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Rajapaksa vows to wipe out the Tigers

B. Muralidhar Reddy

“Military will repeat in North its success in the East”

— Photo: AP

SECURING THE GAINS: Soliders patrol near Thoppigala, about 240 km northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday.

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday vowed to “wipe out” the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from the island nation’s Northern Province like the way his Government did the “job” in Eastern Province.

Speaking at a function in Trincomalee town, the heart of Eastern Province, Mr. Rajapaksa said blunting the military prowess of the Tigers was the only way to achieve permanent peace in the country.

The remarks of President came amid claims by the Government and the military that they have taken control of 99 per cent of the territory in the east and it would be a matter of days before the remaining Tiger cadres holed up in Thoppigala jungles are smoked out.

The pledge by Mr. Rajapaksa is a clear indication that there is very little scope for either negotiations or peace at the current juncture. Analysts believe that the military and the Tigers are geared up for a major showdown in the north in the coming days and weeks.

Mr. Rajapaksa appears to have deliberately chosen Trincomalee as the venue to deliver the tough message to the Tigers. According to senior Government functionaries his regime is contemplating “celebration of liberation of the east” in a big way in the coming days.

“The idea is not only to boost the morale of the forces out in the battlefield but also let everyone know loud and clear that this Government means business.

“The regime believes that the LTTE has grown into a monster it is today only because the previous Government did not have the political will to challenge the Tigers. We are convinced it is a winnable war contrary to the popular perception within and outside the country”, a senior official told The Hindu.

At the function in Trincomalee, Mr. Rajapaksa said he was planning to bring in many foreign investors to develop Eastern Province since the Government was very keen to “alleviate the rural poverty and solve their unemployment, a problem untouched by any Government for over a decade”.

On Monday, the military claimed that advancing soldiers had captured two more LTTE camps located in the south west of Narakamula, in Batticaloa district and recovered two 120 mm heavy mortar guns abandoned by fleeing LTTE cadres.

Military spokesperson Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said the military personnel are now consolidating the defences in the newly liberated areas south west of Narakamula.

In a statement, the LTTE alleged that the military has a long history of occupying temples and churches and claimed that the latest is the occupation of the famous Thanthamalai temple on a hill top in Batticaloa.

“On July 8, the annual festival of this temple that will last for 16 days was started. In normal times, this festival will attract the entire Tamil population in Batticaloa”, the Tigers said.

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