my19cvp.jpg This photograph released by the Sri Lankan military on Monday shows the battle scene near where LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran was believed killed. PHOTOS: Sri Lankan government, AFP/LTTE and Army B. Muralidhar Reddy FROM INSIDE THE WAR ZONE: The curtains came down on the 33-month-long Eelam War IV as the Sri Lankan military in the early hours of Monday decimated the military capabilities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, resulting in the death of at least 18 top leaders, presumably including the outfit’s chief Velupillai Prabakaran, in an intense battle that lasted nearly 22 hours. The military commanders on the ground are unable to officially confirm the death of Prabakaran as they have not been able to trace him or his body in the continuing combing operations. They believe that a body burnt beyond recognition recovered from the battle zone could be that of Prabakaran. This correspondent, the only foreign print journalist present inside the war zone, accompanied the top commanders as the bodies of the LTTE brass were brought in tractors by the soldiers for identification. The bodies positively identified by the military included that of Charles Anthony, elder son of Prabakaran; the Tiger intelligence wing chief, Pottu Amman; the political wing head, B. Nadesan; and S. Pulithevan, in-charge of the Tigers’ peace secretariat. my19cv1.jpg A photograph taken on November 27, 2003, shows Prabakaran at the annual Heroes’ Week in Kilinochchi. In the evening in the national capital, the chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa and informed him that the war had concluded, the troops had wiped out the entire LTTE leadership and either destroyed or captured the outfit’s arms and ammunition. Reliable sources said the President had promoted all the three services chiefs. Along with the bodies of the LTTE leaders lined up on the ground inside the war zone for identification, the captured weaponry, ammunition, communication equipment and several bundles of Sri Lankan currency were on display. Most of the leaders appear to have died either of gun wounds or in suicide blasts by the Tiger cadres. A few appear to have swallowed the cyanide capsule. It was mandatory for the LTTE leaders and cadres to wear the cyanide capsule and bite it in the event of their being captured. The intensity of the battle could be gauged from the fact that at least 250 bodies of the Tiger cadres were found so far. The commanders on the spot believe that several more bodies could be lying in bunkers. The first signs that the military had completely overwhelmed the last remaining cadres and leaders of the LTTE were evident to this reporter around 10 a.m. at the headquarters of the 58 Division. Soldiers passed around cakes and the personnel inside the operations room appeared totally relaxed. my19cv21.jpg A handout photo, released by the Army, shows the body of Charles Antony, son of Prabakaran. Around the same time, confirmation of the news that it was all over for the LTTE came in the form of a feature on the pro-LTTE web site, TamilNet. Titled “Long live human dignity, shame on international community,” it read, “While the so-called international community is exposed in its shameful conning,” thousands of Tamil civilians and combatants are laying down their lives to “uphold Tamil dignity, and human dignity.” Later in the day, TamilNet said that around 3 a.m. on Monday, Wanni local time, Nadesan and Pulithevan telephoned their contacts in Europe and informed them to tell the International Committee of the Red Cross Head Office that only around 1,000 wounded cadres, civil officials of the LTTE and civilians remained in the so-called safety zone and there was no firing from the LTTE side. “They urged the ICRC to evacuate the wounded. A few hours later, Colombo’s Defence Ministry website claimed finding the dead bodies of Nadesan, Pulithevan, Ilango (Tamileelam police chief), and LTTE leader V. Pirapaharan’s son Charles Antony. The LTTE is yet to confirm, but initial reports indicate a determined massacre by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA),” the web site said. In Colombo, the special envoy of the U.N. Secretary General Vijay Nambiar called on Mr. Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagamma and discussed the ground situation in the north as well as the welfare of 2.75 lakh displaced civilians. Mr. Nambiar arrived on Sunday, ahead of the official visit of the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to the country later this week at the invitation of Mr. Rajapaksa.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 07:11:15 +0000