Tigers ‘fishing’ for another peace talks

While home bases dwindle day by day:

by Ranil Wijayapala

Date: 11th June, 2008
Time: 12.30 p.m.
Location: Andankulam Forest Reserve, North West of Janakapura, Weli Oya Battle Front.

The sounds of heavy exchange of gunfire were heard just two hundred to three hundred metres ahead of our location in the front line of the Weli Oya battle front. The Brigade Commanders of the 59 Division were on high alert as to what was happening in the front line.

The Brigade Commander of the 591 Brigade Lt. Colonel Aruna Ariyasinghe was busy with his radio set as he got the message that the LTTE had launched a counter attack on the troops of the 14 Vijayaba Infantry Regiment which has taken control of a number of Tiger bunkers, they captured last Sunday after a fierce battle with the LTTE.

He was asking for artillery and mortar support as the troops operating in the front line were giving locations from which the Tiger reinforcements were arriving there to launch a major assault on them.

The booming sound of the mortar and artillery rounds directed at the Tiger reinforcements were heard so closely while the artillery troops were giving their backing to the troops confronting the Tiger cadres.

Brigade Commanders and other Battalion Commanders were on high alert anticipating a Tiger assault. They ordered their troops to be ready for any possible attack by the LTTE.

“The fierce battle is raging. “The counter attack came at an odd time,” Lt.

Colonel Ariyasinghe said while giving us instructions to take cover fearing possible counter artillery fire from the LTTE.

It was around 3 o’ clock in the afternoon the gun fire came to a halt. The intercepted radio transmission of the LTTE confirmed that more than ten Tiger cadres were killed in the counter fire.

One soldier was killed and seven sustained injuries in their bid to neutralize the LTTE counter fire declared at recapturing the bunkers captured by the troops on Sunday.

As the sounds of firing came to a halt, an another battle erupted elsewhere in the front line as the troops engaged the Tiger cadres who tried to launch an assault on them.

In each hour troops in Weli Oya battlefront facing similar type of attacks as the LTTE have to enter do or die battle in this jungle terrain as troops are poised to major assault on the most vital Tiger strongholds in Wanni, located in the Mullaitivu jungle, or Andankulam forest reserve as indicated in the Survey Department maps.

It was on last Sunday that the entire 59 Division under the command of Brigadier Nandana Udawatta engaged the entire LTTE defence line ahead of the open area created by the LTTE, removing the undergrowth of the thick jungle terrain in the Andankulam forest reserve.

According to intercepted radio transmissions of the LTTE, more than 25 Tiger cadres were killed during this battle and more than 35 had sustained injuries. ‘Lt. Colonel Dharma was among the Tiger leaders killed during this battle. Apart from that three Tiger leaders in the self-styled rank of ‘Captain’ were also killed in this attack. Twelve names of the dead cadres have already been released by the LTTE.

However, civilians living in the uncleared areas have indicated that nearly 50 Tiger cadres have been killed during this attack.

The troops launched this massive attack on the LTTE line, as the military offensive in the Weli Oya battle front had come to a decisive point with troops entering the area where LTTE is having their strong jungle bases under the cover of the thick jungles.

As described in the SITREP in the previous weeks the LTTE had created a massive open area within this jungle patch as a forward defence line for their jungle bases. According to the ground troops, it is suicidal even to drag a dry stick as the whole area has been completely trapped in order to prevent possible advance of troops across this terrain.

However, the troops attached to 14 Vijayabha Infantry Regiment and the 7 Gemunu Watch braved this open terrain and captured five Tiger points which is a gateway to the One Four Base located in the Mullaitivu jungle.

According to Security Forces ‘One Four Base’ is a massive Tiger military complex consisting of 14 Tiger bases separated from each other. This terrain in the South of Mullaitivu has been used as a major hideout of the LTTE in decisive phases of the Eelam War.

Therefore, the capture of these Tiger bases located within this jungle terrain has become a vital factor for the troops in their bid to liberate the entire Wanni from the clutches of the LTTE. According to the Security Forces the number of Tiger bases within this jungle terrain has increased to 21 during the past few years.

The troops are now operating just half a kilometre South of Nityakaikulam tank which was one of the vital locations where many battles were fought during many phases of the Eelam War. It was in 19991, the Security Forces launched ‘Operation Thunder Strike’ to destroy these Tiger bases under the command of Brigadier Janaka Perera and now Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka then as a Colonel.

With the troops attached to the 59 Division opening gateway leading to this vital Tiger bases, the Wanni battle front has now reached its momentum, the LTTE is reportedly contemplating as to how they can avoid their humiliating defeat as they have to face the troops in six fronts from the Northern and Wanni fronts.

