Sri Lankan troops close to rebels' de facto capital

Sri Lankan troops close to rebels' de facto capital

* Fighting between government forces and rebels leaves 35 rebels,
14 soldiers dead
http://www.dailytim es.com.pk/ default.asp? page=2008\08\03\story_ 3-8-
2008_pg4_11

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan government troops have entered the district
housing the Tamil Tiger rebels' de facto capital for the first time
in 11 years, the military said Saturday as a regional summit opened
in the capital.

Fierce new fighting between government forces and the rebels across
the country's embattled northern region killed 35 rebels and 14
soldiers, the military said. Leaders and officials from eight South
Asian nations gathered Saturday in Colombo for an annual regional
summit. The government sealed off roads and sent 19,000 troops and
soldiers onto the streets of the capital to prevent any bombings.

A rebel attack in the capital during the summit would be deeply
embarrassing for the government. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya
Nanayakkara said army troops had crossed into Kilinochchi district,
where the rebels' de facto capital is located, in fighting Thursday
for the first time in 11 years. He did not give details about
casualties, but said troops had moved about one kilometre into the
district.

Fighting also took place throughout Friday as army troops pushed
into rebel-held territory in the Mullaitivu, Vavuniya, Mannar and
Welioya regions, Nanayakkara said. In the worst battle, 11 soldiers
and nine rebels were killed in the village of Mallavi in Mullaitivu,
he said. Fighting in Vavuniya killed 12 rebels and one soldier, he
said. Scattered battles in Mannar and Welioya killed 14 insurgents
and two soldiers, he said.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not immediately available
for comment. Both sides routinely exaggerate enemy casualties and
underreport their own. Independent verification of the fighting is
not possible because journalists are barred from the war zone. The
fresh fighting along the front lines of the 20-year-old civil war
comes despite a declaration from rebels that they would observe a
unilateral cease-fire from July 26 in honour of the summit. However,
the rebels have said they would defend themselves if attacked.

The government rejected the cease-fire gesture and has continued its
offensive against their de facto state in the north, saying the
rebels are trying to buy themselves time to regroup after a series
of battlefield losses. The summit of the South Asian Association of
Regional Cooperation brings together the heads of government of
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka.

The Tamil rebels have been fighting for an independent state in the
north and east since 1983, following decades of marginalisation of
ethnic Tamils by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. ap

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Tamil Tigers can wage prolonged low-intensity insurgency: Sri Lanka
* Foreign Ministry official says rebels have hidden resources to
prolong conflict
http://www.dailytim es.com.pk/ default.asp? page=2008\08\01\story_ 1-8-
2008_pg4_16

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka may be close to a military victory over Tamil
Tiger separatists, but the rebels could still wage a protracted low-
intensity insurgency with hidden resources, a senior foreign
ministry official said.

"Defeating the LTTE might not be the end of the story because an
organisation like this might still have some resources hidden away,"
Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona told Reuters in an
interview. "This might continue to be a problem for us." The
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), often credited with
perfecting the modern suicide bomb attack, has conventional military
capability including a rag-tag air force and a navy with
considerable firepower.

Kohona's comments came amid increasing signs the military was
gaining an upper hand with near-daily land, sea and air attacks, as
part of a strategy to gradually retake the Tigers' northern
stronghold. Sri Lanka's army commander, Sanath Fonseka, said last
month the LTTE would lose all its territory in less than a year. But
Kohona warned it could still carry on a protracted hit-and-run
insurgency with military hardware such as explosives-strapped
speedboats and small arms saved from its present armed campaign.

"So the way we are trying to resolve this problem is ... by a
combination of military and political means," he said, hoping the
Tigers would follow the example of a break-away rebel group that
fought elections held after two decades in the east. "Hopefully it
also sends a message to the (rebel-held) north that simply because
you spent the better part of your life as a ruthless killer doesn't
mean you have to do so for the rest of your life."

Kohona saw a "huge role" for the international community in the
rebuilding of the country's bombed-out north, saying Sri Lanka, a
$26 billion economy, hardly had the resources for thorough
reconstruction. "Our resource base is not that extensive. Our costs
will escalate with the recovery of the last two districts in the
north," he said.

