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| Sunday, 5 February 2006 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Abductions engulfed in mystery by Ranga Jayasuriya If you were to believe the story of the abduction of ten employees of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation - of which three of them have now been released- you could also notice the gross miscalculation on the part of the abductors of the timing and the ultimate impact of the event. It is like the abductors, which the LTTE propaganda described as armed groups working with the security forces- playing into the hands of the LTTE. Interesting enough, the alleged abduction happened in the run up to the ceasefire talks in Geneva where the disarmament of para-military cadres would be a main issue to be taken up by the LTTE. (The other issue which the Tigers insist on is the dismantling of the High Security Zones) It would be naive on the part of these "armed groups", a subtle reference to the Karuna faction to abduct a bunch of civilian employees of an NGO as the group itself faces the biggest challenge to its survival. Such a conduct could only strengthen the calls to disarm Karuna, though any attempt to do it by force could open up another battle front for the security forces in the East. The Karuna faction itself is aware that its action could be viewed as an attempt to sabotage the Geneva talks, that it announced an unilateral truce against the mainstream Tigers. The two incidents of abduction, interestingly enough, took place after the announcement of the truce by Karuna's spokesman Thooyavan. The abduction itself is a mystery. But one thing which was crystal clear was that the TRO, an LTTE front NGO registered in Sri Lanka as a charity, went on a publicity offensive soon after the reports of the abduction, even before lodging a complaint with the law enforcing agencies. The TRO itself is having trouble in recent times. The British Charity Commission has shut down its UK branch and with the Conservatives taking power in Canada, the noose is being gradually tightened on the LTTE and TRO which the Canadian Intelligence Service has identified as a leading LTTE front. Garnering sympathy The TRO's known loyalties to the LTTE and its own dilemma in the face of changing international opinion have given room in some quarters to suggest that the incident could be a desperate attempt by the TRO to garner international sympathy and divert attention. Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera has pointed to the failure by the TRO to report the incident to police over lame claims, questioning as to why the TRO could not use its influential Colombo office to report the case directly to Police headquarters, if the TRO was so organised to launch a 'well coordinated propaganda drive' immediately afterwards. "The investigation is raising more questions than answers," he quipped. The TRO official website reported on February 1 that it had been informed that five staff members travelling from the Batticaloa office to Vavuniya for training have been kidnapped by unidentified paramilitary personnel immediately after the Welikanda, (Polunnaruwa District) Sri Lankan Army Checkpoint at approximately 2:00 pm 30 January, 2006. But, the TRO waited till Tuesday to lodge a complaint at the Batticaloa and Vavuniya Police stations. The TRO spokesman Arjunan Ethirveerasingham says the it was on Monday night that his organisation was informed of the abduction and that it lodged a complaint at Batticaloa Police at around 11. am on Tuesday. The TRO said in its first statement on the abduction that 15 Batticaloa staff members were travelling from Batticaloa to Kilinochchi in a TRO staff vehicle, when the abduction took place. A white van has obstructed the vehicle of the TRO, forcing it to stop. "Five (5) members were dragged out of the TRO van and forced into the "white van" the others were assaulted and forced to go back to Batticaloa. This incident occurred approximately 100 meters after the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) checkpoint on the A11 road from Batticaloa to Polunnaruwa. TRO Batticaloa Head Accountant Thanuskody Premini (also currently a student at the Batticaloa university) and four accountants from the TRO Children's Homes (for orphans) in the Batticaloa District: Shanmuganathan Swenthiran and Thampirasah Vasantharajan of Shanthiveli Murakotanchani, Kailayapillai Ravinthiran of Vanni Nagar Palugamam and another as yet unnamed person were forcibly removed from the car. The other ten (10) persons in the vehicle were recent TRO staff recruits on their way to Vavuniya for office training," the TRO said in the statement. In the other incident five TRO members attached to Pre School Education Development Centre (PSEDC) were said to be abducted by armed men, according to two women who have later been released by the abductors. The TRO in a statement said Kasinathar Ganeshalingam (PSEDC North-East Province Secretary), Ms. S. Dosini (PSEDC Divisional Coordinator Mamunai North Division), Ms. Nadeswari (Pre-School Teacher, Vavunatheevu Pre School) Ms. Chithravel Sivamathi (Pre School Teacher Vavunatheevu Pre School) and the driver Thangarasa had gone missing in their journey back to Kilinochchi from Batticaloa in a PSEDC vehicle (Number: WP PA 3074). These personnel had visited Batticaloa District to carry out the final assessment of a Temporary Pre School Construction Project for Tsunami Welfare Centers. Appraisal "The appraisal team was to have returned to Kilinochchi in time for a meeting at the Kilinochchi FORUT office on the morning of Tuesday 31 January 2006. TRO Kilinochchi informed TRO Colombo of the team's failure to attend the meeting late in the afternoon of 31 January 2006 at which point TRO Batticaloa was contacted and inquiries were made as to the team's location. TRO Colombo was informed that the team had left Valaichchenai, Batticaloa District at approximately 7 pm (19:00 hours Sri Lanka Time) on Sunday 29 January 2006. That was the last that anyone has heard of the team," it said in a statement. Two women- Ms Nadeswari and Ms Sivamathi who claimed to be abducted by the armed gang returned to their families on Monday night. The duo in their statement to the TRO said a white Hi-Ace vehicle had followed their vehicle. "We were subjected to checks at the Welikanda checkpoint. At the time we saw the white van parked behind our vehicle. When we moved a short distance from the check point the white van came behind us, overtook our vehicle and stopped us". "Some men got down from the white van assaulted Mr Ganeshalingam and the driver and tied them up and dumped them in the back of the vehicle. Then they drove the vehicle into the jungle area. After a long drive, the vehicle was stopped at 11.30 pm (Sunday)". "A girl there made a body check on us. We were there the whole night. We were separated and we didn't see Mr. Ganeshalingam and the driver all night. Next morning the PSEDC divisional coordinator Ms Dosini was separated from us. That night at 9.00 p.m. they brought us to the main road and put us in a bus and sent us with a warning not to tell this incident to anyone". That is the statement given by the two women. Another abductee, Ms Dosini was also released on Friday. The whole drama is engulfed in mystery. The conduct of the TRO after the two alleged abductions adds to confusion and leaves many a discrepancies, leading to further questions, especially given the TRO 's obvious loyalties to the LTTE. Is this a mere attempt to portray the LTTE and its front organisations as the aggrieved party in the recent violence? Is this a ploy to put the Karuna faction alongside with Islamic fanatics in Iraq and the West Bank who abduct good "samaritan" of the NGOs.
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