Firm steps to protect national security

Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran immediately after the Presidential Elections in 2005, offered to wait for "sometime" to see how newly elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa puts his act together. But, Prabhakaran did not live up to his word and President Rajapaksa was only to be greeted with a string of claymore mine explosions which killed scores of security forces personnel.

That was part of LTTE strategy to intimidate the government into submission. The government decided on deterrent measures and the security was stepped up in the Jaffna peninsula. Counter terrorist measures succeeded in minimising terror threats, especially with security forces convoys, but the Tigers struck whenever the opportunity came in their way.

The Government and the LTTE met in Geneva to discuss the ceasefire agreement on February 22,23. As the second round was set for April, a Tiger suicide bomber blew herself up targeting the Army Commander Gen. Sarath Fonseka, on April 25.

Gen. Fonseka survived, but was seriously injured.

The government, for the first time during the ceasefire agreement, authorised air strikes against the LTTE positions in the East.

The Tigers stepped up attacks as the Sea Tigers targeted a passenger vessel, Pearl Cruiser II on May 11. The Navy Fast Attack Craft repulsed the Sea Tiger attack.

Two Dovra FACs of the Navy were destroyed and the Navy said it had destroyed nearly a dozen Sea Tiger boats killing over 50 Sea Tigers.

Violence continued as LTTE blew up a packed passenger bus in the remote North Central village of Kebithigollewa, killing 63 passengers including 15 children.

This attack drew international condemnation, with the UN, US and EU condemning the act, but that did not restrain the LTTE.

On June 26, an LTTE suicide bomber blew himself up killing the third most senior officer in the Army, Major. Gen. Parami Kulatunga.

Violence took a new turn on July 20 as the LTTE cadres closed the sluice gates of the Mavil Aru anicut denying water to around 15,000 villagers of the adjacent mainly Sinhala and Muslim villages.

The irrigation engineer was turned back by the LTTE when he went to open the sluice gates. Green light was given for the "Operation Watershed". Its mission: Restore water supply through the anicut.

As a military mission, which the government dubbed as a humanitarian mission was in motion, the Tigers launched simultaneous attacks on Muttur, Selvanagar, Kattaparichchan and Mahindapura military outposts. The attack was repulsed by the security forces, which inflicted heavy casualties on the LTTE.

An estimated 400 cadres were killed in the fighting.

On April 11, the LTTE opened up a new front in the North, launching an attack on the Muhamalai-Nagarkovil Forward Defence Lines.

Despite an initial withdrawal from certain bunkers, the security forces retaliated, repulsing several attempts by the LTTE to overrun the Forward Defence Lines and killing over 600-700 LTTE cadres.

The security forces' retaliation was a deadly blow to the LTTE already reeling under heavy casualties in the East.

As fighting flared in the North, suspected LTTE cadres blew up a claymore mine targeting the out-going Pakistani High Commissioner on August 14.

The High Commissioner escaped, but, several of his body guards, the army commandos were killed. The LTTE build up in Sampur in the Southern perimeters of the Trincomalee harbour was a cause for grave concern. Suicide crafts were launched from Illakkanthai and the Foul Point targeting military ships using the Trinco harbour.

After a fresh attempt by the LTTE to target the Trinco harbour using 122 mm artillery guns located in Sampur, the security forces launched a ground operation to capture the Eastern Tiger enclave, Sampur on August 27.

As the Special Forces commandos advanced to Sampur, the Tigers fled to Vakarai and Verugal areas, south of Ichchalampattu.

The capture of Sampur by the Army cleared a grave threat to the Trincomalee harbour, the lifeline of over 35,000 security forces personnel stationed in Jaffna.

Later, the security forces moved to Manirasakulam, Kandalkadu and Rarkuli, clearing the outer perimeter of the Trincomalee harbour.

On October 11, a military operation ahead of the Muhamalai Forward Defence Line was proved to be a costly affair for both the parties. 129 soldiers were killed and over four hundred injured. 196 LTTE cadres were killed, according to Army Sources.

On December 1, an LTTE suicide bomber blew himself up targeting Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. The Defence Secretary survived but two of his body guards were killed.

On December 23, the Sea Tigers seized a Jordanian ship off Mullaitivu seas. The ship's Captain narrating his ordeal at the hands of the Tigers, said armed Sea Tigers boarded the ship first, forcibly removed the communication equipment, and ordered the crew members into LTTE boats.