Liberation Tigers fighters staged a training exercise at a secret location in Vanni Friday to demonstrate their conventional war skills.
And for the first time ever, reporters attached to major news agencies were invited to view the fighters training.
The drill took place early in the morning amidst the backdrop of an announcement by the Sri Lankan government that they had captured the Thoppigala jungles, which the government says was the last bastion of LTTE in the eastern province.
LTTE leaders speaking to reporters said the exercise was intended as practice for coming attacks on nearby government positions.
According to the Associated Press, many of the fighters were dressed in the customary striped fatigues of the LTTE. Others wore olive green uniforms with ammunition vests.
The training ground was a vast plain of white sand, dotted with small patches of brush. Rusting bullet cases lay on the ground, signaling it has been used before, but not recently, the Associated Press reported.
The aim of the exercise was to capture a mock heavily fortified Sri Lankan army position.
The aim of the exercise was to capture a mock heavily fortified Sri Lankan army position.
“The main objective on the battle front is how to destroy the enemy's battle tanks and armoured vehicles,” LTTE fighter S. Kadalarasan told Reuters as his fellow fighters fired.
Fifty caliber heavy machine guns from the other side of the sandy plain at a line of bunkers, razor wire and targets to pave the way for fighters to advance and capture the mock fortification.
“If I blow up their vehicles, I will be happy because the enemy is coming to suppress and oppress and kill our innocent civilians, so I will be happy to attack the enemy and kill them,” Kadalarasan further told Reuters.
One wing of the assault was made up of female fighters, rushing forward with Chinese-made T-56 assault rifles, and firing into shallow bunkers to kill imaginary enemies, advancing in threes with mutual cover fire, reported Reuters.
The LTTE trainer, Lieutenant-Colonel V. Nishanthan Master a specialist trainer in offensive and defensive tactics, who coordinated the drill told reporters the assault strategy demonstrated will soon be used in a real operation against Sri Lankan troops.
“We have gained experience through battles and of course we have read books about strategies and tactics,” Nishanthan Master told Reuters, as he marshaled fighters through the exercise.
He told reporters who were in Vanni to observe the drill, that LTTE leader Velupillai Pirapaharan had given him works by the likes of ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu and books on the Napoleonic wars to read.
In addition to battle experiences and books, Hollywood blockbuster movies like ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘Black Hawk Down’ also have been used as inspiration for military strategies in the past, Nishanthan master revealed.
“There are a lot of movies that have been translated into Tamil, and we have also taken a lot of strategies from those,” he told Reuters.
According to the agency, fighters are also shown Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies to learn kung fu moves -- as well as some lighter relief like cartoons and children's films such as ‘Finding Nemo’.
“I also yearn for a normal life. But I am here and giving training because we need to expel the oppressors,” said Nishanthan Master.
“Definitely we will drive the Sri Lankan armed forces from our homeland and we will create Tamil Eelam. I have not an iota of doubt.”
“Once I have fallen, another hand will come and take this RPG,” Kadalarasan said after saying a Tiger oath following the training session, showing the glass vials containing white cyanide he wears around his neck like all fellow fighters, reported Reuters.
“If we are badly wounded and the enemy is going to capture us or we are about to pass out, then only we bite as a last resort,” he said smiling.
“In order to keep our secrets and not be tortured by the enemy -- the cyanide capsule is the solution.”
Commenting on the Sri Lankan military claims that it has captured the Thoppigala jungles in the Eastern province, Nishanthan Master said “Gaining territory is not victory, it is a false hope. We will again come out and attack (the government).”
The LTTE told reporters who visited Vanni that they have simply switched from conventional warfare to guerrilla tactics in the east, and they still maintain a large swath of territory in the north that they run as a virtual state.
