While war preparations are widening, the ongoing undeclared war in between the government and the LTTE is taking an increasingly heavy toll on the truth, as casualty figures become part of the war effort, a Sri Lankan defence column reported last week.
“Adding statistics of claimed guerrilla deaths as well as injuries in the recent months would have surpassed the numbers military top brass give as the total strength of the LTTE,” Sri Lanka’s leading defence columnist said in his weekly column.
Writing in the Situation Report column of the Sunday Times newspaper, Iqbal Athas notes that the military was also tight lipped about their own casualties.
The columnist notes that the Sri Lankan military is intensifying its actions in the northeast.
“The focus of such action in the North in the recent weeks is the Wanni region, areas ahead of the defended localities of the Security Forces west of the Omanthai entry-exit point. [The Sri Lankan military] had in fact re-adjusted their Forward Defence Lines (FDL) further to the front from their original position,” his column reported.
“On June 2, the 56 Division (four battalions) and 57 Division (seven battalions) launched a limited pre-dawn operation to seize more terrain. The general areas of Villatikulam, North and North West of the village of Kalmadu (already under Security Forces control) were the scenes of fierce battles,” the Situation Report stated, siting an example of an actual clashes in the north.
“By 8 a.m. that day, Tiger guerrillas launched a counter attack. Groups of guerrillas confronted the troops almost head on. Heavy fighting continued for over seven hours. Troops were forced to make a tactical withdrawal,” the column reported.
“Later that evening, the guerrillas fired 130 mm artillery. More than 800 of the Army's own 130 mm artillery shells were destroyed after one of them fell at a storage area south east of Pompeimadu. It led to deafening explosions and a massive bonfire,” the column noted.
“The Sunday Times has learnt from highly placed Army sources that five officers and 67 soldiers were killed. A further two officers and 24 soldiers are declared missing in action. Twenty officers and 298 soldiers were wounded in action,” the defence columnist reported.
“These sources claimed that 800 guerrillas were killed and a further 700 were wounded. The claims of guerrilla casualties, no doubt, are on the higher side,” he noted in the column.
Moving to clashes in the east, Mr Athas states: “Another operation to seize areas in and around Baroni’s Cap or Thoppigala - Narakamulla began on June 8. Before the crack of dawn that day, commandos ventured into guerrilla-held area to launch attacks on their camps. Some of the camps were captured and later destroyed. By 7.30 a.m. ahead of the villages of Panjimarathadi and Narakamulla, the guerrillas launched fierce counter attacks. By evening troops were forced to make a tactical withdrawal to their original positions north of Rugam.”
“The next day troops fired artillery at guerrilla positions. It drew retaliatory fire. In the days that followed, they gradually advanced to encompass the area. Bitter fighting continues,” he wrote.
“In the fighting 15 soldiers have been killed. Six officers and 142 soldiers have been wounded, according to highly placed Army sources,” the column noted.
“These sources claimed 400 guerrillas were killed and 100 more were wounded. Here again the number is on the higher side. If past guerrilla casualties in the East were added to these figures, it would have exceeded the [military estimates of] guerrilla strength there,” the Situation Report column noted.
The defence columnist also noted that the armed forces “have embarked on a programme to enhance their strength by 50,000.”
“The Army will recruit 25,000 more whilst the Navy will recruit 15,000 and the Air Force 10,000,” he wrote.
“The Sri Lanka Army now has an approved cadre of over 100,000. That strength, at least on paper, exceeds the strength of the British Army. However, Since January 1, 2005 until April 20, 2007, Army records reveal that a total of 93 officers and 10,060 other ranks have deserted their posts,” he notes.
“Some availed themselves of periodic general amnesties. The last general amnesty from January 20 to February 12 this year saw a total of 3979 (2758 regulars and 1221 volunteers) return to service. Added to these are the vacancies caused by troops killed or left out of battle due to injuries,” the defence column said.
