Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) set off a claymore mine in Rathmalana wounding 4 STF personnel and 16 civillians. The target of the claymore mine is said the be an STF troop transport although its explosion in rush hours inflicted 16 civillian casualties.
Update: 2 of the wounded civillians have died. The STF transport was en route from the training base when it was attacked. There were 9 personnel on board at the time of attack.
All DefenceNet members will communicate using the account DefenceNet bearing profile number 11553575476849786179. This number can be found at the end of Profile URL. Beware of impostors.
Comments with racist remarks, personal attacks and misinformation will be deleted. Replying to any such comment will only encourage the saboteurs to post more. We request all our readers to ignore such postings and continue the discussion without diverting from the theme of the blog.
Lankan Army's game plan: Seize East and weaken LTTE in North
ReplyDeleteThe Sri Lankan Army's game plan is to drive the LTTE out of the Eastern districts completely, and weaken it in the Northern districts, to pave the way for talks to find a permanent political solution to the Tamil question, says its Commander, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka.
"In five to six months we will completely mop up the LTTE in the East," the General told select foreign journalists here on Monday.
But to one's surprise, he added: "We have no plan to take the North."
"Our plan in the North is to weaken the LTTE militarily so that we are able to maintain our positions there," he explained.
Gen Fonseka is a tough-as-nails man who had miraculously survived an assassination attempt on April 25, 2006.
An LTTE female suicide bomber had sneaked into the Army HQ in Colombo and nearly got him, while he was on his way home for lunch. Fonseka was badly injured in the stomach and was out of commission for several months. He is now completely alright.
The attack on him triggered the
aerial war in which Sri Lankan jets began bombarding the Tamil North almost daily,displacing lakhs of civilians and causing an
international uproar.
He believed that there should be a political solution, a permanent settlement of the ethnic conflict which had been dogging the island country for more than two decades.
But that could not happen so long as the LTTE was militarily strong, he argued.
The LTTE Supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, was not interested in peace and would have to be forced to come for a settlement, the General said.
Prabhakaran dreaded peace. " He would not be able to move around freely if there was peace. He would have to be in hiding and ruling like a military dictator," the Sri Lankan Army chief said.
Therefore, the Sri Lankan Army and its sister forces were on the job of militarily weakening the LTTE, he added.
POLITICAL GRIEVANCES HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED
Asked why there was a need for a political solution after neutralising the LTTE, which he believed did not enjoy support among the Tamil people, Gen.Fonseka said that the people in the North-East had political grievances and these needed to be addressed, if there was to be permanent peace.
"We are convinced that there should be a political solution," he stressed.
Even in the East, which had been cleared of the LTTE almost fully, one could not say that there had been a "victory", Gen.Fonseka argued.
"There can be real victory, only when there is a political solution under which people can lead normal lives," he said.
If the political issues were not addressed, war could go on for another two decades, the General warned.
The Tamil people had a choice, either to follow Prabhakaran and keep on fighting or follow moderate leaders like V.Anandasangaree and Douglas Devananda and return to peace, he said.
The government was thinking of a political settlement, and President Mahinda Rajapaksa had already made an offer, the General said, referring to the devolution proposal made by Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).
CURRENT POSITION IN EAST
Gen.Fonseka said that the LTTE now held only a small part of the Toppigala jungle in the East, barely 10 square kilometres out of a total area of 50 sq.km.
"It can be flushed out of this area in a couple of weeks and then the mopping up operations would have to be carried out to completely clear the area, and that may take five to six months," he said.
But the LTTE is dogged. "It has not given up hopes of holding Toppigala," the General noted.
And the cadres are desperadoes. "Every Tiger cadre is a suicide cadre, in as much as he is forced to fight to the last bullet."
In Gen.Fonseka's estimation, there are only about 300 LTTE fighting cadres left in the East and they are holed up in the Toppigala jungle.
