A bit from war history- 18 June 2006
A full-scale war about to begin
* Pulithevan says it was their last journey through Colombo
* Clear evidence of LTTE hand in Kebethigollawa massacre
* Air strikes cause damage to Tiger airstrip at Iranamadu
Slowly but surely the low intensity Eelam War IV is escalating. As expected, clear signs emerged barely 24 hours after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) delegation to the failed Oslo talks arrived in Colombo on Wednesday. Political Wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan and party, like when they passed through Colombo en route to Oslo, did not receive a VIP welcome.
The five-member team arrived in Colombo at 9.47 a.m. and had to await their turn at lengthy queues ahead of the Immigration desk. Then they waited for Customs clearance of their baggage. Perhaps hoping they would be whisked off as VIPs without inspection they had brought in some military related items.
That included weapons manuals, two binoculars cum range finders and two pistol holsters. They were confiscated. Customs imposed a duty of Rs 20,000 each on three camcorders before they were released. The time was 1.12 p.m.
With that over, Air Force personnel put their baggage through x-ray equipment for a thorough check. Thereafter they were loaded to a Russian built Mi-17 helicopter. Unlike the earlier occasions, there were glum faces among the LTTE team. There were no smiles. The mood was serious even among the Norwegian Embassy and Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) officials
Seevaratnam Prabagaran, better known by his nom de guerre Pulithevan, told an acquaintance 'this is our last journey through Colombo.' Then they were off to Kilinochchi, perhaps for the last time in an Air Force helicopter during the 1756-day-old ceasefire.
The next morning (Thursday) a claymore mine exploded in Kebethigollawa, some 55 kilometres north east of the sacred city of Anuradhapura. Sixty three men, women and children in a crowded bus were killed and more than 80 wounded. This horrendous incident turned out to be the worst during the ceasefire and shook the conscience of civilised society the world over. A second unexploded claymore mine remained to tell the story of the mastermind behind the mass murder. That is if one was in doubt. Not many were. Such claymore mines are the hallmark of Tiger guerrillas
oh mighty Pulidevan where are you now???
Edited By - dumindak - 15 Jun 2009 10:44:27 GMT |
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