KAMALIKA PIERIS

The Sri Lanka army had a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol Unit (LRRP)    known also as the Deep Penetration Unit. It functioned under the Directorate of Military intelligence (DMI). The LLRP was engaged in high risk,  undercover operations, carried out behind enemy lines. It was a very important activity. Operations were carried out by Commandos and Special Forces regiments. Many were volunteers  who were aware of the risks they were taking.  The centre of operations was at Batticaloa and the commanding officer was Captain S. H. Nilam supported by Major T. N. Muthalif.  LLRP also got support from ex LTTE cadres,   anti-LTTE Tamil groups and members of the public. They were brought into the operation when necessary. V. Vidyarthan (‘Mike’) coordinated a network of operatives and informants, in Batticaloa and Ampara districts, which included former LTTE cadres. He worked directly with Captain Nilam.

The LRRP hit squads    carried out   target killings. The plan was to have a sustained assassination campaign, ‘something we had never tried out before’. This would have had a serious impact on the LTTE if it had continued. The squads were trained at the Panaluwa Test firing range  Operations were carried out by small groups who went in and out of enemy territory, using jungle routes, seeking their targets. The groups stayed in safe houses or camped in the jungles until they were ready to take their target. . When entering LTTE held territory they wore LTTE uniforms. ‘We had about 100 LTTE uniforms’.  The names of operatives was kept secret. This was essential. Operatives mostly worked on their own They had their own arsenals, with a range of weapons, including claymore mines. These groups carried out several successful under cover operations. They assassinated several high profile LTTE commanders   inside LTTE territory. They killed  senior sea tiger commander Amaran, Batticaloa District intelligence head Nizam, artillery specialist Sathiyaseelan,   ‘Mano Master’  ‘Kelly’  ‘Jeevan,’ Karikalan, Swarnaseelan and Devadas.

The Directorate maintained a safe house for the LLRP in the Millennium City housing scheme, at Athurugiriya, Colombo. The LLRP had initially been housed at the Kohuwala Army Camp, but was relocated to Athurugiriya in December 2001. Immediately after winning the December 2001 elections, the UNP government announced that the army was planning to assassinate UNP leaders, including Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe  and the centre of operations was the Millennium City house. They wanted the house investigated. On 2 January 2002, a special team of Sri Lanka Police led by SP Kulasiri Udugampola raided the place  and arrested Capt Nilam, corporal Hilmy, several Sinhala officers and a suspected LTTE operative. These peratives   had returned to Colombo on orders. They were arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act since the police did not have a court order or warrant.

The director of the DMI and the Army Commander contacted the IGP and asked him to call off the raid. Despite the requests made by his superiors and the protests of the army, SP Udugampola, took the soldiers into custody, seized the stock of weapons and drove to the Military Police Headquarters in Narahenpita.  He immediately contacted the media  and a ‘vehicle load of journalists’    were shown the weapons. The soldiers were taken away  and interrogated  at Katugastota Police Station. They were humiliated and ‘treated like criminals’. They were held for nearly two weeks. They were released on the orders of Defence Minister Tilak Marapana, who expressed outrage over the police raid.

A Commission of Inquiry was   appointed to look into the raid. The Commission said that the raid had seriously compromised national security. It was “total betrayal and absolute treachery.”  Udugampola’s actions were “illegal and immoral”. The report also included a list of officers of the police and army responsible for the incident. The IGP set up a special investigation into the actions of Udugampola and the other police officers. Udugampola was demoted to the rank of ASP. In March 2005, Udugampola was interdicted and arrested.  A Supreme Court judgment delivered in January 2004 stated that the fundamental rights of the soldiers had been violated and ordered ASP Udugampola to pay a sum of Rs. 50,000 LKR each to five of the LRRP operatives. The State was ordered to pay Rs. 750,000 each to them as well.  The raid clearly would not have been possible without support from an influential section of the army.   A previous commander of the Military Intelligence Corps (MIC) Colombo who had made attempts to obtain the address of the safe house was asked to resign. Action was also taken against several other army officers. The most senior officers were ordered to retire.

The Army Commander, under the direction of the Defence Minister, had also appointed a Court of Inquiry to investigate the activities of the LRRP. The court held that the LLRP activities were legitimate and their weapons had been obtained through legitimate means. It was alleged that thermo baric weapons had been brought from the Army’s operational areas in the North to the Panaluwa Army testing range, in-order to use them at a UNP election meeting. This allegation was proved to be false.

Thanks to the raid the safe house cover was blown.  A top secret covert operation now became public knowledge. A vital operation which   had exerted much pressure on the LTTE and capable of crushing the LTTE was aborted. The names of those working in the unit became known, leading to the killing of many informants and civilians who had assisted the LLRP. The raid seemed to have been done at the insistence of the LTTE who saw that the LLRP was becoming a threat. The raid showed political support. It was based on a bogus accusation. It took place before the CFA was signed in 2002    Shamindra Ferdinando notes that full extent of the damage cause by the Millennium City raid has not been fully assessed even after a decade.

The ‘Ceasefire Agreement’ put a stop to undercover work. LTTE had pushed for a clause prohibiting the entry of deep penetration units into LTTE areas. It was only when the CFA became public that the army got to know this.. Operations behind the LTTE lines were thereafter suspended and LRRP activities came to a stop. As the army ceased its operation the LTTE launched theirs. Army officers who had infiltrated the LTTE controlled areas and executed vitally important operations  were hunted down by the LTTE and killed. Captain Nilam and his family disappeared from Indonesia where they had been sent for safety. Lt Col Muthalif was killed

LTTE unleashed a series of killings in the eastern province and Colombo. About 50 military personnel and information were eliminated. Suresh, who had played a pivotal role, was killed   at Kalubowila. The army looked after his children till they were handed over to the mother. In Batticaloa, over 80 Tamil informants and intelligence officers were   killed, including Mike. LTTE Intelligence chief, Pottu Amman personally traveled to Batticaloa to oversea this.. The military could do nothing because of the CFA. The government did not try to stop the LTTE either, saying it would affect the CFA.

In 2006, Eelam War IV started, CFA was cancelled and LRRP resumed its activities.  It re- developed its capability for conducting operations behind enemy lines. These operations restricted the movements of the senior LTTE cadres. When the army set up multiple fronts in Vanni, the LRRP had more room in which to operate. They launched attacks against LTTE leaders. They killed Charles, head of the LTTE military intelligence and Cheliyan , deputy leader of the Sea Tigers. The killing of Shankar, who was in charge of the east, at an early stage of the War, stunned the LTTE.