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8 aircraft lost, says Colombo

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake conceded in Parliament on Wednesday that eight aircraft of the Air Force were destroyed in Monday’s pre-dawn ground and air attack by the LTTE on the Anuradhapura airbase.

The Prime Minister’s response, in the form of a statement, came amid wild speculation on the extent of the damage and the loss of lives and charges by the opposition that the Government was attempting a cover up.

Minutes after the main opposition party United National Party (UNP) raised the matter, the Prime Minister said three helicopters, four training planes and a Beech craft surveillance plane were destroyed.

The figure tallies with the LTTE’s claim within hours after the operation. But the Prime Minister rejected the opposition contention that the attack was a defeat for the military and called on all political parties to join together in the fight against the rebels.

“[The attack] was an act of desperation by the LTTE to build their flagging morale and also to get the attention of the international community,” he said. “The forces will not be demoralised by this incident.”

The UNP Members in Parliament claimed that 18 aircraft — along with sophisticated surveillance equipment — totalling nearly $60 million had been destroyed. The party termed the attack a major embarrassment for the government and demanded President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, resign.

Separately, Parliament approved the Local Government and Provincial Councils (Amendment) Bill. With the amendments, nominations made in 2004 by various parties including the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) stand cancelled.

The nominations were made after the Government had announced the schedule for holding of elections of local bodies in the north and east. However, since 2004 the elections have been postponed every six months. Political observers believe that the cancellation would enable registration of political parties and the Karuna faction could be a beneficiary of the amendment.

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