“Enhancing the strength of the Army has drawn mixed reactions from serving senior officers,” the columnist said.
“Some are of the view that existing battalions, with some exceptions, are under strength. Whilst the ideal strength was 855 troops per battalion, there were some with a strength of 400 to 500 troops. Hence, they were of the view that depleted battalions should be merged and made full strength to ensure the maximum utilisation of resources,” the column said.
“But others held a different view,” the defence columnist noted.
“Though depleted, allowing the battalions to remain that way, they argue, enabled them (though small in number) to obtain their entitlements. More importantly, it also means an increase in the number of officer cadres thus throwing open the doors for rapid promotions,” he wrote.
“When the new recruitment drive is over, the total military strength – Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Special Task Force, Home Guards would be over 300,000,” the column reported.
Mr. Athas also focused on the increasing focus by the military on their propaganda.
“Whilst stepping up the military offensives in the North and the East, the defence establishment is now devising new ways and means of heightening their publicity drives,” he wrote.
“This is particularly in the light of political developments that have generated adverse publicity and thus given them a poor public image. Top rungers in the defence establishment believe fresh initiatives to project the "vast military gains" would reverse this situation,” he notes.
“One such measure is to brief members of the clergy representing important temples in the country. Military top brass are to give them a full briefing next week on successes in the North and East and the plans that have gone in so far to "defeat" the LTTE. The idea is to get them to go back to their towns and villages and tell the public there of what they have learnt,” he wrote.
The defence columnist also reported that even as the military steps up its action in the northeast, Sri Lanka’s President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has continued to state his opposition to a military solution.
"I do not want to pursue a military solution. I want to talk with the LTTE without any pre-conditions. Velupillai Prabhakaran must convey his moves and not others," the column quoted President Mahinda Rajapaksa as having told the Norwegian facilitators.
In response to a question on what the government of Sri Lankan wanted from the Norwegian government, Mr Rajapaksa “made clear if there was an assurance from the LTTE leader that guerrilla attacks would cease, the Government would follow suit,” the Sunday Times column said.
The Situation Report column said the President had urged Norway to continue its efforts to bring the LTTE to the negotiation table.
But the President also did not favour an immediate visit to Sri Lanka by Special Envoy Jon Hanssen Bauer, the paper said.
“President Rajapaksa was of the view that Norway should make contact with the LTTE leadership from Oslo since a visit at this juncture would not be opportune,” the column said.
“Even if he did not say so, the Government would have found it difficult to facilitate such a visit in the coming weeks,” the paper noted, adding “there was heightened military activity in southern parts of the Wanni, particularly west of the A-9 highway. It would have necessitated the suspension of such activity, a move that would have drawn protests from military commanders.”
“In his first dialogue with Norway's peace facilitators after a break of over a year, President Rajapaksa, has made it unequivocally clear the war on the LTTE will continue. This is not withstanding his assertion that he was not committed to a military solution,” the paper noted.
This stance leaves Norway with only “remote control diplomacy” Mr. Athas noted, adding “the peace facilitator has heard the Government of Sri Lanka in Geneva and not in Colombo. And the President has told them they could hear the LTTE by making contacts from Norway. A visit to Sri Lanka has thus been stalled.”
“In reality, Norway's peace facilitator role has been, at least for now, temporarily confined to outside the shores of Sri Lanka,” the Sunday Times column said.
“Added to that, the second arm of the peace facilitator mechanism, the role of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) has also become curtailed,” the Mr. Athas noted in his Situation Report column.
Citing the fact that the SLMM has declared it would no longer issue rulings, the defence columnist notes: “The [SLMM] spokesperson insisted that the decision not to issue rulings was made by the SLMM and not at the instance of anyone in the Government.”
"This is mainly because of the extended number of incidents. We cannot pretend to know every one of them," Thorfinnur Omarsson, media spokesperson for the SLMM told The Sunday Times.
