|
Pirapaharan
By:
T. Sabaratnam 30. LTTE
Guerillas in Action
Nelliady Ambush Pirapaharan’s
wish to raise an LTTE army on the lines of Subash Chandra Bose’s
Indian National Army was natural because he had already gathered a group
of active and committed cadres. He had trained over 25 youths and a few
of them were already preparing in their camp in Atchchuveli to give the
police, the navy and the Jayewardene government the taste of what was in
store. The
group, headed by Mahattaya, experimented three modes of guerilla
attacks- ambush, land mine and assault on security establishments-
between 2 July and 27 October. Before that the LTTE had concentrated-
except for Seelan’s attack on the army on 15 October 1981- on police
investigators, informants and collaborators. The group, this time, tried
out their attacks in quick succession to create maximum effect. Shankar
was placed in charge of the ambush. Sellakili handled the landmine
experiment and Seelan the assault on a security establishment. Shankar,
Sellakili and Seelan were considered by Pirapaharan as clever,
courageous and capable. Shanker
whose real name was Satiyanathan was the son of Selvachandran Master, a
teacher, of Kambarmalai, a village next to Valvettithurai, the
birthplace of Pirapaharan. He was also known as Suresh. He had two
brothers and a sister. His father lived in a well-constructed big house
on a side road, situated about 500 meters beyond Pandithar’s house
which was close to Kambarmalai Public Library. He was Pandithar’s
college mate and joined the LTTE at the age of 20. He was born on 19
June 1961. He lived in Chennai in 1981 and was sent by Pirapaharan in
early 1982 to launch attacks on the police. Pirapaharan was keen that
the LTTE does “something big” to prevent PLOTE claiming legacy to
LTTE’s image. PLOTE caught the imagination of the Tamil people after
its daring Anaikoddai Police station attack and the Kilinochchi bank
robbery. With
Seelan, who had already become a hero with his 15 October 1981 attack on
the army, Shanker planned the ambush. They decided to take on the night
police patrol which went round the villages around Valvetithurai.
Shankar and his colleagues watched its movement for about a week and
selected a lonely spot close to Nelliadi junction for their ambush. Thick-lipped
and soft-spoken Shankar who sported a moustache and his men waited on
both sides of the road. They were thrilled when saw around 7.30 p.m. the
headlights of the police jeep at a distance. Shankar alerted his
colleagues. Shankar, a crack shot, shot the driver Police Constable
Ariyarathna as the jeep approached them. The bullet pierced the head and
Ariyarathna applied the break and slumped in his seat dead. The jeep
shook to a sudden halt. Shankar fired again before the policemen could
react killing constable Gunapala, seated behind. His colleagues shot
dead constables Arunthavarajah and Mallawarachchi. Inspector
Thirusittambalam who sat on the front seat and constables Sivarajah and
Ananda were hurt The
Tigers quickly removed the weapons from the policemen, stopped a passing
car, pushed the driver and the passengers out, and sped away. Police
reacted in what had become the usual pattern: assaulted civilians, burnt
vehicles, shops and houses in the vicinity of Nelliady, Alwai, Vathiri
and Karaveddy and arrested 20 youths. TULF
leaders Amirthalingam and Sivasithamparam issued a statement the next
day condemning the Nelliady attack and Cyril Mathew issued another
statement welcoming the TULF statement. TULF said it never condoned
violence and Mathew praised the TULF for condemning “terrorist
violence.” Though it looked like an innocent routine Jayewardene,
through Mathew, was widening the cleavage he had engineered between the
moderate Tamil leadership and the militants. Failed Landmine Attack Nearly
three months later, on 29 September 1982, the day President Jayewardene
visited Jaffna to campaign for the presidential election held on 20
October, LTTE militants led by Sellakili launched their failed first
landmine attack. They wanted to give a violent dimension to the hartal
staged by TELF, GUES and some Communist organizations protesting
against Jayewardene’s visit. Sellakili
whose real name was Sathasivam Selvanayagam, hailed from Kalviyankadu,
an agricultural village, two kilometers from Jaffna on the Point Pedro
road. He was one of the founder members of the LTTE and earned fame for
his quick and alert actions after the shooting of Inspector
Bastiampillai in April 1978. He grabbed Bastiampillai’s sub-machine
gun the moment he kept it down to accept the cup of tea offered to him
and shot him with it. Pirapaharan selected him to specialize in
landmines because of his quickness and alertness. The
army explosives team that examined the unexploded landmines reported
that they were improvised by the LTTE. It bore no trademark and its
shape and packing were crude. They were made of cast iron cylinders.