The battle front in Weli Oya opened in January this year has reached this vital after six months of operations with the opening of 12 Kilo metre-long battle front from Janakapura North to Kiriibbanvewa North. They have advanced some seven Kilometres ahead of the original FDL of the Security Forces in the Weli Oya sector from three areas 591 Brigade under the command of Lt.

Colonel Aruna Ariyasinghe from Janakapura North, 592 Brigade under the Command of Lt. Col. Maneesha Silva from Kalyanapura North and 593 Brigade under the command of Lt. Col. Jaliya Ranasinghe from Kiriibbanvewa North.

During the six months operation they have been able to kill nearly 800 Tiger cadres operating in the Weli Oya front. They are now operating just 21 Kilometres South of Mullaitivu and just nine to ten kilometres South of Kumulamunai located at the edge of the Nayaru lagoon.

If troops reached Kumulamunai braving all the obstacles in the Mullaitivu jungle terrain they will be in an advantageous position to control the North of Mullaitivu through their long-range artillery guns.

That was the main reason the LTTE is trying their best to stop the troops advance into this territory, as it would lead to the fall of Wanni to the Security Forces as evidenced from the two desperate attempts made by the LTTE on April 28 and April 30 from the Western flank of Janakapura battlefront community hundreds of their Tiger cadres into the front line.

The LTTE launched this massive assault in the aftermath of the Muhhamalai operation on April 23 and prior to the May 10 Eastern Provincial Council election. If they were able to infiltrate the Security Forces defence line they could have made a bigger impact on the Eastern Provincial Council election.

But the troops attached to 59 Division effectively foiled this Tiger attempt to recapture their lost terrain killing over 100 Tiger cadres during these two counter attacks.

The opening of new battlefront from the Eastern flank of the 57 Division now operating in the West of Vavuniya will further fix the LTTE from another battlefront. The new Army Division Task Force -II is expected to begin its operations within the next few weeks from Mundumurippu area.

This will ease the task entrusted to the 57 Division, which was the first offensive Division to commence operations in the Wanni sector now operating under the command of Major General Jagath Dias.

The formation of the 61 Division under the command of Major General Lalith Daulugala as a defensive Division to hold and secure the ground captured by the 57 Division in the West of Vavuniya will also contribute immensely for the troops operating in the front line to engage in their task easily.

With the formation of these new two Divisions for offensive and defensive operations, the 57 Division is expected to advance towards Thunukkai and Mallavi direction. At present the troops attached to the 57 Division is poised to capture Periyamadhu area.

The Task Force I or the 58 Division too reaching is towards the jungle terrain in the North of Mannar after crossing Mannar Rice Bowl area and capturing the Tiger FDL from Parappakadattan to North of Giants tank.

It was with these developments the LTTE is now appealing to the international community especially to the Norwegian facilitators to create an environment conducive to resume peace talks.

The Government has out rightly rejected this offer by the LTTE thus refusing the Norwegian Special Envoy Jon Hansen Bauer to meet Tiger leadership in Wanni.

It was following a similar type of meeting in the year 2000 the Norwegians commenced their facilitation role when the LTTE top leadership was facing severe threats at the hands of the troops engaged in Long Range Reconnaissance Missions.

The events unfolded in the country in the guise of this bogus peace process put the LTTE in a higher pedestal parallel to the position of the Security Forces.

Thus they were given ample opportunities to strengthen their military capabilities during the four year-long Ceasefire Agreement.

The Security Forces now engaged in the Wanni liberation are facing the direct consequences of the Ceasefire Agreement due to the intense trappings and mine fields laid in the thick jungle taking the cover of the Ceasefire Agreement.

That was a clear indication to prove that the Tiger outfit was never interested in resolving the North-East conflict through political negotiations.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in an interview given to the ‘Times’ while he was in London has clearly stated that in spite of the setbacks suffered by the Sri Lanka’s tourist trade, he would not resume peace talks with the Tamil Tigers until the Organisation agreed to disarm.

“When they are weak they call on the international community to arrange a ceasefire. During this period they train, and rearm their cadres and then fight back. This time if they want to talk, they should disarm first,” he said.

Even if the Tigers were to meet his preconditions it seems unlikely that he would ever be able to conclude a peace deal with Velupillai Prabhakaran.

“This man and the three or four henchmen around him are blood-thirsty killers.”

“They have no feelings. It is very difficult to deal with them,” President Rajapaksa has told the ‘Times’.

That was the correct attitude ever held by a Sri Lankan President towards the LTTE. This position had never wavered in face of the any international pressures or any other political pressures by the local polity.

This unwavering position and the attitude of the Government has become a huge strength for the troops engaged in this offensive operations against the LTTE in the Wanni battle front as they have realized the fact that their sacrifices in the battle front will not go in drains in the future.

Therefore, it is definite that the LTTE will have to face a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Security Forces in the Wanni battle front in the coming months.