Sri Lanka is spending $200 million on reconstruction in the retaken
eastern province and has received aid from such donors as the World
Bank and Asian Development Bank. But criticism of its human rights
record has also seen the European Commission threatening last month
to withhold 45 million in aid unless barriers to humanitarian
assistance, including visas for international aid staff, were
lifted. reuetrs

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Colonel Soosai – the Rare Admiral
Sun, 2008-08-03 02:12
Colonel Soosai – the Rare Admiral

By Hemantha Abeywardena from London
http://www.asiantri bune.com/ ?q=node/12550

Colonel Soosai, the leader of Sea Tigers, who is known among Walkie-talkies as Sara Osca, still cuts a formidable figure among his young subordinates. Those who have a fierce loyalty to Soosai may even compare him with the legendary Obelix - and in extreme cases, even pushing the latter into the second place in ranking. Obelix, who used to eat a fully-grown wild boar for breakfast, lunch and dinner, did amazing things, in order to dispose of his excess energy; some of which did include dare-devil acts in the sea.My guess is Soosai would be an Admiral; then he will be a very Rare Admiral indeed, for tens of reasons.
Colonel Soosai used to head a navy that once was the Peril of the Indian Ocean. He had speed boats and teenage suicide bombers to man them at his disposal. Once a target was chosen, all Colonel Soosai had to do was just give a command to a suicide boat to get on with their job - from his commanding vessel.

He used to blow up Navy vessels up until recently at a time of his choosing. Eventually, he became so ambitious and even tried his skill on a passenger vessel - the very stunt earned him a permanent slot in Interpol’s most wanted list.

Despite the successes, Colonel Soosai experienced misfortunes too: he lost his wife to tsunami; his younger son died in what Colonel Soosai loves to call, an accident – a dreadful explosion. Colonel Soosai got injured too in the explosion, but later recovered, when everyone had been thinking that his wounds were life-threatening.

It is reported that Colonel Soosai has got a bullet embedded in his flesh that causes him a lot of pain. He went to Singapore for treatment on a Sri Lankan passport when the previous ceasefire was in place, but to no avail. Those who caught a glimpse of him at the Katunayake Airport were of the view that he was a shy individual, when he was not in military fatigue.

Colonel Soosai is a Tamil Tigers’ equivalent of an amphibian: his military title is Colonel – related to army – yet he heads the organization’ s naval wing.

Colonel Soosai will not rate the latter half of year 2008 as the best period of his naval career, though. He has not only lost the control of the entire west coast, but also a significant number of boats to air strikes. In addition, he has got into the habit of burning his boats en masse, before them being landed in the wrong hands. This is in direct contrast to what the legendary marauding sea warriors, the Vikings, used to do upon conquering foreign lands; in the case of Vikings, it is a form of a trigger to shore up enthusiasm among warriors and signal that there was no-way back. In short, Colonel Soosai and his men did not want to stand shoulder to shoulder to with the Vikings, at least on this occasion.

Despite all the setbacks, Colonel Soosai is still capable of putting on a brave face, especially at funerals of dead Tigers. It has been customary of the LTTE to let Colonel Soosai make his presence felt in these functions, especially if it involves a fairly senior folk in the organization.

Like all the senior Tigers, Colonel Soosai is not prepared to give up in the face of setbacks and hang up his boots. So, he may turn what is left of his boats to create a new fleet - a freshwater fleet – the first of its kind, making use of countless number of tanks in Vanni. – Kulams. What he is going to do with his new fleet is still a mystery. Fresh water fishing is, however, ruled out.

Colonel Soosai is a soldier – a sailor, to be more precise. He is in the battlefield and anything can happen to an individual in that situation. It is anyone’s guess as to the rank that would be bestowed upon him, in the event of the worse coming to the worst and his big Boss outliving him.

Both Tamilselvam and Balraj were given the title of Brigadier by the commander-in- chief, when they made the transition to the ‘Other Side’.

Will it be a Brigadier – the rank next to present title, Colonel – or an Admiral – due to his sea faring skills?

My guess is it would be an Admiral; then he will be a very Rare Admiral indeed, for tens of reasons.

- Asian Tribune -