ARMY'S AIM IN NORTH
As for the North, comprising the districts in the Wanni region currently controlled by the LTTE and serving as its headquarters, the General said that the Army's basic objective was to secure and strengthen its current defence lines and pre-empt attacks by neutralising the LTTE's gun positions on the other side.
"We want to create conditions in which we are sure that we are not under threat," the General said.
Asked specifically, if the Army was planning to march into the Wanni region as it did under Operation Jayasikurui (Victory Assured ) in 1997-1999, Gen.Fonseka said that it was an "absurd" idea.
"There is no point in entering areas under LTTE's control before it is weakened militarily."
Operation Jayasikurui was the longest, costliest and the most disastrous operation in Sri Lanka's military history.
The Army's units were so thinly spread out in the bid to hold a vast swathe of captured territory, that they became easy prey to marauding LTTE squads in the latter phase of the campaign. The camps, mostly small, fell like nine pins in 1999.
The LTTE is expected to pitch in and fight ferociously in the Wanni. Most of its artillery and mortar pieces were now in the North, Gen. Fonseka said.
"Moreover, the LTTE cannot afford to lose control over an estimated 350,000 people there," he pointed out.
The LTTE has 4,000 fighting cadres in the Northern districts of Mannar, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, the militant group's heartland.
"But they are not its best cadres," Gen.Fonseka said. "If they lose 2,000 cadres, they are finished."
The LTTE has also lost a large number of cadres. 565 were killed in the last four months, including a leader like "Col" Nagulan, the Number 2 in the elite "Charles Anthony Regiment. The Army, in contrast, had lost only 45.
Defending the continuous aerial bombardment of the LTTE- held areas which had created 150,000 to 200,000 refugees in a few months, Gen.Fonseka said that the aerial bombardment took on only military targets and that they were "dead accurate."
He defended the controversial decision to buy MIG 29s, saying that these had 3D radars which could help locate LTTE planes.
The General attributed the fall in suicide bombing incidents in Colombo and Jaffna to the army's "covert" operations, which had broken into the LTTE networks.
NOTHING TO DO WITH KARUNA
Gen.Fonseka maintained that the Armed Forces had little or nothing to do with the LTTE's breakaway group led by Karuna, which is accused of harrassing the people of Batticaloa.
According to the General, the Tamil establishments next to the army's camps in Batticaloa, were "political" offices of the para-military groups like the EPDP and PLOTE.
"I don't know if Karuna has registered his political party," the General said.
According to him, LTTE chief Prabhakaran's son, Charles Anthony, is the head of the outfit's new Air wing, the Tamileelam Air Force. Charles Anthony had apparently done a course in aeronautical engineering.
Gen.Fonseka said that the Ceasefire Agreement signed in February 2002 had helped the LTTE increase its arsenal ten to 15 times. "Their firepower has increased many times."
"Gen.Fonseka maintained that the Armed Forces had little or nothing to do with the LTTE's breakaway group led by Karuna, which is accused of harrassing the people of Batticaloa."
ReplyDeleteThe good general should really refrain from making such bold faced mistatements such as these, it throws the credibility of the rest of his comments into doubt. Just move along, this is the worst kept secret and to pretend like it does not happen just looks childish.
I guess lots of such future attacks should be expected. The LTTE knows they're going to have a tough job combating our military on the battlefield. So they'll try to hit us where, to be honest, it hurts a lot more to ordinary folk. Their thinking is probably to force us to either economically abandon the war or, what I think is more likely, try and get the UNP back in power and hope they'll go for more "peace talks".
ReplyDeleteGiven how in the past our voters have been more keen to focus on short term issues, like the cost of living and bombs going off around them, fingers crossed we don't see a repeat of that again.
Karuna says no split but Pillayan stands by DM story
ReplyDeleteBy Easwaran Rutnam
Our page one story titled ‘Pillayan gives final warning to Karuna’ in yesterday’s Daily Mirror has rattled the Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP) with Karuna Amman himself contacting the Daily Mirror via telephone to say there was no truth in the report.