Five kilos of explosives and steel pieces were packed into each of them.
The landmines were connected by a wire which was connected to a portable
“Honda” generator which supplied the electricity for the exploder
that activated the landmines. Sellakili
and his colleagues picked the daily naval convoy that crosses Ponnalai
Causeway for their experimental attack. Karainagar Naval Base did not
have fresh water. Water available there was salty. Fresh water used for
cooking and drinking was fetched from Moolai, a village in the mainland.
Three tankers left every morning for this task. Two navy jeeps provided
escort to the water tankers, On
29 September the convoy left Karainagar at around 6.30 a.m.. Petty
Officer Selvaratnam was in command. Twelve naval personnel boarded the
two jeeps. The
convoy moved leisurely along the causeway. September
is usually dry in the Jaffna peninsula. It was before the break of the
north-east monsoon which brings rains to north-eastern part of Sri
Lanka. Sandy mounds dotted the lagoon bed on both sides of the road. On
some mounds, shrubs had grown. Sellakili and his men dug the road about
100 meters from the southern end at four places and buried the
landmines. They were connected by a wire which ran to a thick bush on a
sand mound. The holes on the road where the landmines were buried and
the ditch through which the wire was laid were neatly covered and
tarred. The wire that ran through the lagoon bed was covered with sand.
The wire was connected to the generator. Sellakili
waited near the generator with the exploder in his hand. Aruna stood by
the generator. He was in charge of operating it. The
convoy came at the usual time. Sellakili misjudged its speed. He pressed
the exploder when the jeep leading the convoy was about 50 meters away.
The first mine exploded throwing up the steel pieces, stones and sand.
It created a meter deep crater. The other three mines did not explode. Sellakili
ordered all to run to the minibus. They ran parallel to the road. Aruna
ran carrying the generator. He found it difficult as it was too heavy
and his legs sunk into the sand. He dropped the generator and ran. They
were just 50 to 100 meters in front of the navy personnel who did not
fire even a single round. Selvaratnam told the Committee of Inquiry that
they were in a state of shock. By
the time they recovered the ‘terrorists’ had vanished. Tigers
ran about 400 meters to board the “Mitsubishi Rosa’ which was
waiting for them. The mini bus sped towards Moolai. The Tigers traveled
to Ponnalai causeway the previous night in that hijacked bus. They had
escaped narrowly. If the naval ratings had fired, all would have been
wiped out. The Committee of Inquiry said so to Selvaratnam. “If you
had fired LTTE would have been crippled,” the inquiring officer chided
Selvaratnam. LTTE’s
first landmine attack had failed. But it provided them the knowledge and
experience to perfect it into the most deadly weapon and LTTE’s
arsenal. The Tigers used
the landmines with deadly effect. That made the media to call the war,
at one stage, the landmine war. Tigers made use of the landmines to
contain and subdue the Sri Lankan army. That
was a big miss for Sellakili also. The effort to make a massive impact
on the government and the public had failed. But everything was not
lost. The news was conveyed to President Jayewardene who stayed in
Jaffna Fort early in the morning. He was upset. He summoned the National
Security Council for a discussion about the landmine attack. Army
Commander Tissa Weeratuna, Inspector General of Police Rudra Rajasingham,
Northern Commander Brigadier Cyril Ranatuga, his assistant Major
Balagalle, Captain Sarath Munasinghe, head of the army intelligence unit
in Jaffna, and senior army and police officers stationed in Jaffna
attended. Jayewardene
was angry. He scolded Munasinghe for the intelligence unit’s failure
to report on the resurgence of the LTTE. He asked Munasinghe: Where is
Pirapaharan? Munasinghe replied: In Madurai. He inquired about the
persons responsible for the landmine attack and ordered: We must nip
this menace in the bud. Otherwise, we are in for trouble.
