SRILANKA SAYS TAMIL TERRORIST COULD STRIKE THE NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS IN INDIA

By Walter Jayawardhana

Explaining the changing security situation in South Asia due to a terrorist organization possessing an air wing for the first time in world‘s history, Sri Lanka government said the capability of the nascent air force of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) allows the group to strike India’s nuclear installations at any time.

Currently, Sri Lanka’s only international Airport at Colmbo is closed during the night time since all bombing happened during mid night.

Dr. Palitha Kohona the Sri Lanka government’s Foreign Secretary said, "There is an air threat which has a range of 200-300 nautical miles, and this range brings within it not only cities within Sri Lanka, shipping in the Indian Ocean, but also the nuclear installations of India."

"And we are talking about a terrorist organisation that did not hesitate to murder the prime minister of our neighbour,” he further added. He was referring to the 1991 suicide bomb killing of the Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at a place close to the Tamil Nadu capital of Chennai, where the rebel group enjoyed the freedom of movement and procuring arms.

During all the three times of air attacks the rebel air force were able to return to their base in the rebel strong hold of Kilinochchi unscathed after dropping gravity bombs to the intended targets. The LTTE military spokesman Rasiah Ilantheriyan has vowed to send more bombing sorties to Colombo and other military installations.

The Sri Lanka government has wanted India to get more involved in bringing in a solution to Sri Lanka’s lingering terrorist menace.

In the 1980’s it was the Indian government of the late Indira Gandhi who trained , funded and armed the terrorist group for being more close to the US government when Sri Lanka was ruled by a pro-Western and right wing President J.R. Jayewardene. But India realized that what it created was also becoming a threat to them , Rajiv Gandhi sent Indian Peace Keeping troops to Sri Lanka. 1200 Indian soldiers died at the hands of the Tamil Tigers.

Hence the bad experience of losing troops and losing the country’s leader, India has been reluctant to get involved in the problem too deeply.