However within minutes of the telephone call from Karuna strong loyalists of Pillayan, whose authenticity was verified, contacted the Daily Mirror and insisted that all was not well within the organization as was mentioned in the news report.
According to the report a new factional war was threatening to erupt in the East as former TMVP commander Pillayan issued a final warning to Karuna Amman to leave the outfit or face the ignominy of being removed by force.
The warning comes as repeated attempts to reconcile the factional dispute between Pillayan and Karuna failed following allegations that Karuna continued to misuse TMVP funds and placed some of his enemies under house arrest as the support base for Pillayan continued to grow.
“Some elements are attempting to divide the TMVP by making all these claims mentioned in your story yesterday. There is no problem between me and Pillayan now. Everything is sorted but some people are trying to get involved in the internal matters of the TMVP to scuttle things,” Karuna Amman told the Daily Mirror.
Karuna said he was unanimously re-appointed the leader of the TMVP at a recent meeting of top officials from the organization which he said proved without doubt the unity within the TMVP that is involved in fighting the LTTE.
However contrary to Karuna’s claims a loyalist of Pillayan questioned if there was no issues within the TMVP why Pillayan was removed from his original position of supreme commander which made him second in command to Karuna.
“If Karuna could go ahead and remove his deputy and replace him with someone else it shows there is a problem. Pillayan wants me to tell you there is a problem and within the space of one month he himself will come out with a public statement about his split with Karuna,” a spokesman for the ‘Pillayan faction’ told the Daily Mirror.
Amman however said the position of ‘supreme commander’ was not important as the TMVP was aiming to be a political entity and not a military unit which was why the organisation put forward proposals to the APRC for a political solution.
The Pillayan spokesman meanwhile said they stood ready to work with Karuna if he admitted the mistakes including the alleged killing of Pillayan loyalists and the detention of several others as a result of the split. “But we will not wait too long,” the Pillyan faction warned.
"short term issues, like the cost of living and bombs going off" ?
ReplyDeleteHow short is your short term?
basically the ltte knows that the colombo middle classes panic when bombs are exploded. some of my relos for instance are planing to come to Autralia because of the current tension. people there expect the ltte to strike at colombo soon, and in a 'politcally decisive' way very very soon. i feel this is inevitable too. meanwhile a hike in bread makes the sans culottes of our urban slumlands angry, disaffected voters. they can be bought out while the comfortable middle classes just piss off out of the country.
ReplyDeletebut if we can keep the incumbent in power for a bit longer, even under an undemocratic regime (like when premadasa was around), the LTTE will surely be a thing of the past. worst that can happen now is for a change in govt, and worse yet a reversal of the current gun boat diplomacy of Rajapaksa. keep the pressure on or make peace right now. there is no inbetween path. make peace now, or get rid of the ltte.
Major General Sarath Munasinghe said the cadres of the Karuna faction must be enlisted into the army and should be recognised as government forces, instead of letting them operate as a paramilitary. “This is what the former government did to the EPDP cadres,” he added. He also said if Karuna had been properly used by the government, the results could have been better than what is has produced now in the battlefield.
ReplyDeleteI propogated this earlier in the forum but I was shot down because of the so called interchangibality between TVMP and SF. If what he says was carried out then neither Karuna or Pilliyan would be having open warfare and also the SL armed forces would have been seen as a multi ethnic force.
The rest of his interview resonated with UNP propganda. However I believe this was a valid point.
" propogated this earlier in the forum but I was shot down because of the so called interchangibality between TVMP and SF."
ReplyDelete...awww. there there.
jiffy sorry i do not understand your comment. However do you know what propogated means.
ReplyDeleteJack Point, I meant short term as in how much people care about what a loaf of bread costs today, as opposed to - say - how much we could weaken the LTTE if the current state of "undeclared war" continues for 3 years.