Jayewardene
was not deterred by the hartal and
the landmine attack. His election meeting was held that evening at the
Jaffna esplanade. Gamini Dissanayake spoke before him. He concluded his
speech saying, “Our leader will address you now. He will tell you an
important matter.” Jayewardene
spoke next. He started his speech saying that he was aware of the
problems of the Tamils people. They had been identified through talks
with the TULF. He had incorporated them in the 1977 election manifesto
of the UNP. “We have started implementing the promises contained in
the manifesto. We have laid the administrative framework for
implementation by setting up the District Development Councils. My next
task is to strengthen the District Development Councils. To do that I am
seeking a fresh mandate,” he said. As
arranged by EROS a youth shot up. “You went on a pilgrimage opposing
the Bandaranaike- Chelvanayakam Pact.” Jayewardene:
Yes I did. If any one tries to revive the pact, I will go on a
pilgrimage to Kandy again. Before Jayewardene could complete the answer, a group of EROS
cadres cut the coir that tied the poles supporting the wooden planks
that made the stage. The
stage collapsed and with that Gamini Dissanayake and President
Jayewardene fell. His body did not suffer any physical injury. His heart
did. The 79-year-old
Jayewardene had never been so humiliated in his half-a-century political
life. His determination to teach a lesson to the Tamils stiffened. Chavakachcheri
Police Attack Though Jayewardene found fault with the army
intelligence unit it was functioning efficient since July 1981 when
Brigadier Cyril Ranatunga took charge of Jaffna command. He brought down
Captain Sarath Munasinghe and organized the Intelligence Unit. The unit
utilized captured senior members of PLOTE to gather information.
Ranatunga was lenient to some of the detainees in return for
information. At the time of Jayewardene’s visit, three PLOTE seniors
were kept in custody at the Gurunagar Camp.
They were Anton, Aranganayagam and Arafat. They gave Sarath
Munasinghe the details of all the murders and robberies in which they
participated including Kilinochchi Bank robbery. Ranatunga made use of
them to relay the garden in front of his official residence. They escaped by climbing the wall of Ranatunga’s
residence on 26 October 1982 while doing gardening. Anton and
Aranganayagam were arrested within three hours. The cordon and search
operation carried out in Gurunagar failed to apprehend Arafat. Military
officers held a lengthy planning session that night at Gurunagar camp
and were about to break up. The time was 5.30 a.m. Then they received a
police message that Chavakachcheri Police Station was under attack. They
postponed their effort to re-arrest Arafat and rushed to Chavakachcheri.
By the time they reached Chavakachceri Police Station, 15 kilometers
from Jaffna Tigers led by Seelan had completed the attack and escaped in
the mini-bus they came. Police and army investigators later admitted
that was a well planed and efficiently executed operation that took less
than 15 minutes. Arafat was captured on 3 November when he boarded the
Uthradevi evening express train bound to Colombo when he boarded it at
Meesalai by soldiers traveling in it for their holiday. Anton,
Aranganayagam and Arafat were killed on 25 July 1983 during the Welikada
Prison massacre. Chavakachcheri Police Station was a two-storey
building. It is situated alongside the main Kandy Road. Following
PLOTE’s attack on Anaikoddai police station on 27 July 1981, all main
police stations were guarded day and night. On 27 October, night police
constables Karunananthan and Kandiah were on guard duty. They had
repeater shot guns. Seelan had prepared the attack meticulously. He
visited the police station twice and had observed the layout and the
structure of the buildings. Through a civilian employee at the police
station, he obtained the details about the locations of the armoury and
communication equipments. “Before we set out on our mission to attack the
police station we knew exactly all the details. We divided ourselves
into groups of two and undertook to perform specific tasks. The task
assigned to me and Shankar was to run to the living quarters which were
at the back of the building and shoot the policemen there,” Santhosam,
who was from my village Ariyalai, told me when I met him subsequently.
