{"id":100184,"date":"2020-03-20T16:18:12","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T23:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=100184"},"modified":"2020-03-20T16:18:12","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T23:18:12","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-14-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/03\/20\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-part-14-c\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY Part 14 C"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

This essay\nconcludes the discussion on the contrived failure of Eelam War II and III.  The essay starts with the Millenium City Raid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0The Intelligence branch of the Sri Lanka army had carried out top-secret covert operations from a safe house in Millennium City Housing scheme at Aturugiriya.\u00a0 It is usual for armies to have safe houses. The Athurugiriya Safe House had been rented by the Directorate of Military Intelligence in December 2001. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The location of\nthe house was known only to one or two DMI officials. It was a closely guarded\nsecret. The last LRRP operation from Aturugiriya had\nbeen prematurely concluded on December 21. It had become difficult to execute highly\nclassified, sensitive operations, since a Ceasefire had been planned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2002, a middle grade police officer, Kulasiri\nUdugampola, a SP in the Kandy Division, obtained a Court Order to conduct a\nraid on the safe house at the Millennium City at Athurugiriya. The exact address of the house was stated in\nthe order, critics observed, though this was a secret location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Udugampola had spoken to the Army\u2019s Provost Marshal,\nand obtained the assistance of the Military Police.  Udugampola and his team raided   Millenium City safe house.   Captain\nNilam and other intelligence officers found there,  were arrested, abused ,    bundled up and driven  to Military Police Headquarters in\nNarahenpita and then to Kandy where Detention Orders were served on them under\nthe PTA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The raid was conducted on the bogus excuse,\nthat there was a conspiracy\nin Millenium City to\nassassinate Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.   There\nwas no evidence of such a plot. A second charge was added on to this. That\nthermo-baric explosives had been brought to the Panaluwa Army Testing Range in\norder to train non-military persons on the orders of the Directorate of\nMilitary Intelligence (DMI).\nThe Panaluwa training was for the LRRP team. They were taught the use of thermobaric\nweapons for use in assault on Tiger guerrilla positions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The political\naspect of the matter soon emerged.  Udugampola\nhad telephoned Interior Minister John Amaratunga, to complain of pressures on\nhim. Minister Amaratunga dispatched Lal Ratnayake, a former DIG, to\nAthurugiriya to make sure nothing was done to suppress matters. The media was\ninformed and there was wide publicity\n.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Millenium City Raid had been carried out on the\nurging of the LTTE. The LTTE\nknew that this house was used by the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP). LLRP had\ncaused much damage to the LTTE. The\nLLRP were highly trained men who infiltrated Tiger guerrilla controlled areas\nand carried out devastating attacks.\nThe\nAturugiriya raid was to crush the LLRP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After this raid, highly confidential information such as the\nnames and addresses of the LLRP were made public and LTTE started to eliminate\nthem one by one. LTTE   targeted intelligence operatives and their informants,\ngunning them down whenever they were exposed. Many informants were killed or\nwent into hiding. Active officers were threatened or killed across the country. Col Nisham Muthalif and Col Rizley Meedin were among those killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was charged that Ranil Wickremesinghe was\ninvolved in the release of the names of the 80 odd long-range Military\nIntelligence group to the Parliament which resulted in the names going public.\nThe LTTE then hunted them down and killed every one of them. Some of them were\ncaptured and tortured by them to get more names. (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Millennium_City_incident<\/a>.)\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Millenium City raid exposed a top secret,\nDMI run operation. Military intelligence had made an enormous contribution to\nmilitary successes of the Sri Lanka army. But with the Raid, the entire intelligence\nnetwork established with much effort by the DMI was destroyed over night. This raid was a diabolical exposure of\narmy intelligence to the LTTE, so that the LTTE could benefit from it. The public called it   \u2018wisalatama pava deema. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Press was used to mould opinion\nagainst the Sri Lanka army. Kamal Gunaratne \n specially mentions a particular\nSunday newspaper column, which publicized inside information. Persons within\nthe army were giving him the information. This columnist    did not draw attention to officers who had\ncommitted errors, but had attacked some upright officers quite viciously till\nthey fell, said Kamal Gunaratne. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Sunday column greatly influenced\nthe public perception of the war.  The\ncolumnist had repeatedly said that the army could not win, since it could not\nsuccessfully wage war on both the eastern and northern front simultaneously. LTTE\nwould eventually win.   Kamal Gunaratne\nis probably referring to Situation Report\u201d by Iqbal Athas in Sunday Times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His Situation Report for August 2,\n2003 was accompanied by a detailed map giving both the LTTE military\ninstallations as well as those of the armed forces. Government wanted to know\nhow Sunday Times had got this information, particularly the markings made on\nthe map. Sunday Times said   they had drawn\nthe map. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best known piece\nby Iqbal Athas was on the MiG fighters ordered for Eelam War IV. These second-hand\nMiG-27 jet fighters from Ukraine, purchased\nby Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, greatly helped the state to win the\nwar. That is the reason for the resentment and opposition.  In August 2007, Athas reported on the purchase\nsuggesting that the deal had been corrupt. Athas\ntraced the purchase to Bellimissa\nHoldings”,\na company ostensibly based in the UK but not listed in the UK Company Register.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday Leader\nalso supported the allegation. It said that Belimissa Holdings address and\nindividuals are fake. Even the contact numbers mentioned, are fake. Gotabhaya\nRajapaksa filed a case at the Mount Lavinia District Court against Lasantha\nWickrematunga and the\nSunday Leader. In 2015,<\/em> The Sunday Leader apologized to Gotabaya\nRajapaksa<\/a> for a series of articles written in the newspapers in 2006 on the\npurchase of MIG 27 aircraft for the Sri Lankan Air Force. The unqualified\napology was carried in the Leader newspaper of 08. 03. 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

C.A.Chandraprema explained. This transaction\nrelates to the purchase of four second hand but fully overhauled MiG-27s and\nthe overhaul of three more MiG-27s and one MiG-23 UB Trainer in 2006, he said.\nThe total amount paid by the government of Sri Lanka for the purchase of four\nadditional MiG-27s and the overhaul of four other MiG aircraft in 2006 was US\nDollars 15,665,437 (USD 15.6 million.) \nFour additional MiG-27s were delivered to Sri Lanka and four existing\nMiG aircraft were taken from Sri Lanka to Ukraine, fully overhauled and brought\nback and all these aircraft were in use until the war ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MiG \u2013 27 purchased in 2000 had a very\nshort life span one to two years. However, in the contract entered into on 26\nJuly 2006 between the Air Force and UKRINMASH for the supply of four MiG-27s\nand the overhaul of three MiG-27s and one MiG-23 UB trainer clearly states that\nthe air frames of all the aircraft will have a service life or TBO of 850\nhours\/8 years and the engines 550 hours\/ 7 years, with the MiG-23 UB trainer\nhaving an engine service life of 400 hours. That was why the cost was more. Four\nMiG-27s bought in 2006, cost more and were purchased for USD 2,462,000 each and\nthe cost of transporting the four planes to SL was USD 460,000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nallegations in relation to the MiG transaction have kept changing over the\nyears, observed Chandraprema. When this first started back in 2006, the\nallegations were that the four MiG-27s bought in 2006 cost more than the\nMiG-27s bought in the year 2000. The other allegation was that the purchase\nprice was not paid to the supplier UKRINMASH but to a third party called Bellimissa\nHoldings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually,\nBellimissa Holdings was also a signatory to the contract .The contract had\nthree signatories – the Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force as the buyer,\nUKRINMASH as the seller and Bellimissa Holdings Ltd as the designated party\nwhich was to receive the payment. D.A.Peregudov a Director of UKRINMASH had\nwritten to the Defence Ministry explaining that UKRINMASH is a fully state\nowned enterprise and that according to Ukrainian law, they cannot trade on\ncredit terms and they cannot provide credit facilities for two years as\nrequested by Sri Lanka. Hence a financier by the name of Bellimissa Holdings\nLtd would provide financing for the transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are international groups that keep tabs\non what kind of military hardware is being bought and sold on the international\nmarket, said Chandraprema. They saw nothing wrong in the Sri Lanka purchase. The\nUS based \u2018Strategy Page\u2019 website said on 27.12.2006 that Sri Lanka has\npurchased an additional four second-hand MiG-27 fighter bombers from Ukraine,\nfor about USD 2.5 million each. It said later, Sri Lanka bought MiG-27s largely\nbecause they were so cheap \u2026 Sri Lanka was able to get some proven combat\naircraft at a fraction of what any alternatives (new or used) would cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ceasefire Agreement of 2002 was used to\nweaken the Sri Lanka army. The army was confined to barracks and its FDLs.  