ReplyDeleteAnd agreed Jiffy, even if it means having to live with all the "human rights violations" the NGOs are screaming about, we've got to support the tactics adopted by the government. Cos bar the "terror" adopted by the UNP in the 1980s, there's no way we could have put down the JVP uprising so quickly.
It doesn't matter if it's a JVPer or a Tamil or whoever, if someone engages in/supports acts of terror, then they better be prepared to face similar tactics from the government. And a majority in the South completely supports that (although not all would be willing to admit it). If a "white van" abducted someone who was helping carry out an attack like this Rathmalana one, almost without exception, you aren't going to hear any opposition from ordinary folk.
I agree with Illegal existence but one has to remember one of the reasons in which you have sinhalese supporting the LTTE and knowing that their activities will cause harm to their own people is because of the UNP era etc.
ReplyDeleteThe JVP uprisings were put down but also alot of innocent people were killed because of their political opinions etc. The UNP took the opportunity to kill anyone who opposed them.
Its like Sept 11. The people backed Bush because they were angry. However Bush turned the war for his own benifit. Furthermore saying that IRAQ was a hotbed of terrorist, he invaded it. Today where no inhouse terrorist virtually existed in Iraq before the invasion, there is become a breeding ground and mecca for terrorist.
Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets pounded on LTTE military base in the Mullaittivu area this afternoon, Tuesday the 29th of May. Anyone knows more about this ? Navindran ?
ReplyDeleteWhat I usually do is do a google news search (top one of the underlined headers called news) and search for LTTE/Sri Lanka. Usually you get the latest news from different websites at one go and you can read what you want.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Daily Mirror:
LTTE base bombed
A day after the LTTE exploded a bomb in Colombo, air force planes bombed a Tiger military base in Pudukuduirippu in the Wanni yesterday evening, the military said.
“After several reconnaissance missions over the area, we bombed and caused heavy damage to the base,” air force spokesman, Ajantha Silva told Daily Mirror.
Meanwhile, the LTTE said that one civilian had been killed and two injured in the air raid.
However the air force asserted that the target had been a military base with a large number of Tigers in occupation at the time of the raid. (SJ)
In Spiderman they mention an inportant point. "With Great Power comes Great Responsibiity". Unfortunately in Sri Lanka the polticians have not ehibited the discpline that is required. Many policies were instituted because of the need to be popular and retain power then otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSomebody in this forum mentioned that the middle class will back out when things get worst. However being fair to them, the have a family to feed. They are not jet setting around the world. They need to bribe officials to get things done etc etc. Even when USA went to war first Bush was much celeberated. However now the democrats might control the presidency with the senate and house of representatives because the people who intially supported bush are suffering economically and also losing their loved ones.
I did not like the way the military shot JVP Rohan like a dog when they crushed the JVP uprising. They thought it was a quick solution but it has really not solved the problem. Furthermore he was fighting for the upliftment of the poor.
I do not support the JVP uprising but it brought out the realities faced by the very poor in Sri Lankan society. Rohan should have been tried and jailed. Finishing him off gives relief only for that period of time.
Who's Rohan ? Did you mean Rohana Wijeweera ?
ReplyDeleteNavindran, Munasinghe is welcome to his (UNP-driven) opinion, but I would disagree with him. The strength of the TMVP is in its separation from the Army; take away that strength and their usefulness is limited. Look at the EPDP; their role is now limited to spying for the various int units.
ReplyDeleteHere's a quote that'll make my point more clear vis-a-vis the GoSL's point of view on Karuna and Pilliyan. This was written before the TMVP-LTTE split, and is taken from my novel 'A Cause Untrue', which is fiction but pertinent here. Not trying to plug my book :) just making a point:
"The LRRPs were a top secret project thought up by ultra-hawks in the JOC. Currently the operation was a mish mash of various security forces units and mercenaries running deep recce and ambush missions, but building ip a base of experience for the next two phases.