His father Kanapathipillai, a teacher, is a good friend of mine. Seelan and Rahu formed one group. Their task was to
shoot the police guards, destroy the communication equipment which was
in the first storey, and shoot at the policemen who lived in the
dormitory there. Santhosam and Shankar were to attack the residential
quarters. Basheer Kaka and Mahattaya were detailed to break open the
armoury and remove the arms. Pulenthiran and Aruna were to help in the
carrying of the arms and the removal of the wounded to the mini-bus. “We worked like a well oiled machine,” recalled
Santhosam. “We acted in unison.” Aruna and Pulenthiran arranged the mini bus,
Mitsubishi Rosa 29 Sri 7309 for the purpose. They met the driver
Thavarajah in Kopay on 25 October and hired the bus for a trip to
Thilayampalam Kovil on 27 October. They paid an advance of 100 rupees
and asked him to come to a house in Irupalai. Thavarajah who was arrested by the Army Intelligence
Unit on 28 October, the day after the police station attack, told
investigators they were tied up when they went to the house by some
youths and taken to a nearby house and was locked up in a room. They
were blindfolded, taken to Kopay and released in the night. Eight Tigers traveled in the bus to Chavakachcheri.
They were Seelan, Mahattaya, Aruna, Shankar, Pulenthiran, Rahu,
Santhosam and Basheer Kakka. They were armed with one SMG, one G-3, one
repeater rifle, two revolvers and grenades. The mini bus approached the Chavakachcheri Police
station around 5.30 am. The bus slowed down opposite the police station.
Seelan and Rahu jumped out opening fire at the constables on guard duty.
Karunanandan fell dead at the entrance. Kandiah retreated a few paces,
got into a kneeling position and fired with his repeater shot gun. One
of the Tigers who had run past him turned back and shot and killed him. Seelan and Rahu ran to the first floor. They
destroyed the communication equipment. Then they burst into the upstairs
dormitory where six policemen lived. Seelan shot police driver
Thilakaratne whom he found hiding under his bed. Constable
Jayatilleke, who jumped from the upper storey, broke his leg. Two
constables hid themselves inside the toilet and escaped. Another was
fortunate because he went unnoticed though he was hiding under his bed.
Constable Weerakoon, who had his revolver with him, took up position
behind the door and opened fire when Seelan and Rahu ran down. He hit
both of them. Seelan fell as a bullet tore his kneecap. Rahu’s right
hand bone was fractured. Shankar and Santhosam sprinted to the living quarters
at the back of the police station. They did that to scare the policemen
away from protecting the armoury. They did not injure anyone as the
constables hid themselves. Mahattaya and Basheer Kakka broke open the
armoury and removed the weapons. Pulenthiran and Aruna, hearing gunshots
and groan of pain from Seelan and Rahu ran to help them. Aruna carried
the fallen Seelan to the mini-bus. Pullenthiran was hit at the shoulder
by a bullet Weerakkon fired. The bold daybreak attack killed three policemen-
Karunanathan of Uduvil,
Kandiah of Mirusuvil and Thilaharatna of Kegalle
- and wounded Sergeant Kandiah and Constable Jayatilleke and a civilian,
Kandiah Selvam, who was in custody. Tigers removed two sub machine guns,
one .38 revolver, nine .303 rifles and 19 repeater shotguns. The attack was over in 15 minutes. The attackers
escaped in the mini bus they came. It sped towards Meesalai and was
found by the police abandoned at Navali.
Arrest of Singarayar Before
abandoning the mini bus, Mahattaya took it to Achchelu Methodist Church.
He met the priest Rev. Sam T. Jayathilakarajah. The injured men were
taken to Jayathilakarajah’s quarters behind the church. Others
proceeded in the mini bus to the camp. They were dropped close to the
camp and the mini bus was taken to Navali and left there. Jayathilakarajah,
realizing the seriousness of the situation, took the injured and
Mahattaya in his car to Puttur Methodist Hospital where his brother Dr,
Jayakularajah worked. The doctor advised Mahattaya the injured needed
surgery and Seelan, who had lost considerable amount of blood needed
constant care. He told Mahattaya five shotgun pellets had hit Seelan’s
right knee. He pointed to the three exit wounds and said three pellets
had got out and the other two pellets had been embedded. They had to be
removed by surgery. He also advised Mahattaya to take Rahu and
Pullenthiran to the camp and said he would arrange for Seelan to be
looked after by a family known to him. Seelan was kept in Dr.
Jayakularajah’s quarters after initial treatment and transferred to
the house of the family known to him in the night. The
house to which Seelan was transferred was that of Nirmala
Nithiyananthan, at 330, Navalar Road, Jaffna. There were two houses in
that compound, the main house at the centre of the large compound and a
small house on a side. Nirmala, a lecturer at the Jaffna University and
her husband Muthispillai Nithiyananthan, who was also a lecturer at the
same university, lived in the small house. Nirmala’s parents,
Rajasinghams, occupied the main house. Dr.
