Change of goal posts gave wrong impression:

LTTE invincibility a myth

Shanika SRIYANANDA

Sergeant Gunapala Ratnayake, who killed 23 Sea Tigers and sank two boats which tried to break the FDLs of Puthumathalan North, said that the soldiers wanting to see an end to the fourth Eelam war are fighting together to achieve a common goal - destroying the LTTE.

The 23 terrorists, who came in two boats did not smell that they were on their last journey. They were ordered to break the forward defence lines of the 55 Division at Puthumathan North. They could not step an inch further as their presence was detected by the troops at the FDL.

While rains of bullets were flying over their heads, Sergeant Gunapala Ratnayake took the target after consulting Commanding Officer of the sixth SLLIR Major Marada Yahampath.

Destroy target

It took a few minutes on March 28 for the missile gun to destroy its target. "It was 8 a.m. and the terrorists were two kilo metres away from us.

The CO directed to me to take the target if possible", Sgt. Ratnayake, who was supported by two Corporals Bandara and Jayalath, recalled.

Chalai, which was the LTTE's main Sea Tiger hub for illegal smuggling, was frequently attacked by the LTTE to show the international diaspora that the outfit is still strong. According to 55 Division GOC Brigadier Prasanna Silva the troops face suicide attacks by the Sea Tigers almost every night. Sgt. Ratnayake said that with `our first missile attack we destroyed LTTE bunkers. "I am happy that we could got the target to prevent them breaking the FDL", the 35-year-old Sergeant who fought against the LTTE in Yal Devi, Riviresa and Jayasikuru battles, said.

He said that the morale of the soldiers were very high and lots of them were ready to sacrifice their lives in this final battle to end terrorism. His assessment about the LTTE was that they had already been defeated and that there was no breathing space for the terrorists to rise up.

"The LTTE never thought that the military would defeat them this time. They expected political blessings like in the past, where the military offensives were stopped each time when they were down", he said.

Sgt. Ratnayake said that all the soldiers were strictly ordered not to fire a single bullet towards the civilians as they were on a mission to liberate them.

Being one and half kms of the FDL the troops could see civilian movements in the No Fire Zone and all the soldiers were committed to provide maximum protection for them.

Common goal

A soldier with 16-years experience in the Army said that the main success of the whole military exercise to sweep out the LTTE was that the entire Army - from the Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka to the soldier in the FDL - had a common goal. "Thanks to the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government this common goal has not been changed from time to time", said a gleeful Sgt. Ratnayake.According to him, the image of the LTTE was bloated up and people thought that LTTE was very strong with their military tactics as the previous battles were abandoned in adhoc manner.

"LTTE was a myth. We could have defeated them long before if we could have attacked them continuously", he said.

Finally, Sgt. Ratnayake requested people not to spread rumours in support of the LTTE and also not to insult the blood and sweat of the soldiers whose commitment had thrown the LTTE into the sea.