"The first of these was that in the event of an indefinite truce, ceasefire, or protracted period of negotiation between the government and the Tigers, the LRRP operations would be gradually refocused on sourcing a suitably dissatisfied group or groups of individuals within the LTTE, and once sourced, encouraged to break away aand oppose the LTTE. The LRRPs would then be used to arm, support, and even fight alongside the dissident factions, thereby destabilizing the LTTE, preventing any consolidation within Tiger-controlled areas, and weakening their position at the negotiating table.
"The next phase was to establish long-term stay-behind teams of guerrillas who would, in the unlikely event of the Sri Lankan government deciding to grant Eelam to the LTTE, organize and form the core of a new organization. This new outfit, cadred by Tamils and Muslims opposed to the Tigers, would be used for cross-border hit-and-run raaids that would destabilize the new fledgling Tamil state."
Phase one has now been carried out, and the idea waas not necessarily to have a cohesive component to oppose the Tigers, but to destabilize their rule aand weaken Tamil opposition to the GoSL. Therefore, having Pilliyan break away from the TMVP isn't necessarily aa bad thing, and might have even been engineered by the GoSL aas a means of having several weaker opponents to the LTTE, all dependent on the GoSL, insteaad of one strong one which might later demaand a piece of the cake.
This way, at some stage the GoSL could mop up all the little Karunas and Pilliyaans (if they choose to), since none of them would be strong enough to oppose the GoSL, and too split by faactional fighting to unite again.
So even if the splinter groups were of no use to the GoSL militarily, it makes sense to paay them to sit on their arses rather thaan fight on the LTTE side.
David Blacker, I will have to agree with you on the doctrine behind the creation of the LRRP.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit at the time of the TMVP split I was concerned and thought that we are at the brink of losing an advantage we had over the LTTE but now I see your point. One of the greatest fears that many people had was that the TMVP would over time become formidable and if for some reason the LTTE was defeated then they may demand an area of control in the East.
Why can't we protect troop transport vehicles so that they are protected against claymore and other similiar explosive devices?
ReplyDeleteProtection provided by canvass is not sufficient.
Can't we improvise thse vehicles with some armour plates etc.? There is a company that manufactures bullet proof vests here in SL. Why can't the GOSL call for quotations from this and other feasible manufactures to come up with both quality and cost effective solutions to counter these? May be enclosures within trucks made of bullet proof/shrapnel proof material?
Kiri,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to read your comments as it is directly related with the current Topic "LTTE claymore inflicts heavy casualties"
How do we as civilians could help the forces in this regard other than being on alert? Is there anyway that we could come by a claymore without seen it physically? Do forces have detectors?
Hiru,
ReplyDeleteI think if any, it could be only sniffer dogs. In this case a flying dog may have been needed.
Metal detectors will not be of much use I guess as it will detect any metal and create noise that will make it not very usefull.
Are there detectors that detect explosives?
Further more on the public being vigilant I think we need to be more organised.
most claymroe mines are remotely operated. That means, someone with a remote control detonate the bomb when the target reaches bomb location. There are devices called 'jammers' which jam all signals around a limited radius thus barring remote detonation of bombs. Unfortunately most SLA transports are not armed with these.
ReplyDelete"The JVP uprisings were put down but also alot of innocent people were killed because of their political opinions etc. The UNP took the opportunity to kill anyone who opposed them."
ReplyDeletehey navi, just joshing with ya abt the previous comment. : )
this comment you make above is true i think to an extent. the more the 'rule of law' is bent (however justifiable it may appear at the time), then almost certainly there will be consequences for civil society later down the track. As one john richardson put it, a state that bends its own rules cant keep others from bending it too (or something to that effect).
having said that however, i think the biggest cause of sinhalese co-conspirators (third party sympathisers) is poverty, mixed with a large dose of opportunism and greed- which is of course not to say that greed is 'new', but conspicuous spending and the gap between rich and poor i think we can all agree is at an all time high now. add to this other social vices like drugs, drug dealing, organised crime syndicates and a significant section of the population with ready access to a firearm (or knowledge of using one)..then i think we see some of the root elements of the problem. i dont believe it all boils down to state terrorism. a place like israel which uses significant amounts of state terrorism is quite a civil society otherwise. it's our poor economy, that undermines the ability of the state to keep the 'dog' on the leash. the politicians add to this decay by politicising the armed forces.
anyways..just some of my thoughts.
hey david blacker..