Jayakularajah took Seelan to Nirmala’s house in the night and told
Nirmala, who called her younger sister Rajani, a medical intern at the
Jaffna Hospital, and instructed them about the dangerous state of
Seelan’s condition and the treatment. Seelan was stretched on the
double bed Nithiyananthans used. He was still bleeding. Dr.
Jayakularajah laid down another strict condition: No one other than him
and Rajan should be allowed into the house. Rajan was none other than
Mahattaya. Mahattaya was called Rajan in his young days. He went to
Nirmala’s house on bicycle and took medicines and instructions from
Dr. Jayakularajah. Nirmala
and Nithiyananthan looked after Seelan like a member of their family.
They sympathized with and adored him because of his childhood
deprivations and his intense commitment to the freedom struggle. Seelan
had told them the difficulties he had faced because of his drunken
father and unemployed elder brother. He had told them that his mother
was the only source of support and he regretted very much his leaving
her. He also told them he was induced by Father Singarayar to join the
LTTE. When Nirmala needed pain killers to administer to Seelan, Rajan obtained it from
a dispensary through Father Singarayar. Seelan
had told Nirmala and her husband that he left home because dedicating
his life to redeem the plight of the Tamil people was worthy than
improving the economic status of his family. He had told them he was
fortunate to come under the influence of a noble leader like
Pirapaharan. “Pirapaharan is a great leader,” Seelan had told them.
Seelan
had given an incident to illustrate Pirapaharan’s greatness. One day,
when a sick LTTE cadre wanted to vomit Pirapaharan held his hands
together for the sick person to vomit. When the cadre felt reluctant to
vomit into his leader’s hands Pirapaharan told him they were comrades
and urged him to vomit into his hands. Nirmala
told this to Sarath Munasinghe, the head of the army intelligence unit
stationed at Gurunagar who arrested her and her husband for giving
shelter to a ‘terrorist’ during the investigation. Munasinghe has
recorded this in his book A
Soldier's Version published in year 2000. Munasinghe requested me to
read the final proof of his book and I made use of my meetings with him
to do extensive interviews of the investigation he did on the
Chavakachcheri Police Station attack, the raid he conducted at Meesalai
which resulted in Seelan’s death, and about the Thirunelveli attack.
When Nirmala finished relating the vomiting incident Seelan had told her
Munasinghe told her, “I will get hold of your Seelan one day.”
Nirmala retorted.” Please do not try that. You will never get him
alive.” Munasinghe
said they searched Nirmala’s house on 20 November, two days after
Seelan was transported safely to Tamil Nadu. He added that he came to
know about Nirmala sheltering Seelan by accident. The army intelligence
unit had received information that two Catholic priests, Father
Singarayar and Father Sinnarasa were actively helping the LTTE in
propaganda work and in financial matters. Army intelligence officers and
police detectives kept them under surveillance. After gathering
‘hard’ information the army and the police sought permission from
the defence ministry to search the churches where they served and their
quarters. President Jayewardene was the defence minister and Weerapitiya
his deputy. They decided not to be hasty, as that would create a furore
among the Catholics. Lake House newspapers, mainly Daily News, were used
to create a favourable environment for the search. The
environment for the arrest was created systematically. First, the news
was leaked that certain Catholic priests in the Jaffna peninsula were
actively helping the LTTE. That was followed by news stories saying army
and the police were considering searching the churches and the living
quarters of the priests. Statements and reader’s letters were planted
supporting the search and if necessary the arrest of priests. One letter
said, “All persons, including priests, should be treated equally
before the law.” Having
created a conducive environment defence ministry gave the green light
with the warning that the search and the arrest should be carried out
without wounding the religious feelings of the Catholics. The army
intelligence unit decided that Father Aparanam Singarayar’s Church,
“Amala Utpavam” at Kariyur, Jaffna should be searched first, and the
search party should be led by a Christian officer. The only Christian
officer serving in the intelligence field was an Assistant
Superintendent of Police. He led the search party. Initially there were
objections for the search but it was carried out. Army
said it had found sufficient evidence to prove Fr. Singarayar’s
involvement with the LTTE. He was arrested on 14 November and taken to
Gurunagar Camp for investigation. The next day, Fr. Philip Anton
Sinnarasa’s church, St. John’s, Delft was searched and the priest
arrested. He was also taken to the Gurunagar Camp. These
arrests sparked off protests. Thousands of students, priests and nuns,
took part in demonstrations, pickets and hunger strikes. The Bishop of
Jaffna, Reverent V Dogupillai, registered the strongest protest to the
president. The Vital Information “The
following morning, 20 November, Fr. Singarayar sent word for me. When I
went, he was shivering. “I want to tell you something,” he said. I
calmed him down. He sat down on the chair. Then he held my hand tightly.
