LTTE TERROR Archives

FEATURES DN From the Daily News - Part 5 CHRONOLOGY OF LTTE TERROR Archives When the euphoria of victory dies down, and together with it the media hype ceases, when the guns do not rattle and boom anymore, and the sky, the land and the sea become calm and serene, when tranquillity reigns through it is natural to live in the present moment and forget All civilians killed were Tamils the past. But one cannot live in the present without a past. Nor can one envision the future discarding the experience of the preceding events. Hence the Daily News is serialising the Chronicle of LTTE Terror taken from our own archives which would remind our readers how it all began. An awareness of the chronology of terror would help us prevent the recurrence of such Higher death toll terror and frustrate any attempts by misguided elements to repeat history to suit their evil designs. It was not simple terror. Nor was terror sporadic. It was all pre-planned, pre-determined, well-calculated terror. The victims were innocent people. Though it is too many innumerate feared in we would like to recall the major episodes in the Chronology of Terror. Yal Devi blast Twenty three soldiers and eleven civilians were Yal Devi train debacle killed in the attack on the ‘Yal Devi’ between Muru- gandi and Mankulam on Saturday night, the Defence Ministry said last night. All civilians killed were Tamils, the ministry said. The blast that Many of the soldiers were returning home to their families with their salaries, a spokesman added. The authorities were uncertain about whether shattered the peace the death toll would rise as many of the wounded were seriously hurt. Three WIJITHA NAKKAWITA minute. For the passengers’ ers like even G. G. Ponnam- went off the track causing a The LTTE terrorists of the injured were police- only thoughts of reaching balam, P. Kandiah the Com- considerable damage to the had fixed a high powered men, the ministry said. The landscape of the Colombo or the other main munist Party parliamentari- carriages while about 300 explosive device under the “There’s also the possi- North, the peninsula stations like Anuradhapura an who were among those metres of the railway track culvert and set it off once bility that there may be known by different names were present and the day’s that took this train either was totally damaged. again demonstrating their more bodies under the in the history of Sri Lanka warm atmosphere was turn- way. During the later years The derailed train ruthless terrorist plans not debris which is still being fire on the survivors. Mankulam eighteen min- such as Yapapatuna, Javap- ing cool with comfort. the train had to cut short its skewed into the earth and only to sabotage the train cleared”, a spokesman Troops who survived the utes later. But in the inter- atuna, Ihapanapattanam, or This train had carried journey to Kankesanthurai came to a standstill and services to the north but said. The ministry said blast returned fire and a im, the station master at Jaffnapattanam, in contem- several dignitaries from and ply up to Palai station. passengers who got over take the lives of the passen- that it was believed that at gunbattle had blazed for Mankulam had heard a porary usage Jaffna, was gers and everyone else on least three of the attackers some minutes until the blast - and the train did usually noted for its warm the train, killing 38 service- had been killed in the attackers withdrew. not arrive on schedule. climate during the day, but men who were coming on exchange of fire between The sub inspector said The concerned railway on that January day the sun home leave and 11 civilians the terrorists and the sol- the carriage in which he official urgently reached was setting and the cloud- bringing the total number diers after the blast. was riding was blown off the Anuradhapura police. less skies were aglow in red killed to 48. “The terrorist action the track and toppled over Anuradhapura contacted and gold clouds reflecting More than nine car- has resulted in the on its side. After the gun- Vavuniya and further the rays of the setting sun. riages were badly damaged destruction of the railway fire ceased, he and eight checks confirmed the The night train to in addition to the damage line at Murugandi and it others in the compartment worst fears. Colombo from the north to the rail track. will be difficult for govern- had boarded a section of The engine, drawing the Yal Devi - queen of As we had seen earlier ment to send essential the train that escaped the two carriages, was later Jaffna - was making ready several groups of Tamil ter- food and fuel supplies to blast and steamed on to able to pull into Mankulam for the departure to Colom- rorists had been trained in Jaffna”, the ministry Mankulam. The train com- with some of the survivors bo and the passengers were India with the blessings of added. prised 13 carriages, eleven and injured on board. boarding it at Elephant the Indian government SLAF helicopters using of which were hit by the The first relief teams Pass station perhaps with intelligence arm RAW and block and tackle equip- explosion. The engine and that reached the scene thoughts of a comfortable veterans of the Indian ment like cranes lifted tow forward carriages found eleven carriages off journey to Colombo by armed forces. some of the carriages in remained on the rails. the tacks and badly dam- dawn the next day. This Having trained them and the rescue effort. The train had begun its aged. The casualties and express train given the armed them some of them The troops on board the southward run from injured were many. romantic name in the 1950s were also trained in han- train were soldiers from Kilinochchi, as the terror- There was no clear indi- was the main mode of dling explosive and some in the Gurunagar, Palaly, ists had damaged the rail cation whether the attack- transport for passengers the LTTE enjoyed high Kankesanturai and Poon- link to Jaffna in a previous ers had succeeded in loot- travelling to Jaffna from privilege among the terror- eryn camps. A detachment attack. When the train ing arms and ammunition Colombo or to Jaffna to ist outfits and explosive of 35 soldiers from the CLI drew out of Kilinochchi, from the dead and injured Colombo. experts - those would set off were on the train on escort there were about 90 troops soldiers. But this was The locomotive engine bombs or explosive devices duty. The bodies of the on board and very few regarded as unlikely, as the one of those Canadian for mass murder and geno- dead were flown to the civilians passengers. surviving troops had diesel giants was already cide. SLAF’s Katunayake base Some reports said that a repulsed the attackers. adding a moderate drone to The engine of the ill-fated train Many other incidents of yesterday. One of the sur- few handbomb explosions Earlier, an effort to blast the stilled evening’s skies explosive devices going off vivors, a sub-inspector of in the Kilinochchi area had the track was discovered and the railway guard came Jaffna to Colombo or the That night among the the first shock was soon to some inside passenger rail- police, said from his hospi- kept civilian passengers off in time. on the platform when all other way and among them quiet jungle lined route the experience the last shock of way carriages on rail tracks tal bed at Anuradhapura the train, but this was A dead corporal and six the passengers had taken were Wijayananda Yal Devi was moving their lives when the LTTE were to be witnessed in the that after the train was unconfirmed. The train soldiers have been identi- their seats to wave his Dahanayake (who became through Murukandi and terrorists who had years to come and hun- blown off the track, a ter- which had left Murukandi fied as this report goes to green flag to signal the Premier in 1959) and oth- Mankulam immersed in ambushed the Yal Devi sur- dreds of passengers most of rorist force had opened at 7.10 p.m. was due at press. driver to go. The drone of ers like S. J. V. Chel- darkness. But all hell broke rounded it firing at close them civilians were to be the engine deepened in a vanayakam the leader of the loose suddenly when it was range at all the passengers killed by the LTTE terror- gush and the train started Illankai Thamil Arasu Kad- passing a culvert. A loud they could see or at every ists who finally were defeat- Yesterday moving slowly gathering chi - the Tamil State Party explosion broke the silence window or door of the rail- ed by the Sri Lanka Armed speed from minute to of Sri Lanka - and still oth- of the night and the train way carriages. Forces. LTTE genocide at..Kent and Dollar Farms Yal Devi train =.

Load more