ReplyDeletewhen's the book coming out? put me down for a few copies. if that snippet was anything to go by, it's a bloody good read!
so is all of it 'made up' or is there some truth behind the fiction? i'd like to think the sri lankan govt had people in the ranks capable of the sort of foresight you suggest in the novel...
what a 'deliciously' devious strategy it would be if true!
so is it?
What defencenet said about signal jammers is true. The US army has equipped all armoured convoys with at least one.
ReplyDeleteFor example our president whenever he goes on tours around the country, you will see one of the security operatives with a normal looking backpack. This is actually a portable jamming device for VIPs. The US president has a blackhawk helicopter fitted with a similar system to block any signals that could set off an IED; it basically blocks out even normal mobile telephone signals for a mile or two.
Would not some steel plates (1/4" or 0.5" thickness) fixed to these Army Lorries and buses save some valuable lives of our fellow soldiers? It might not be 100% protective, but it will surely save them from fatal injuries...
ReplyDeleteMost of the injuries are caused because the steel balls easily penetrate the glasses in the buses and the canopies in the Lorries.
So why can’t we install some steel plates, so that at least the upper body is protected??? I'm sure our Army Engineering Corps will be able to do this job!
Don’t forget that our Army manufactures the Buffel APC which is quite a remarkable machine!
Its very happy that every one is involved with the discussion of protecting our brave soldgers.I would like to highlight a single situation where the armour plating proved decisive to an army convoy protection. If u guys can remember the claymore explossion near the eastern university targeting an army convoy where the police bus which was the only vehicle that was not fitted with armour plate was severly damaged killing few policemen. The reason for not fixing armour plate to that vehicle is unknown but according to the papaer reports, it was due to lack of FUNDS. TRAGIC!!! We have a jumbo cabinet and we have funds to maintain that but not to ensure the safety of the poeple who are responsible for the safeguard of the nation...
ReplyDeleteNo way I didn't know that the Buffel APC was made in house in Sri Lanka! SWEEET
ReplyDeleteSri Lanka drops Norinco as ammunition supplier
ReplyDeleteROBERT KARNIOL JDW Asia-Pacific Bureau Chief
Bangkok
Sri Lanka has abandoned
a longstanding military
supply agreement with
China North Industries
Corporation (Norinco)
to forge a new deal with another
Beijing manufacturer, according
to an internal cabinet document
seen by Jane's.
The Sri Lankan cabinet memorandum,
dated 4 April 2007,
outlines a USD37.6 million procurement
agreement with the
Chinese conglomerate Poly Technologies.
Colombo-based sources
say the deal was finalised through
a bilateral memorandum of
understanding (MoU) concluded
two weeks earlier and has since
been approved, but it has yet to be
made public.
?The cabinet of ministers is
hereby notified that the defencerelated
urgent requirements
forecast under this MoU are very
critical and urgent as the ordinary
Chinese supplier,namely Norinco,
with whom a bilateral agreement
has been in force since 1992, has
not executed the urgent orders
placed upon it perfectlywhile only
giving opportunity for draw downs
in respect of idling goods lying at
its bonded warehouse,? the cabinet
document states.
The deal with Poly Technologies
centres on supplies for the
Sri Lankan army and navy, whose
pace of operations against the
secessionist Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam has intensified with
a deteriorating security situation. It
mainly involves ammunition.
Thelargestsingleorderinvolved
is for 120 mm mortar shells
for the army: 70,000 units are
to be acquired at a cost of
USD10.4 million.