"This temporary move, however, did not mean the SLMM will not monitor the ceasefire. We will cover the incidents, have them in our database and issue our own reports," he was quoted as adding.
“Adding statistics of claimed guerrilla deaths as well as injuries in the recent months would have surpassed the numbers military top brass give as the total strength of the LTTE,” Sri Lanka’s leading defence columnist said in his weekly column.
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| The Sri Lankan military has advanced its FDL, enroaching into Tiher held land. Graphics Sunday Times. |
The columnist notes that the Sri Lankan military is intensifying its actions in the northeast.
“The focus of such action in the North in the recent weeks is the Wanni region, areas ahead of the defended localities of the Security Forces west of the Omanthai entry-exit point. [The Sri Lankan military] had in fact re-adjusted their Forward Defence Lines (FDL) further to the front from their original position,” his column reported.
“On June 2, the 56 Division (four battalions) and 57 Division (seven battalions) launched a limited pre-dawn operation to seize more terrain. The general areas of Villatikulam, North and North West of the village of Kalmadu (already under Security Forces control) were the scenes of fierce battles,” the Situation Report stated, siting an example of an actual clashes in the north.
“By 8 a.m. that day, Tiger guerrillas launched a counter attack. Groups of guerrillas confronted the troops almost head on. Heavy fighting continued for over seven hours. Troops were forced to make a tactical withdrawal,” the column reported.
“Later that evening, the guerrillas fired 130 mm artillery. More than 800 of the Army's own 130 mm artillery shells were destroyed after one of them fell at a storage area south east of Pompeimadu. It led to deafening explosions and a massive bonfire,” the column noted.
“The Sunday Times has learnt from highly placed Army sources that five officers and 67 soldiers were killed. A further two officers and 24 soldiers are declared missing in action. Twenty officers and 298 soldiers were wounded in action,” the defence columnist reported.
“These sources claimed that 800 guerrillas were killed and a further 700 were wounded. The claims of guerrilla casualties, no doubt, are on the higher side,” he noted in the column.
Moving to clashes in the east, Mr Athas states: “Another operation to seize areas in and around Baroni’s Cap or Thoppigala - Narakamulla began on June 8. Before the crack of dawn that day, commandos ventured into guerrilla-held area to launch attacks on their camps. Some of the camps were captured and later destroyed. By 7.30 a.m. ahead of the villages of Panjimarathadi and Narakamulla, the guerrillas launched fierce counter attacks. By evening troops were forced to make a tactical withdrawal to their original positions north of Rugam.”
“The next day troops fired artillery at guerrilla positions. It drew retaliatory fire. In the days that followed, they gradually advanced to encompass the area. Bitter fighting continues,” he wrote.
“In the fighting 15 soldiers have been killed. Six officers and 142 soldiers have been wounded, according to highly placed Army sources,” the column noted.
“These sources claimed 400 guerrillas were killed and 100 more were wounded. Here again the number is on the higher side. If past guerrilla casualties in the East were added to these figures, it would have exceeded the [military estimates of] guerrilla strength there,” the Situation Report column noted.
The defence columnist also noted that the armed forces “have embarked on a programme to enhance their strength by 50,000.”
“The Army will recruit 25,000 more whilst the Navy will recruit 15,000 and the Air Force 10,000,” he wrote.
“The Sri Lanka Army now has an approved cadre of over 100,000. That strength, at least on paper, exceeds the strength of the British Army. However, Since January 1, 2005 until April 20, 2007, Army records reveal that a total of 93 officers and 10,060 other ranks have deserted their posts,” he notes.
“Some availed themselves of periodic general amnesties. The last general amnesty from January 20 to February 12 this year saw a total of 3979 (2758 regulars and 1221 volunteers) return to service. Added to these are the vacancies caused by troops killed or left out of battle due to injuries,” the defence column said.
“Enhancing the strength of the Army has drawn mixed reactions from serving senior officers,” the columnist said.
