India helps Lanka hunt LTTE chief

BY RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN

BATTICALOA

Jan. 25: LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran’s whereabouts were not immediately known after troops captured Mullaittivu town on Sunday evening but friendly governments, including India’s, were lending a helping hand to Sri Lanka for tracking him down.

India was not only coordinating the patrolling of the Palk Straits but also sharing intelligence to wipe out the last remnants of the dreaded terrorist organisation, a well-placed defence source told this newspaper, hours after government troops entered LTTE’s main garrison town of Mullaittivu.

"The Indian Navy has good coordination with us but Indian assistance is not limited to the patrolling of seas to prevent LTTE ships from entering Indian waters. India and Sri Lankan agencies are also sharing intelligence," the source said, adding that India was equally engaged in training of Lankan troops.

Prabhakaran’s former confidant Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan aka "Colonel" Karuna Amman, believed he was holed up in the jungles of Mullaittivu but Lankan defence sources did not rule out the possibility of the LTTE chief taking the sea route to make good his escape.

According to other reports, Prabhakaran might have flown out on the Czech-made Zlin 143 single-engine aircraft. The LTTE was known to possess at least three such aircraft, one of which was shot down on September 9, 2008. Since then, the advancing troops have also captured five of six LTTE airstrips.

The LTTE was understood to have disassembled its aircraft and taken them into the Mullaittivu jungles. "We are still to trace two aircraft," the source said, hinting that some people might whisk Prabhakaran away to some other country. The LTTE was known to have business interests in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia.

Ordinary folk of Batticaloa in Sri Lanka’s eastern province, which was captured from LTTE in July 2007, received the news of troops entering Mullaittivu with a degree of scepticism, not out of disbelief but out of a concern whether the Army’s foray into LTTE’s last bastion would bring eternal peace to the island nation.

"The problem will likely remain until military victory is followed up with dialogue," said the owner of a hotel in Batticaloa town who did not want to be identified.

He welcomed some development work that had taken place in the area after LTTE’s ouster but he was not sure whether the decades-old ethnic conflict would disappear anytime soon. "Whether Prabhakaran lives or dies, our problems will remain if the root cause is not addressed," he elaborated.

The army said territory held by LTTE was shrinking rapidly. "We are closing in (on LTTE)," the source said, echoing remarks made by Sri Lankan Army Chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka.

Brigadier Shavendra Silva, general officer commanding of the Army’s 58 Division, said it was a matter of time before the LTTE was wiped out. "We are very confident about it," he said, when asked about the LTTE’s fate.

Colonel Aruna Wanniarachchi of the 57 Division, in turn, said the LTTE was fighting its final battle. "We see light at the end of the tunnel. The LTTE is fighting its final battle and it will be a matter of time before we defeat them completely," he said.

Meanwhile, the government agent office in Mullaittivu has been closed for the first time in 25 years. Ms Emelda Sukumar, who heads the office, explained she took the decision in view of the ongoing military operations there. All government officials have been directed to leave Mullaittivu for safer places.

Asian Age