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THE TAMIL TIGERS THREATENS WAR ON SRI LANKA

By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles

Indicating escalating violence in Sri Lanka the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) threatened war on the Indian Ocean island republic.

The terrorist group also known as the Tamil Tigers is alleged to have exploded a pair of powerful mines hanging from trees that ripped apart a civilian bus at Kebithigollewa killing 64 people in the deadliest attack so far since a controversial ceasefire agreement was signed four years ago.
The threat came in the form of a letter written to the Scandinavian Monitoring Committee and announced in the LTTE website, The Tamil Net.

Published with a dateline of June 17, the Tamil Net said in its announcement:” The LTTE has requested the Head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and the peace facilitator Norway's Ambassador to Sri Lanka to convey a strong warning to Colombo of possible retaliation following the provocative aerial bombing by the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) in Mullaithivu, Kilinochchi, Batticaloa, and artillery fire towards LTTE territory from Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camps carried out during the last 2 days in violation of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), LTTE Head of Political Wing, S.P. Thamilchelvan said in Kilinochchi Saturday.”

Addressing a passing out parade of LTTE auxiliary forces a LTTE commander, Colonel Balaraj, on June 4 reportedly said that Eelam War 4 had already started and the impending attacks by the LTTE were part of that war.

The LTTE did not indicate how it would implement the threat but it is believed they had sent hundreds of their suicide bombers in to the capital city of Colombo capable of striking at civilian targets when the former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe lifted all security barricades after signing the controversial ceasefire agreement with LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Supporting Wickremesinghe’s move a former Air Force Head Harry Goonetileke in a BBC interview said that was something inevitable in what he called a peace process.

The LTTE website also attacked Western countries including the United States for condemning the Tamil Tigers for the Kebithigollewa explosion that killed 64 civilians and denied it had any hand in the blatant terrorist attack.

The United States in a statement published by the State Department accused the explosion had all the hallmarks of the Tamil Tigers.

But the Tamil Net said ,” The LTTE Political Head (S.P. Thamilselvan) also condemned the hastily issued statements by some countries, without understanding the complex issues on the ground, accusing the LTTE for the Kebitigollawa attack.”

The Tamil Net added: "Faulting the Tigers for Colombo's failure to act responsibly in Oslo, and using the post EU-proscription scenario as an advantage affecting the parity of status would only lead Sri Lanka to a fatal war," Thamilchelvan warned.

While the Sri Lankan government assured that the aerial attacks in the Northern and Eastern provinces were confined to LTTE military bases the Thamilselvan accused the government of bombing civilians.

The Tamil Net item concluded: “"The Tamil leadership has forwarded a stern warning to Colombo that the LTTE would be forced to retaliate," Thamilchelvan said.

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