Still he was shivering. “Seelan is being treated by Dr. Jayakularajah,
brother of the Methodist priest Rev, Jayathilakarajah,” he said. I
asked him their address and he gave me,” Munasinghe told me. “That
was sufficient for me. That information was a real breakthrough,”
Munasinghe said. “I immediately drove to the Methodist Church at
Achchelu with another officer and two soldiers. We were in civil
clothes. Rev. Jayathilakarajah was not there. Then I drove to St.
Luke’s Methodist Hospital at Puttur. Dr. Jayakularajah was there. He
was washing his car. He was disturbed when he saw us. “Are you from the
police?” he asked. “We are from the army,” I replied. He looked
frightened.” “I
asked him straight,” Munasinghe said, “Are you treating Seelan?” He
admitted. He said he got involved because of his brother Rev.
Jayathilakarajah. Munasinghe
asked, “Where is Seelan now?” Dr.
Jayakularajah: He had been sent to India for treatment. Munasinghe:
Other injured persons? Dr.
Jayakularajah: They too have been sent to India. He also gave their
names as Ragu and Pulenthiran. “Where
did Seelan stay before he was transported to India?” “At
the house of a family known to me and sympathetic to the LTTE.” Munasinghe
did not want to waste any more time with him. He decided to question the
brothers together on that aspect, He instructed the other officer and
one soldier to come in Dr. Jayakularajah’s car to Rev.
Jayathilakarajah’s residence and drove in his jeep to the priest’s
quarters at Achchelu. When Munasinghe reached the priest’s residence
which was behind the Church he was there. Rev. Jayathilakarajah was
shocked when Munasinghe told him that he was from the army. “What
brought you to me?” he asked. Munasinghe:
Your involvement with the LTTE. Rev.
Jayathilakarajah denied having any link with the LTTE.
He also denied that he had arranged for the treatment of the
three injured Tigers. While they were arguing Dr. Jayakularajah arrived
with the other army officer, He advised his brother to tell the truth. “I
have told them everything. You also tell the truth,” the doctor
advised his brother. Then
Rev. Jayathilakarajah told the truth. He said he had known Mahattaya and
other LTTE leaders for some time and when Mahattaya brought the injured
to him, he persuaded his brother to treat them. He said his brother had
sent Rahu and Pulenthiran to their camp and Seelan who needed continued
medical attention to the house of a family known to him. Munasinghe
then questioned the brothers about the family that harboured Seelan.
Rev. Jayathilakarajah revealed the name and address. He said the name of
the family was Nirmala Nithiananthan and they lived in Nallur. Later he
gave the address as 330, Navalar Road, Jaffna. Munasinghe
telephoned Gurunagar and requested reinforcements. Within 45 minutes, an
officer and a group of commandos arrived in a jeep. He took Rev.
Jayathilakarajah with him to Nirmala’s house. The priest was placed
between the two soldiers in the back seat. The second jeep followed. “I
went ahead. When we reached Navalar Road Rev. Jayathilakarajah showed me
the house. I got down and opened the gate. I left it wide open to enable
the commandos to rush in. I parked my jeep away from the gate but closer
to the small house. The commandos took some time to come. The commandos
surrounded the house. A commando ran towards the rear of the small
house. I followed him with my revolver in my hand. I noticed a person
trying to escape from the rear of the smaller house. The commando opened
up with his MP5A3 gun. I saw the escapee taking a shot or two, but he
escaped,” Munasinghe said. Next: Chapter 31. The Death of the First Hero
|
|||