There are also 13,000 152 mm
number 1 cannon charge shells
worth USD3.6 million, 30,000
152 mm number 2 cannon charge
shells worth USD8.4 million,
25,000 152 mm full charge cannon
shells worth USD7.4 million and
50,000 81mmhigh-explosive mortar
bombs worth USD3.7 million.
The navy requirement is worth
USD2.7 million in total. This
includes 100,000 14.5 mm cartridges,
2,000 RPG-7 rockets and
500 81 mm airburst mortar shells.
There are also 50 Type 82 14.5 mm
twin-barrel naval guns, 200 Type
85 12.7 mm heavy machine guns,
200 Type 80 7.62 mm multipurpose
machine guns, 1,000 Type
56-2 7.62 mm submachine guns
and 1,000 Type 56 7.62 mm submachine
guns.
This type of materiel would
normally be supplied by Norinco,
which has maintained a bonded
warehouse in the port city of Galle
since 1993. Colombo has been able
to expedite deliveries by drawing
from supplies stored there, but
problems with this arrangement
became apparent in 2002.
Sri Lanka$s United National
Front government became reluctant to renew this accord for reasons
that remain unclear and it allowed a
debt to build up. This unpaid debt
had an estimated value of USD60
million in mid-2002 and has since
topped USD200 million.
Poly Technologies aims to
avoid the development of any debt
through a system of staggered
payments. Its agreement with
Sri Lanka requires an advance
payment of 25 per cent, with the
remainder provided in 10 quarterly
instalments.
The deal with Norinco was
exclusive, with Colombo proscribed
from obtaining listed items
elsewhere. The new contract with
PolyTechnologies contravenes this
clause and appears to invalidate the
earlier agreement.
- Janes Defence Weekly 30 May 2007
A note of caution to David. When the Indian intelligence wanted to meddle and create the problem in Sri Lanka, they decide to train 8 different groups to fight against the Sri Lankan govt. This was to be revenge for Sri Lanka supporting Pakistan (allowng their planes to refuel etc) during their war of independence for bangladesh.
ReplyDeleteOnce Sri Lanka was weak, they would intrevene and help like a big brother. India succeded in their ploy. However they did not figure that the LTTE or Prabha might happen. This resulted in India losing its pride and alot of its soldiers.
Likewise to revenge for vietnam, US used the insurgency in Afghanistan to their advantage. Jimmy Carter, then US president used the word Jihad himself. After that the Taliban and OSama came.
Maybe you are right that you have included it in your novel and that would make a good read.
Curious why do you stipulate that there will be an Eelam given in your novel.
Dick you are right. I am feel very bitterly of the way Rohana Wijeweera was taken care of. In my heart I feel it was an aristrocatic crushing of a peaseant uprising and therefore they did not bring him to trial. I do not support the JVP but in recent times they have done alot of good to the areas they serve.
ReplyDeleteThere needs to be a truth and reconciliation commission for all the present military doings. If the particular military/politicians do not get punished for their crimes, then nothing will change.
What sort of remote control do they use? Is it radio control or infra red? Me thinks it's radio control? Otherwise you need to more or less be in line of sight operate it.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't we obtain these jammers? what's stopping us. Surely the benefits accrued against cost should be huge. The lives of our protectors are worth more than anything else. I am sure even our local engineers can come up with such a device. I feel the only obstacle might that no one is willing to try this avenue and those who are capable and willing of manufacuturing such a device may really not know that they could help.
If funds is the problem can't we set up a public fund and collect money for this specific reason? I am sure with all the harships people will contribute their maximum voluntarily for such a cause.
I think out politicians really have no sense of science and technology. Even people like Mahinda who is one of the better politicians are just tempered with political recipes they really do not understand possibilities of science and technology. Does our president have a really good science and technology advisor. May be MR should take science and technology classes at his level to get his mind opened to the vast possibilities.
More importantly does the defence ministry have a military technology and science advisor?
This is an area that must be addressed and everyone of us should do our bit to help in any way.
Any suggestions as to how we can make some progress in this area?
as far as science and technology is considered LTTE is ahead of us. Thats the unfortunate truth.They have engineered Johnny AP mines, Parsilan motor boms and they have mastered the art of suicide jackets. The IDEs that they are exploding are modeled on Claymore deisgn. Even though they are known as claymore explossions these were locally made IDEs with extra addtion of steel balls. They have been able to produce these kind of equipment at will. We have not been able to make any kind of locally made weapons campared to that. COnsidering the talent that we have and the grave cost that we have to bear in importing those items it wont be a bad idea to produce our own.
ReplyDeleteMBRL,
ReplyDeleteYes why can't we do it? We have "enterprising" people here who make galkatas and other improvised explosive devices too. Why aren't these areas been looked in to? Could there be other reasons like patent issues or some form of threats from arms producing countries? At least we are producing (and exporting?) bullet proof vests. We can definitely save a lot by producing all possible items here in Sri Lanka. Even a thing like a compass and watches that the military uses cost an arm and a leg. Why are these avenues not being explored? Is it because the people who call the shots cannot make a humongous commission? Is this the sole reason? It could well be!
Sri Lanka should be quite proud of waging the war amidst all these obstacles.
It's a poor outlook on a culuture which made excellent quality stell for damascus swords of yore. Speaking of which check out this article here for information on this.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_steel
India against Lanka seeking arms from Pakistan
ReplyDeleteChennai, May 31: Sri Lanka should not seek weapons from Pakistan or China and it should come to India whatever might be their requirement, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan said here today.
After meeting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi here, he told mediapersons that "We are a big power in the region. We don't want the Sri Lankan government to go to Pakistan or China. Whatever may be their requirement, the Sri Lankan government should come to us."
However, he said, "India will not provide weapons with offensive capabilities to Sri Lanka."
To a query on opposition from political leaders in Tamil Nadu for providing radars to Sri Lankan government, Narayan said, "Radars are seen as a defensive capability. Hence, we have provided the Sri Lankan government with them."
On coordinated patrolling along the Tamil Nadu coast to protect fishermen, he said, "I will check with the navy if there is a problem for functioning under a unified command. I think it is a good idea."
When asked whether the fishermen should be instructed not to cross the international boundary line between Sri Lanka and India, he said, "Fishermen are going there for their livelihood. We have told the Sri Lankan navy not to fire at them and they have assured us that there will be no firing. By and large they are adhering to this. Fishermen will go wherever there are fishes. To prevent them from crossing the boundary line is asking for too much."
Reacting to a question whether he saw air capabilities of LTTE as a threat to India's security, he said, "We are not in favour of any terrorist organisation having air capabilities."
Jiffy, the book was published in 2005. Here it is:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ph-books.com/books.asp#
You caan get it in most bookshops.
Navindran, it's true that the GoSL is playing with fire, but you can't compare what they're doing in relation to what India. India wasn't in a desperate war with SL the way we are with the Tigers. You use what you haave. Also, Indian arminfg of the tamil separatists wasn't revenge. Revenge has no place in world politics. It was part of an Indiaan strategy to destabilise all its neighbours (Pakistan, SL, Bangladesh, Nepal) so that it remained the dominant power until its industry had established itself.
Most times armour plating cannot be added onto soft transport because the engine isn't powerful enough to handle the additional weight, and the suspension gets screwed very quickly. The Buffel was manufactured here, but designed by South Africa for the SADF, aand had aa specially designed suspension.
Check put Frontline footage from Al-jazeera in the East
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfqimW3xdgg
david, thanks for the link.
ReplyDeletei didnt know you were an author! when you were in the army did you see a lot of action?
Jiffy, was at EPS '90-'91, so yeah, I saw some.
ReplyDelete