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"SLA accommodating and encouraging the activities of the armed groups, is a serious threat to normal

- Mr. S.P. Tamilselvan -

In a letter regarding the recent killings of two LTTE members in Batticaloa, Mr. Tamilselvan accused the SLA of accommodating and encouraging the activities of the armed groups and warned that it is a serious threat to normalcy and maintaining the integrity of the CFA.

The excerpt of the letter is as follows:

Mr. Bawa, the Administrative Head of the Political Division in Batticaloa-Amparai and Mr. Yoga, Batticaloa-Amparai NGO co-ordinator, were returning to Valaichenai in a motor-bike after attending a UNICEF conference in Vaharai along with Mr. Kuyilinpan, Head of Political Division, Amparai, also on a motor-bike and two female LTTE members in another motor-bike. A powerful claymore mine went off followed by firing, closer to the military check point where these members registered their names.

Bawa and Yoga died on the spot, one of the female members was injured and Kuyilinpan escaped unhurt. According to the latter there were three attackers who fled the scene after the explosion. Immediately prior to the victims passing the military check point, the attackers stopped another motor cyclist with helmet and checked the identity. On finding that it was not the person they wanted, they let that rider go and operated the claymore at the right time after the LTTE group registered their names in the military check point, just fifteen meters away from the site. It is relevant to mention here that this incident took place in a location in between two military checkpoints posited cheek by jowl.

From the evidence of Kuyilinpan, it is clear beyond any line of doubt that the attackers got the details of the LTTE members from the military since they gave their names to the SLA personnel as a matter of routine. The female member who escaped without injury reports that the SLA soldiers at the adjacent Kayankerni check point clapped hands and ridiculed her.

Please note that this attack, meticulously planned at that, has been carried out in a location very much closer to two military check points in an area under military control and the SLA, no doubt, has aided the assailants by allowing them to plant the claymore, wait in ambush, check another motor cyclist and activate the mine exactly at the time when our members were crossing that point. These reports on the ground confirm that the SLA has acted in bad faith, first by allowing the attackers a free hand in setting the mine within sight and also passing the names of our members to the assailants.

You are aware that this is not the first time that the SLA has acted in bad faith and colluded with the elements opposed to the Tamil cause in inflicting irreparable damage to the peace process and the integrity of the CFA. It is appropriate here to mention that we have already discussed with you our serious concern over the attitude of the GOSL in relation to the implementation of clause 1.8 of the CFA. You are aware that the SLA accommodating and encouraging the activities of the armed groups in violation of clause 1.8 of the CFA is a serious threat to normalcy and maintaining the integrity of the CFA. Our fear in this context is that if the relevant authorities do not take effective measures to end the activities of the armed groups, it will inevitably lead to crisis situation.

As pointed out by us in our discussions, it is the military intelligence personnel in collaboration with various armed groups, who are engaged in this type of destructive actions. We believe that our direct charge that the SLA and its military intelligence wing are responsible for the Vakarai incident and several other similar killings, is sufficient for the SLMM to be pro-active in this matter and effectively interact with the relevant GOSL authority.

23 August 2004

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