This man resembling the local version of 'Rambo'
is seen in Colombo arousing the curiosity and suspicion of many.
Armed with an improvised- sophisticated-looking
weapon and carrying a water can used by military personnel,
this man is a deserter of the Ceylon Light Infantry.
Identified as Corporal E. Lionel he has been declared
Missing in Action after the Pooneryn camp was
over-run on November 11, 1993.
He received gun shot injuries on his leg. Lionel
hailing from Galle said he wants to take
revenge from the terrorists who shot him. Pic
by Gemunu Wellage.
[Sunday Times 20 Sep.1998]
Although both sides have taken very heavy casualties,
the military, being bigger, can withstand
such losses better than the Tigers. "The Eelam
war has turned into a war of attrition," said a
defence analyst. "Inevitably the military will
win because it is bigger." The military has a better
support base with modern hospitals to treat its
wounded and rear areas to go back to for rest,
recuperation and re-training. The Tigers are increasingly
being confined to a smaller area of jungle.
The LTTE's international network and Tamil diaspora
are still no match for the resources of a
sovereign state, even a poor one like Sri Lanka.
The Tigers will always be able to penetrate government
defences. But the more they rely on attacks like
the bomb attack in the Jaffna municipal council building,
the more they outrage their own people, the more
clear it is that they are fighting a doomed struggle.
Their dream of Eelam will remain just that - a
dream. [Sunday Observer 20 Sep.1998]
Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers are the
latest addition at city checkpoints.
Military officials say the RPGs are intended for
use against explosive laden vehicles and
prevent them from taking on targets in the city.
Pic by Sajeewa Chinthaka
[Sunday Times 22nd February 1998]
Brigadier Sanath
Mendis
A bomb exploded Friday in the city hall of the
northern Sri Lankan city of
Jaffna, killing the mayor and 19 others just four
months after his predecessor was assassinated.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility,
but military officials said the bombing bore the marks
of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, rebels
fighting for a homeland for minority Tamils.
Besides Mayor Ponnuthurai Sivapalan, the victims
included Brig. Susantha
Mendis, who controlled military operations for
Jaffna, [AP. September 11, 1998]
One young Tamil recruit said she knew how to lay
landmines and operate machine guns
and pistols by the age of 13. "The leaders
came to our school and said we had to join the
army in order to rescue our country," she said.
"After three months I was sent to my
first operation. It was an attack on an army checkpoint
and I was equipped with grenades."
[BBC. World; Tuesday, July 28, 1998]
Fifteen year old Raja went to the Teaching Hospital
in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, complaining of insomnia,
aggressive outbursts and irrational abnormal
behaviour in late 1994.
He had joined the LTTE at the age of 11 and underwent
extensive training.
He told doctors that after one attack where he
lost many friends he was shown a videos of dead women
and children and told that his enemies had
done this. Soon afterwards he was involved in attacks on
several Muslim villages near Batticaloa. When
recounting one attack, he described how he held a child
by the legs and bashed its head against a wall
and how he enjoyed hearing the mother’s screaming.
He said they deserved to die. [Children in South
Asia; Amnesty International / Index 04/01/98 page 38 ]
A little schoolgirl, shocked into fear at the
site of Thursday's Maradana bomb
blast, being taken care of by a soldier in one
of the touching sights at
the scene of the catastrophe.[Sunday Tiumes 08th
March 1998]
Neither the devastating bus bomb that severely
damaged the overhead
bridge at Maradana nor the shattered roof could
deter this enterprising
young man from carrying on with his trade. Like
the mythical phoenix,
he resumed his work amidst the debris. Pic by
Gemunu Wellage [Sunday Tiumes 15th March 1998]
An elderly bhikku said: 'And now, the worst has
happened to our little
nation. What more is there to happen!' 'It
is unthinkable,that there are
men who could resort to such barbaric deeds.
If they want war let them
confine those atrocities to battle fields
- not places of worship, not in the
Temple of Gods where common people come
for spiritual and religious sustenance. [Island 02 02.1998]
'It will be futile now to accuse, blame and place
the responsibility of some individuals,
call them terrorists or what you like for this
great tragedy. It is time now for a brisk national awakening.
Our leaders must wake up from their deep slumber
of self smugness power, glory, and political expediency.
They must awake and begin to think anew. What
went wrong and where?'