Photo: Tamilchelvan’s body is intact witnessed by Pirabaharan, the leader of the LTTE and the sea tiger leader Soosai’s wife. By: R Jayadevan
(November, 04, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the independent Colombo media are still to produce hard evidence that LTTE’s Suppiah Paramu Tamilchelvan was killed in the air attack on November 2nd.
The veteran defense correspondent of Sunday Times Iqbal Athas in his latest(4/11) situation report published in the Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) has stated: ‘Near crack of dawn Friday, a Kfir and a MiG-27, both ground attack aircraft, took to the skies from the Sri Lanka Air Force base at Katunayake. For nearly 15 minutes, they maintained an altitude of some 15,000 feet. As their target neared, they dropped altitude. At some 1,000 feet, they dived and dropped their lethal cargo of bombs. It was on a building near the 150th milepost along the A-9 highway at Kilinochchi. The aircraft returned to base safely thereafter’.
Without giving the precise location his report stated ‘it was a building near the 150th milepost along the A-9 highway at Kilinochchi’ and that ‘a kifir and Mig 27, both ground attack aircraft……. dropped their lethal cargo bombs’. These two statements confirm a place near distance of a nice and neat (number) 150th milepost and more than one lethal bomb has been dropped on the building. With this pinpointed attack with huge bombs Tamilchelvan’s body should have gone into smithereens but still it remained intact.
The photographs or aerial pictures of the place attacked are still kept secret by both the GOSL and the LTTE. It is known fact that the air force undertook some bombing operations in the area and some LTTE cadres were killed in these attacks.
Air Force Spokesman Group Captain Ajantha Silva’s claim published in the government controlled Daily News that they received ‘very reliable information’, identifying the location as ‘a meeting place of LTTE leaders’. It was reported elsewhere that LTTE leaders were assembled in the place air force bombed to discuss about their strategies. But Iqbal Athas in his report stated ‘Mr. Tamilselvan who was used to the habit of shifting locations regularly had chosen to spend Thursday night there’. Those who were killed with Tamilchelvan were his team workers and no other top leaders of the LTTE were killed in the alleged air force attack raising serious questions about the credibility of the news that Tamilchelvan was killed in the air attack.
In an analytical report filed in the Vizhippu.net (dated 3 November) in Tamil, some serious concerns have been raised about Tamilchelvan’s death. The translation of the relevant facts is published below:
‘ It is true that, in the air force attack on the Tamil Tiger terrorists suicide cadres training camp, 17 of them were killed on the spot and 36 others were seriously injured. But there is no connection between this attack and the killing of Thamilchelvan…. Recall how Pirabakaran’s trusted star Anton Balasingam was honored by him as the ‘Voice of the Nation’ and accorded publicity. These will be known to the brokers of the LTTE. It is the practice of the LTTE to announce the deaths of its members and administrators after two days of their deaths. Many dead fighters’ names appear in the hero’s list after many months. But totally different approach was taken on the death of Thamilselvan.
‘Before the news about Air Force attack was published in the official websites of the government many LTTE websites gave publicity to the news. After this the official government websites published news quoting the LTTE news…. Over and above this, the daily Tamil News paper ‘Veerakesary’ which aides the LTTE violence relayed recorded news about the air attack in its website. This was the first time Verakersary had done this. In addition to recorded video release about the incident they went on to publish 97 photographs of Thamilchelvan in their newspaper. This is an historic development.
‘…… Pirabakaran has committed the cowardice act by giving the publicity that was not given to the deaths of Balasingam or many other LTTE men. By this publicity Pirabakaran is attempting to cover up his deeds of shooting from the back.
‘ According to the information reaching us, we firmly state that Thamilchelvan was not killed in the air attack and without any doubt we confirm he was killed on the instruction of Pirabakaran…...’
It is a fact ‘truth is the first causality’ in any war. Both war machines of the warring parties in Sri Lanka are not transparent in their claims and using the killing of Tamilchelvan to their own advantage. The facts presented here needs clarification and rebuttals with substantive evidence. Unfortunately, in the murky politics of Sri Lanka when drum beating of the extremists takes precedent, it is unlikely such evidence will be forthcoming. This attitude will only pave the way for tit for tat conduct of the warring parties and gloating and glorification by the extremists of both the divide on the killing spree that is going to take precedent in the days, weeks, moths and years ahead.
