Troops trapped in deadly ambush

War and Peace The Defence Diary by Ranga Jayasuriya

The East is a unique case in the ceasefire agreement. Unlike the North where the security forces and Tiger controlled areas are clearly marked, the demarcation lines in the East are blurred.

The absence of demarcation lines has been a cause for violence in the province during the initial stage of the ceasefire. The gravest incident over the disputed borders took place on Friday and cost the lives of twelve soldiers.

On Friday morning, the security forces engaged in a foot patrol in Vakaneri, some thirty-five km from Batticaloa and five km from Polonnaruwa -Batticaloa road came under LTTE fire.

Tigers hiding in the jungle fired at the soldiers using small arms. Later in the day the army conducted an operation, with over 100 troops in the area to flush out Tiger cadres operating in the area.

The absence of the demarcation lines and the definite Forward Defence Lines by both parties means that both parties claim that the area comes under their control.

The Tigers seemed to have anticipated the security forces operation.

They ambushed the troops and a fierce fire fight took place in Kalathumadu village. Twelve soldiers died in the confrontation and the LTTE was to hand over the bodies of the soldiers yesterday through the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission. The LTTE said four cadres were killed in the clash.

One soldier identified as Lance Corporal Wijepala Karunaratne was captured, according to the LTTE.

Confrontation

This is the worst face to face confrontation during the ceasefire and whether the troops had entered LTTE controlled areas is not immediately clear.

Pro-LTTE Tamilnet website quoting LTTE Batticaloa political leader Daya Mohan said troops had entered five km into the Tiger territory, which was rejected by the government which said the forces were ambushed in 'No man's land'. However, the government didn't rule out the forces moving into the LTTE held areas during the clash.

Daya Mohan had inquired from the ceasefire monitors as to whether the ceasefire agreement is on hold, charging that the security forces in large numbers infiltrated the Tiger territory.

The ill fated search operation was a response to the LTTE firing in the morning. However, the large number of fatalities was the reason to send a large number of troops against the relatively small number of the cadres firing and hiding in the jungle rather than adopting small scale special operations along the border.

One reason for the high number of casualties of certain previous security operations before the ceasefire, most notably "Agnikeela" was the induction of a large number of troops against a small number of LTTE cadres.

The bitter irony is that the clash took place hours after the government facilitated the transport of ailing LTTE spokesman Valayadan Dayanidi better known as Daya Master to a private hospital in Colombo the previous day. The Tigers requested air transport for Daya Master, which was rejected by the government which has taken a procedural decision not to provide air transport to the LTTE since the assassination of former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

Security escort

The government, however, provided a security escort for Daya Master from the Omanthai entry-exit point to Colombo. Additional security is now provided for him in hospital.

He has undergone an angio-gram which doctors described as acute coronary syndrome.

Politics apart, the LTTE media spokesman has created a rapport with many a journalist irrespective of the medium of language. Though certain quarters could protest in front of the Apollo hospital, his impact on the LTTE's decision making structure is minimum. But, his much quoted name, thanks to his celebrity position as the media spokesman has made him a villain in the eyes in certain quarters.

However, if the government expected this goodwill gesture, which it made under humanitarian concerns, to be reciprocated, it proved to be a miscalculation. Hours before the ailing LTTE spokesman passed the Omanthai entry-exit point, the LTTE cadres ambushed an army foot patrol in Kalmadu, Thandikulam, about ten miles from Vavuniya towards Omanthai, killing two soldiers.

The next morning, LTTE snipers shot dead a sailor and wounded another in the Mutur Jetty. The LTTE position on the other side of the shore is just two Km away from the jetty.

This triggered intensified shelling from the Naval forces on the LTTE positions which lasted for two hours.

After facilitating the transport of Daya Master to Colombo on humanitarian grounds, the government conveyed to the LTTE a request by the family members of the policeman kidnapped who is being held in LTTE custody. Inspector Bandujeewa Bopitigoda is one of the three policemen of the National Child Protection Authority who was taken into custody by the LTTE when he went to Mannar to arrest a paedophile.

According to Peace Secretariat sources, the LTTE had acceded to the request and Inspector Bopitigoda was expected to be released yesterday.

Eliminating dissenters

Last week also saw the stepped up attempts by the LTTE to eliminate Tamil political dissenters as indicated in the killings of two leading members of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE).

PLOTE Jaffna leader Sebastian Iruthayarajan (43) was shot dead at close range by an LTTE pistol gang member in Main Street, Jaffna.

In the second incident, Vavuniya PLOTE leader Ratnam Sri Kandaraja was abducted and killed by LTTE operatives in Chettikulam, Vavuniya.

Throughout its struggle to seek supremacy in Tamil politics, the LTTE has killed six-thousand rival Tamil political activists.

Not surprisingly, the recent killings came in the wake of the government's attempt to seek a multi-party approach in the peace process - the just concluded first session of the All Party Representative Committee is evidence of it- where the moderate Tamil parties are expected to play a crucial role.