTE and made a translator in the LTTE by Prabhakaran over the suspicion of his alleged loyalty to disgraced second in command of the LTTE, Mahattaya.

Yogi seemed to have completed his rehabilitation period. "There are many groups in the world using suicide bombers but the methods of our Black Tigers are more effective and incredible."

"War itself is violent. There are no soft methods in it. Were n't bombs made to blow up and kill men? So why is there such a cry if only a man becomes a human bomb?" he asked.

The role played by the Black Tigers is revered in the struggle of the LTTE. They are the ultimate weapon of the LTTE to match the fire power of the security forces just as much as Hamas and Islamic Jihad substitute human bombs with Israeli missiles. But, in the changing international opinion in the post 9/11 and 7/7 bombing, the Black Tigers are fast becoming a liability to the LTTE despite their fierce will to advance the cause of the movement.