“Some are of the view that existing battalions, with some exceptions, are under strength. Whilst the ideal strength was 855 troops per battalion, there were some with a strength of 400 to 500 troops. Hence, they were of the view that depleted battalions should be merged and made full strength to ensure the maximum utilisation of resources,” the column said.
“But others held a different view,” the defence columnist noted.
“Though depleted, allowing the battalions to remain that way, they argue, enabled them (though small in number) to obtain their entitlements. More importantly, it also means an increase in the number of officer cadres thus throwing open the doors for rapid promotions,” he wrote.
“When the new recruitment drive is over, the total military strength – Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Special Task Force, Home Guards would be over 300,000,” the column reported.
Mr. Athas also focused on the increasing focus by the military on their propaganda.
“Whilst stepping up the military offensives in the North and the East, the defence establishment is now devising new ways and means of heightening their publicity drives,” he wrote.
“This is particularly in the light of political developments that have generated adverse publicity and thus given them a poor public image. Top rungers in the defence establishment believe fresh initiatives to project the "vast military gains" would reverse this situation,” he notes.
“One such measure is to brief members of the clergy representing important temples in the country. Military top brass are to give them a full briefing next week on successes in the North and East and the plans that have gone in so far to "defeat" the LTTE. The idea is to get them to go back to their towns and villages and tell the public there of what they have learnt,” he wrote.
The defence columnist also reported that even as the military steps up its action in the northeast, Sri Lanka’s President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has continued to state his opposition to a military solution.
"I do not want to pursue a military solution. I want to talk with the LTTE without any pre-conditions. Velupillai Prabhakaran must convey his moves and not others," the column quoted President Mahinda Rajapaksa as having told the Norwegian facilitators.
In response to a question on what the government of Sri Lankan wanted from the Norwegian government, Mr Rajapaksa “made clear if there was an assurance from the LTTE leader that guerrilla attacks would cease, the Government would follow suit,” the Sunday Times column said.
The Situation Report column said the President had urged Norway to continue its efforts to bring the LTTE to the negotiation table.
But the President also did not favour an immediate visit to Sri Lanka by Special Envoy Jon Hanssen Bauer, the paper said.
“President Rajapaksa was of the view that Norway should make contact with the LTTE leadership from Oslo since a visit at this juncture would not be opportune,” the column said.
“Even if he did not say so, the Government would have found it difficult to facilitate such a visit in the coming weeks,” the paper noted, adding “there was heightened military activity in southern parts of the Wanni, particularly west of the A-9 highway. It would have necessitated the suspension of such activity, a move that would have drawn protests from military commanders.”
“In his first dialogue with Norway's peace facilitators after a break of over a year, President Rajapaksa, has made it unequivocally clear the war on the LTTE will continue. This is not withstanding his assertion that he was not committed to a military solution,” the paper noted.
This stance leaves Norway with only “remote control diplomacy” Mr. Athas noted, adding “the peace facilitator has heard the Government of Sri Lanka in Geneva and not in Colombo. And the President has told them they could hear the LTTE by making contacts from Norway. A visit to Sri Lanka has thus been stalled.”
“In reality, Norway's peace facilitator role has been, at least for now, temporarily confined to outside the shores of Sri Lanka,” the Sunday Times column said.
“Added to that, the second arm of the peace facilitator mechanism, the role of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) has also become curtailed,” the Mr. Athas noted in his Situation Report column.
Citing the fact that the SLMM has declared it would no longer issue rulings, the defence columnist notes: “The [SLMM] spokesperson insisted that the decision not to issue rulings was made by the SLMM and not at the instance of anyone in the Government.”
"This is mainly because of the extended number of incidents. We cannot pretend to know every one of them," Thorfinnur Omarsson, media spokesperson for the SLMM told The Sunday Times.
"This temporary move, however, did not mean the SLMM will not monitor the ceasefire. We will cover the incidents, have them in our database and issue our own reports," he was quoted as adding.