(November, 04, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL), the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the independent Colombo media are still to produce hard evidence that LTTE’s Suppiah Paramu Tamilchelvan was killed in the air attack on November 2nd.
The veteran defense correspondent of Sunday Times Iqbal Athas in his latest(4/11) situation report published in the Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) has stated: ‘Near crack of dawn Friday, a Kfir and a MiG-27, both ground attack aircraft, took to the skies from the Sri Lanka Air Force base at Katunayake. For nearly 15 minutes, they maintained an altitude of some 15,000 feet. As their target neared, they dropped altitude. At some 1,000 feet, they dived and dropped their lethal cargo of bombs. It was on a building near the 150th milepost along the A-9 highway at Kilinochchi. The aircraft returned to base safely thereafter’.
Without giving the precise location his report stated ‘it was a building near the 150th milepost along the A-9 highway at Kilinochchi’ and that ‘a kifir and Mig 27, both ground attack aircraft……. dropped their lethal cargo bombs’. These two statements confirm a place near distance of a nice and neat (number) 150th milepost and more than one lethal bomb has been dropped on the building. With this pinpointed attack with huge bombs Tamilchelvan’s body should have gone into smithereens but still it remained intact.
The photographs or aerial pictures of the place attacked are still kept secret by both the GOSL and the LTTE. It is known fact that the air force undertook some bombing operations in the area and some LTTE cadres were killed in these attacks.
Air Force Spokesman Group Captain Ajantha Silva’s claim published in the government controlled Daily News that they received ‘very reliable information’, identifying the location as ‘a meeting place of LTTE leaders’. It was reported elsewhere that LTTE leaders were assembled in the place air force bombed to discuss about their strategies. But Iqbal Athas in his report stated ‘Mr. Tamilselvan who was used to the habit of shifting locations regularly had chosen to spend Thursday night there’. Those who were killed with Tamilchelvan were his team workers and no other top leaders of the LTTE were killed in the alleged air force attack raising serious questions about the credibility of the news that Tamilchelvan was killed in the air attack.
In an analytical report filed in the Vizhippu.net (dated 3 November) in Tamil, some serious concerns have been raised about Tamilchelvan’s death. The translation of the relevant facts is published below:
‘ It is true that, in the air force attack on the Tamil Tiger terrorists suicide cadres training camp, 17 of them were killed on the spot and 36 others were seriously injured. But there is no connection between this attack and the killing of Thamilchelvan…. Recall how Pirabakaran’s trusted star Anton Balasingam was honored by him as the ‘Voice of the Nation’ and accorded publicity. These will be known to the brokers of the LTTE. It is the practice of the LTTE to announce the deaths of its members and administrators after two days of their deaths. Many dead fighters’ names appear in the hero’s list after many months. But totally different approach was taken on the death of Thamilselvan.
‘Before the news about Air Force attack was published in the official websites of the government many LTTE websites gave publicity to the news. After this the official government websites published news quoting the LTTE news…. Over and above this, the daily Tamil News paper ‘Veerakesary’ which aides the LTTE violence relayed recorded news about the air attack in its website. This was the first time Verakersary had done this. In addition to recorded video release about the incident they went on to publish 97 photographs of Thamilchelvan in their newspaper. This is an historic development.
‘…… Pirabakaran has committed the cowardice act by giving the publicity that was not given to the deaths of Balasingam or many other LTTE men. By this publicity Pirabakaran is attempting to cover up his deeds of shooting from the back.
‘ According to the information reaching us, we firmly state that Thamilchelvan was not killed in the air attack and without any doubt we confirm he was killed on the instruction of Pirabakaran…...’
It is a fact ‘truth is the first causality’ in any war. Both war machines of the warring parties in Sri Lanka are not transparent in their claims and using the killing of Tamilchelvan to their own advantage. The facts presented here needs clarification and rebuttals with substantive evidence. Unfortunately, in the murky politics of Sri Lanka when drum beating of the extremists takes precedent, it is unlikely such evidence will be forthcoming. This attitude will only pave the way for tit for tat conduct of the warring parties and gloating and glorification by the extremists of both the divide on the killing spree that is going to take precedent in the days, weeks, moths and years ahead.
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