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| Sunday, 29 August 2004 |
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Colombo, battlefield for warring factions by Jayampathy Jayasinghe The recent spate of killings reported in Colombo and in the Eastern province is a clear indication that hostilities between the LTTE and the Karuna faction are rapidly on the increase. The frightening scenario is that the killings hitherto confined to the eastern province have now extended to Colombo making the metropolis, a battlefield for both warring factions. Minister of Public Security, Law and Order Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, said that the reprisal killings in Colombo and elsewhere could be attributed to the exposure of the army safe house at Aturugiriya where names of informants have been revealed to the enemy. The informants are now being hunted and killed indiscriminately. This wouldn't have happened if their identities were not revealed in the first place. However, these killings violated the peace process and those who cherished peace should desist from such gruesome acts, he said. Meanwhile, the latest killing was reported from Wellawatta last week where a man identified as Suppiah Kuganathan (48) was shot dead at point blank range by an unknown person while he was standing outside a meditation centre at 22, E.A. Cooray Mawatha, Colombo 6. The incident occurred last Monday around 8.15 p.m. while he was speaking to a person outside the meditation centre when the assailant barged through the main gate and opened fire presumably with a 9.mm. calibre pistol. After firing 10 shots at him, the assailant had escaped. The victim succumbed to his injuries on his chest and the body. OIC Crimes, Wellawatta, Inspector A. Wijewickrema, said that there were about seven 9.mm. empty bullets at the scene of crime. Kuganathan, a renegade LTTE cadre, had moved over to Colombo about two years ago and, since then, was employed at the meditation centre at Wellawatta. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Kuganathan was an informant of the army. Two police teams have been detailed to track down the killers. In fact, the killing spree started about two weeks ago with the gunning down of EPDP propaganda secretary, Balanadarajah Iyer, who was also a consultant Editor of 'Thinamurusu' newspaper at High Street, Wellawatta. The victim was shot dead while waiting for a vehicle outside his home. According to an eye witness, an identified man on a pillion of a motor cycle had fired around five shots at Iyer before escaping through Pamankada Road. Balanadarajah Iyer was then an active member of the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS) who worked with its founder Ratnasabapathi, now domiciled in London. The other politburo members at that time were Shanker Rajee and Bakakumar, who later joined the LTTE. Shanker Rajee too now lives in London. Sources said that the EROS organisation was responsible for a spate of bombing incidents in the Colombo city from 1983-1989. The major bomb explosion at the Pettah bus stand in the late eighties, killed several innocent persons. Iyer Nadarajah had earlier worked as a sub-editor for the "Elanatham" paper in Jaffna. He came over to Colombo in 1995 after the 'Rivi-Resa' operation and joined the EPDP and worked for the "Thinamurusu" paper as a consultant editor. The first consultant editor of the Thinamurusu paper, Nadarajah Athpudarajah, was also killed by an unknown gang. Last Tuesday, another member of the Karuna faction, P. Jeyakumar was allegedly killed by the LTTE at the Akkaraipattu Magistrate's court. Jeyakumar was shot dead inside the court while being escorted by prisons officials. Two weeks ago, PLOTE Mohan believed to be an army informant, was shot dead near the Duplication-Vajira Road junction. |
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