UNP government did not give the army enough\nmoney to even maintain the vehicles and munitions. The government ordered the army HQ\nnot to issue daily situation reports through the Information Dept.  The army had to stop releasing information to\nthe public on LTTE atrocities and CFA violations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanni Sevaya radio broadcast which was\nproviding a very useful service to the police and security forces was closed on 31.3.2002 and SLBC directed to use the facilities\nto set up a Tamil commercial service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanni Sevaya,  was an the SLBC run radio station set up over\na decade ago for the benefit of security forces and police deployed in the\nregion. Army appealed against the decision but was ignored. The excuse was that\nthe service was not generating any revenue. The closure of the Vanni service gave the clandestine Voice of the\nTigers a chance to engage in propaganda without hindrance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The  \nCeasefire Agreement was used by the LTTE to strengthen their defense\nsystems. Entire container loads of equipment were allowed to go to the Wanni to\nLTTE on Ranil\u2019s instructions.  Container loads of equipment and maybe even\narmaments were brought in through the customs without inspection on Ranil’s\ninstructions and send directly to the LTTE (seehttp:\/\/www.island.lk\/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=1146733<\/a>.\nAnd https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IxbGojMb1xc<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government, the public and even our own\nsoldiers thought that the LTTE was a superior fighting force, said Kamal Gunaratne. A senior minister told Kamal Gunaratne You\ncan\u2019t win the war with the LTTE.\u201d When I said that we could, he said: Colonel,\nyour people have been fighting with the LTTE for so long and couldn\u2019t win a\nbattle so that is why we have to go for peace talks.\u201d We\nalso had Service Commanders who said we could never defeat the LTTE and ended\nup as 4 star Generals,   said Kamal Gunaratne. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the Army was losing continuously in the\nbattlefronts, in Eelam War II and III,  \nthe public also didn\u2019t have much faith in the fighting strength of our\nsoldiers and thought the LTTE was more powerful than us. In all the operations,\nexcept for a few operations like Balawegaya, in which we liberated Elephant\nPass and Thrivida Balaya, we ended up with disasters, said Kamal Gunaratne. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had tremendous support from the public\nwhenever we started a battle with the LTTE. The public displayed banners and\nposters all over the country and also conducted religious ceremonies in\ntemples, kovils and church to bless the armed forces and ensure its safety. However\nthis lasted only for a month or two after an attack. Thereafter the enthusiasm\nwaned and completely disappeared, though the war continued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was also a certain amount of enduring\npublic support. This was reflected in the creation of welfare committees for\nthe soldiers, on the battle front and well as those who were wounded. Also in\nthe fact that Anuruddha Ratwatte, Deputy Minister of Defence was roundly\ncriticized by everybody for his unsuccessful military operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were other forms of support. Consultant\nanesthetist Dr.  B.S. Perera    returned to Sri Lanka from Australia in\n1994 and worked at the Military hospital from 1997 to 2000 and donated his full\nremuneration to the National Defense Fund and the Kobbekaduwa Trust Fund. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two minor employees of Sri Lanka Ports\nAuthority detected two frogmen carrying explosives near the Jaya container\nTerminal. They alerted authorities and prevented an attack on Colombo Port in\n1996.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One segment of urban society did not care\nabout the War.  They had no emotional\nconnection with the Eelam war. Some could not care less if a portion of the\ncountry fell to the LTTE as long as their lives were not disrupted.  Some did not even remember that there was a\nwar going on. They were more concerned with sports and musical shows.  They were not bothered even if the LTTE had\nkilled 50 soldiers. But the entire nation mourned if a cricketer had a run out\nfor a few runs, said Kamal Gunaratne.  \n(CONTINUED) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS This essay concludes the discussion on the contrived failure of Eelam War II and III.  The essay starts with the Millenium City Raid. \u00a0The Intelligence branch of the Sri Lanka army had carried out top-secret covert operations from a safe house in Millennium City Housing scheme at Aturugiriya.\u00a0 It is usual for armies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100184\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}