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800 LTTE cadres quit
by Shanika Sriyananda

Military sources in the East confirmed that nearly 800 LTTE cadres have left the organisation from February till to date, after capturing Thoppigala.

'They have abandoned the organisation. Some of them have gone back to their villages and re-united with their families', Commanding Officer of the 23 division of the East Major General Daya Ratnayake told the 'Sunday Observer', yesterday.

He said that the LTTE had 1500 cadres in the entire Eastern region before the area was captured and according to military analysts the majority of the cadres were from Batticaloa.

'They were taken and kept by force by the LTTE. The majority of the cadres are not ready to join the LTTE', he said.

Maj. Gen. Ratnayake said that according to estimates, 500 to 600 child soldiers were used to fight against the military in the East.

The estimated 250 underaged child soldiers had escaped from the jungles during the war. He said that after the East was liberated the parents did not want their children to die once again. 'The government is looking after the people well. Massive development programs are now under way to meet all the challenges. Today, people in Vakarai are happy. Children are going to school and what ever they earned is safe today. They also have freedom now', he said. Maj. Gen. Ratnayake said that the military in the East keeps a close watch on the LTTE cadres who left the organisation and several programs had been initiated to keep them under surveillance.

'According to our estimates 200 to 250 cadres have escaped the military and have gone to areas in the North. We are trying to get them back to the Vanni', he said adding that the military was able to get the support of the people in the East to liberate the region from the LTTE. Maj. Gen. Ratnayake said the combination of the two strategies - military and political - had led the Eastern victory.

'The morale, dedication, commitment and the sacrifices of the soldiers are immense and we have never seen it in recent history. In the past we had a huge conceptual vaccuum. Everybody was trying to correct the soldier, but this time there is a genuine effort', he said. He also said that efforts of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Commander of the Army and the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence had motivated the soldiers to liberate the East

Q: How have your relations with Mangala been since you quit the SLFP?
A: We had no relations. It was Mangala who sent me to jail on behalf of Chandrika. It was Mangala who orchestrated the bribery case against me. It was Mangala who sent a helicopter to my house, took pictures and then published them in every newspaper and insulted me. So our relations were very bad then. But those things are not an obstacle to us joining forces at this juncture either.

Q: And how are they today?
A: Today it is like two long lost friends getting together. Back in the SLFP, Mangala and I were both very good friends. It is not difficult to mend such bridges. He is a friend of the family. He is a good friend with my children, with my siblings. I am very friendly with his mother and his sister. All those relations are easily rebuilt.

Q: How do you feel about the role that former President Chandrika Kumaratunga is supposed to play in this new alliance?
A: I don?t have a problem with her helping us ? anyone?s help is more than welcome. She used to be President of this country, she was the former SLFP Leader. But she ruined the country. She messed up the war. She made sure this country?s economy went into negative figures. She left behind no legacy. When it comes to Chandrika, there will be clashes between Mangala and me. Chandrika to me, is a big joke. During her tenure, she destroyed the country. She tried to have personal chats with Prabhakaran to try and resolve the ethnic conflict in order to try and win the Nobel Peace Prize. But she made a right royal mess of that. It is not like she is educated enough to pull something like that off on her own. She hasn?t even passed her O/Ls. Mangala and I will have problems over Chandrika, but for the moment, that is not an obstacle towards the greater goal.

Laliths,

I'll ask if I want your opinion, untill then you can keep it to your self.

This guy know how to respect elders.

Buddham Saranam Gachami.

He really has a point here, and his ethnicity is Tamil.

Is that means Srilanka bans Indian girls?? Bad for tourism.