The Ceylon News

The ICRC has led efforts to evacuate injured civilians from Sri Lanka's northern coastal towns Separatist Tamil Tiger fighters have shot at injured civilians fleeing fighting in Sri Lanka's northern war zone, witnesses who have escaped the island have said. The alleged attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) came as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) tried to evacuate sick and wounded people by boat from Puttumatalan, a rebel-held village. "When we tried to escape with civilians, LTTE fired at me. I got shot in my leg," sister Louise, a Catholic nun who tried to steer civilians away from the fighting, said on Thursday. The ICRC said it managed to ferry out 240 sick and injured people from Puttumatalan. Exclusive footage broadcast by Al Jazeera on Thursday showed people attempting to flee the island with the help of the aid organisation. The ICRC said the deaths of 16 patients by artillery fire three days ago highlighted the dangers faced by civilians in the war zone. Civilians fleeing Efforts are now under way to ensure the safe passage from the island of about 160 people, officials said. Sister Mary Colostica, a 74-year-old Catholic nun, said she was shot at as she tried to shepherd more than 2,000 civilians from village to village. "When we tried to leave, the LTTE didn't allow civilians to leave and said only we [the nuns] can leave ... so we stayed back with the civilians," she said from a hospital in Trincomalee, the eastern port where she and the others were taken by the ICRC. The civilians were treated at a makeshift field hospital before moving towards Puttumatalan to escape the fighting taking place nearby. Refugee 'havens' Humanitarian agencies say about 250,000 people are trapped between Sri Lankan government forces and the Tamil Tigers. Colombo says the number is half of that but it is preparing to house 200,000 refugees at five "welfare villages" for up to three years. The LTTE has denied accusations that it has kept civilians inside the war zone to use as fighters. The group has lead a 25-year war against Colombo in an attempt to secure greater rights for ethnic Tamils on the majority Sinhalese island.

With the Sri Lankan troops closing in on the last bastions of LTTE, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said Tiger supremo V Prabhakaran will soon have to "pay" for attacking various religious places in the island nation in the past 25 years.

"Prabhakaran will have to pay for carrying out attacks on religious places, including Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic," Rajapaksa told an election rally in Kandy, 115 kms from Colombo.

The age old temple (of the Sacred Tooth Relic) in the city of Kandy built within the royal palace complex, houses a relic of Buddha, a tooth which is venerated by Buddhists.

"In a few days, Prabhakaran will have to pay compensation for attacking the Dalada Maligawa and the Sri Maha Bodhi temples," Rajapaska said.

The Tamil Tigers had attacked various Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka during the 30-year-old insurgency in the country.

Sri Lankan troops have captured the rebel strongholds of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu and confined the Tamil Tigers to an area less than 15 km.

Rajapaksa said the forthcoming two Provincial Council elections will decide whether or not the government could carry forward the victory of the war heroes.

"No force on earth would stop the dynamic march of the Nation today," Rajapaksa told the rally.

At least 39 Tamil Tigers were killed in the fierce clashes with the advancing Sri Lankan troops even as army seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition besides a grenade factory and a printing press of the LTTE, officials said on Thursday.

Security forces captured a highly fortified Tiger camp located in Sinna Villu area northeast of Kuppilankulam in Mullaittivu yesterday, the Defence Ministry said.

During search operations, troops found a body of an LTTE cadres and a huge cache of arms and ammunitions, it said. Meanwhile, troops had fierce day-long clashes with the Tiger rebels in the Tamarankulam area.

Security forces subsequently found four bodies of LTTE cadres, five T-56 riffles, two claymore mines, six electrically operated mines, and one radio communication set. Tamarankulam is a remote area located about 5 km north of A-35 and 3 km west of Chalai lagoon near Elephant pass.

Snipers deployed in the forward areas confirmed shooting down of 23 LTTE militants at various locations in the Wanni yesterday, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said.

Separately, the troops inflicted damages on the LTTE cadres during confrontations throughout the day yesterday in Puthukudiruppu area in Mullaittivu, it said, adding troops too have sustained minor damages.

Despite the Sri Lanka Government’s best efforts to encourage the civilians in the north out of the battle zone, the LTTE is continuing to use them as a human shield risking the lives of the Tamil people, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka said here today.

Mr Wickramanayaka was briefing Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva who inquired about the current situation in Sri Lanka during a courtesy call paid by the Sri Lankan visitor.

Prime Minister Wickramanayaka was on a five-day private visit to Thailand to attend the Magha Pucha Day, an important day in the Buddhist calendar here, at the Wat Phara Dhammakaya Temple at Pathuvithani.

Mr Wickramanayaka said that during the last 30 years successive governments have negotiated with the LTTE in order to reach a durable solution. These negotiations were of no avail as the LTTE deliberately stymied every attempt at settlement.

Even the present Sri Lankan government entered into negotiations but once more the Tamil Tigers undermined the attempts at a political settlement.

It was only when this attempt at negotiating a solution was undermined that the government decided on a course to eradicate terrorism.

Today the terrorists are confined to a narrow area that is continuously shrinking. The civilians in the area who wish to get away from the clutches of the LTTE are forcibly prevented from doing so. Despite the LTTE’s deliberate policy of exposing the Tamil civilians to the dangers of war, people are anxious to get out into the government-controlled areas. One day last week some 5000 civilians crossed over to the government side, Mr Wickramanayaka told Prime Minister Vejjajiva.

He said that even during the years of the war the government continued to provide food, medical and other supplies to the civilian population in the LTTE controlled areas. However, much of these supplies did not reach the civilian population as intended as they were seized by the LTTE and used for their own needs.

Prime Minister Wickramanayaka said the government intends to establish a provincial council in the north as it did in the other liberated area in the country’s east where the people were allowed to elect their own representatives using their franchise.

He said the people of the north would have this opportunity and so they too will be able to enjoy the same facilities as available in the south of the country.

He said the doors would be open for development and there would be investment opportunities. Earlier Prime Minister Wickramanayaka recalled the strong religious ties between Sri Lanka and Thailand that have existed for centuries. He congratulated the Thai people for their excellent organizational skills as exemplified by the religious ceremonies held at the Temple and attended by several thousands.

Thai Prime Minister Vejjajiya recalled that every year a member of the Thai Royal family visits Sri Lanka to attend the annual Katina pinkama at the Dipaduttamaramaya in Colombo.

Mr Wickramanayaka drew attention to the proposed construction of a Buddhist Zone in Sri Lanka where all the Buddhist countries in the world will be invited to set up their own shrines according to their architectural styles and requirements.

Prime Minister Wickramanayaka was accompanied on his call to his Thai counterpart by Mahinda Bandusena, Secretary to the Prime Minister; Mr G.Wijayasiri, Foreign Affairs Consultant to the Prime Minister; Jayaratna Banda Disanayake, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand and embassy officials.

Prime Minister Vejjejiva was assisted by Mr Pisanu Chanvitan, Director- General (South Asia, Middle East and African Affairs) of the Foreign Ministry.