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LTTE faults experts panel

B. Muralidhar Reddy

Soldier killed, many wounded in attacks by Tigers

COLOMBO: In three different attacks, the LTTE on Monday reportedly killed a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier and injured several others including civilians, the Government said.

As per the details given by the Information Department, a soldier died and two others were injured in a claymore explosion near Shinna Kovil on Jaffna Point Pedro road. It said four civilians were injured in the attack. Troops retaliated, but the LTTE casualty figures, if any, were not known.

In another incident at 7 a.m., the LTTE allegedly exploded a claymore mine injuring a soldier on foot patrol in Uylankulam.

Separately, Special Task Force (STF) personnel arrested an armed LTTE suspect at a roadblock at Paddirippu near the Karativu STF camp, Ampara. At the time of the arrest, the STF found an Italian-made .22 pistol magazine along with three live rounds, in the possession of the suspect.

Rajapakse blamed

Meanwhile, the LTTE has accused Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse of adopting a "choking tactic" to stifle the current trajectory towards peace by launching a one-sided experts panel. K. Kaviyalahan, the head of Tamil Eelam Political Research Centre (TEPRC), has claimed that the constitution of a multi-ethnic experts group by Mr. Rajapakse to advise him on power-sharing is aimed at avoiding Geneva II. TamilNet quoted Mr. Kavivalahan as saying that Mr. Rajapakse's "new agenda" circumvented the existing paradigm of the four and a half years old peace process.

He has been quoted as saying that the new agenda of the Sri Lanka President is aimed at circumventing the mechanisms and decisions of the Cease Fire Agreement.

He claimed that the last week's Vakaneri operation by the Army, in which the SLA lost 12 soldiers, was the first act of an offensive operation by the regular ground forces of the army in contrast to the recent Long Range Recce Patrol attacks that were known as Deep Penetration Unit (DPU) operations.

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