Sunday, 23 December 2007

India doubts LTTE chief hurt in air raid

ENB PirabainjuredposterA Sri Lankan youth walks past posters on a wall in the capital
Colombo , 16 December 2007 announcing an exclusive in the
English language newspaper Nation-AFP PHOTO/ Sanka
VIDANAGAMA-Courtesy: Yahoo!News]

பிரபாகரன் காயமடைந்ததாக வெளியான தகவலை
புலிகள் உறுதியாக நிராகரிப்பு

[23 - December - 2007]


விமானத் தாக்க்குதலில் விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் தலைவர் பிரபாகரன் காயமடைந்திருப்பதாக தெரிவிக்கப்படுவதை விடுதலைப் புலிகள் உறுதியாக நிராகரித்துள்ளனர். எமது தலைவரை அழிக்க முடியுமென யாராவது
ஒருவரால் நினைத்துப் பார்க்கவும் முடியாது. தாக்குதல்களுக்கு இலக்காகக் கூடிய இடங்களில் எமது தலைவரை நாங்கள் வைத்திருப்போமென
நினைக்கிறீர்களா? அவர் முன்னணியில் நின்று எம்மை வழி நடத்துகின்றார். அவர் காயமடையவில்லை என்று விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் பேச்சாளர் தெரிவித்ததாக என்.டி .ரி.வி. இணையத்தளம் நேற்றுத் தெரிவித்தது.
பிரபாகரனின் ஆரோக்கியம் குறித்து கேட்டபோது, அவர் நன்றாக இருக்கிறார். மூன்று தினங்களுக்கு முன்பு தான் அவரைச் சந்தித்தேன் என்று பேச்சாளர் தெரிவித்ததாக என்.டி.ரி.வி செய்திகள் தெரிவித்தன.

Prabhakaran's bunker is as big as a village
IANSColombo:

Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran lives more
than 40 feet under ground in a massive, well provided, and
seemingly impenetrable bunker complex hewn from rocks in the
middle of a thick jungle in northeast Sri Lanka.
Adele Balasingham, the Australian-born wife of the late Anton
Balasingham, ideologue of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam
(LTTE), describes Prabhakaran's office-cum-residence in the
Alampil jungles, in her book The Will to Freedom.
"Our cadres led us down the steps into a room about 30 to 40
feet underground. To our amazement, we could see that this
subterranean haven of tunnels and rooms had been chiselled out
of the underground rocks. Our room had been carved out, high
enough to stand up in and move around comfortably."
"Mr Prabhakaran's room was even deeper underground than
ours," she writes.
"Low lying roofs constructed over the bunkers, and banks to
divert water, prevented the monsoon rains from pouring in and
flooding the bunkers."
"Stronger than concrete, this underground granite structure
stood up to the heavy downpour of the monsoon rains when the
entire jungle turned into a muddy quagmire."
"Since we were deep into the earth, where the sun's heat has no
access, the room was absolutely freezing, particularly at night.
My bones ached from the cold and I wondered how it could be
endured over a sustained period of time. But obviously it had
been, and without any ill-effects," she notes.
The expansive complex was more like a village than a camp. It
had been cleared of virgin jungle. The LTTE's cadres had pulled
out rocks and cleared the foliage except the giant trees, which
gave it good cover. Sixty to seventy feet wells had been dug,
only to find that there was no water!
Since the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was on the
prowl in the Mullaitivu jungles at that time she was referring to,
keeping "Base One Four" supplied with food and other
necessities was extremely problematic.
From 1987 to 1990, the IPKF was fighting the LTTE as the
latter had refused to comply with the India-Sri Lanka Accord
on the ethnic question and lay down arms.
Difficult circumstances
Under these difficult circumstances, the LTTE's cadres in Base
One Four had to survive on rice and "dal" (lentil) without salt,
Adele says.
The routes of the food suppliers had to be changed frequently
to avoid being detected by the IAF's MI-24 choppers and the
IPKF's foot patrols. Mines had to be detected and dodged.
Though the camp was visible from the air, and the IAF's
choppers could swoop down, the casualties in Base One Four
were minimal, Adele notes.
India doubts LTTE chief hurt in air raid
Sunday, December 23,2007 NEW DELHI: The Indian government has no credible
information that Tamil Tigers chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was
injured in a Sri Lanka Air Force raid on his bunker in the last
week of November. Indian security agencies believe that
reports that Prabhakaran was injured and that he may seek
medical treatment abroad are part of psychological warfare
against a beleaguered Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
An informed source dismissed as "ridiculous" a report Friday in
a Sri Lankan newspaper that the supposed air raid on
Prabhakaran killed 116 bodyguards of the LTTE chief.
Officials told on condition of anonymity that the Indian security
establishment, which keeps a close tab on the Sri Lankan
conflict, would have in all probability learnt by now if
Prabhakaran had indeed been injured.
"All we can say now is that we have no credible intelligence to
believe that Prabhakaran was wounded in any raid," the source
said. "While we never rule out anything completely, we find
these reports difficult to digest."
The LTTE has not commented on the supposed bombing of
Prabhakaran's base that was first reported by a Sri Lankan
newspaper Dec 16.
The paper said the 54-year-old suffered slight injuries in the
arms, legs and the back when the air force dropped 12 bombs
on the Jayanthinagar bunker complex in the northern district of
Kilinochchi Nov 28.
It went on to say that Prabhakaran recovered after treatment at
the LTTE-run Thileepan Medical Centre and had begun moving
about.
The Sri Lankan military spokesman then said the forces had no
such information although the incident had supposedly taken
place over two weeks earlier.

No comments: