An uneasy ‘normalcy’

The extreme security measures taken during a recent media visit to Jaffna, reinforce the fact that Jaffna is still far from secure for residents, despite authorities insisting otherwise…

Vindya Amaranayake reporting from Jaffna
Despite the fact that Jaffna was liberated from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as far back as in 1995, the security in the area appears to be highly volatile. Although authorities claim that life in the district is gradually returning to normalcy, the tension in the area is quite tangible.

This was quite apparent in the security measures taken during the visit of a group of media personnel to the Jaffna Peninsula last week, where they were escorted to certain ‘selected’ locations, with extreme security precautions.

This was particularly apparent in the fact that the media personnel were escorted in a convoy of armoured cars – personnel carrier BTRs – closely followed by a group of officers. Although we were allowed to step out of the protective vehicles in the middle of the Jaffna Town, we were issued with stern warnings not to venture out of sight of the military personnel.

From the moment we stepped on to the streets, a couple of dozen soldiers surrounded us, keeping vigil. We were informed not to walk alone, and always accompany an armed soldier.

While trying to talk to the civilians on the streets, we were informed that there might be a possibility of LTTE cadres stepping into the vehicles posing as journalists. There was tension in the faces of all the soldiers and officers who kept glancing over their shoulders, paying attention even to the slightest odd movement within the busy town.

All these facts indicated that the situation in the district is far from secure and the presence of a group of civilians from the south in Jaffna was an added burden to the security personnel.

Earlier in the day, Jaffna Commander Major General G.A. Chandrasiri speaking to the journalists said that there is still a presence of at least 1000 LTTE cadres within the Jaffna Peninsula. Also, during regular operations carried out in the Peninsula, an average of ten LTTE cadres were being killed daily.

The Jaffna Commander said that currently there is a deployment of 33,800 Army, 5000 Navy, 1000 Air Force and 2000 Police personnel in Jaffna. “There are 900-1000 LTTE cadres operating in Jaffna posing an internal threat to the security forces,” the Commander stated.

Both Major General Chandrasiri and 51-Division General Commanding Officer L.B.R. Mark reiterated that the LTTE managed to strengthen its presence in the Jaffna Peninsula during the CFA period.

Fishing community
Gurunagar, one of the fishing ports in Jaffna is only 3.5 kilometres away from the LTTE-held Pooneryn. There are about 200 fishing families that use the port. They are allowed to venture 2.5 km towards Pooneryn, guided by military boats from 4a.m. to 4p.m.

“These fishermen have regular contacts with the LTTE. They pass on intelligence on movements of the Army. There is very little we could do to prevent this,” a military officer pointed out.

Referring to an incident that took place recently, he said, “There was once an incident where a couple of fishing boats broke ranks and sailed towards the LTTE boats, which returned to attack the nearby military boat. Two of our soldiers died. We could not do anything. Everything happened in a few minutes.”

Food supply
Although there was a severe food shortage in the district after the A9 was closed in 2006, the situation has almost reached normalcy since of late. According to Jaffna Government Agent K. Ganesh, there is enough food in store for the next three months.

He however added that the fisheries industry was severely affected, and had never recovered to its former status before the war. “Due to the prevailing security situation, fishing is restricted. However, we cannot compromise the present security concerns either,” he said.

He also said the production has gone down drastically. “There are only 280-300 metric tonnes of fish production per month now, whereas it used to be 2800-3000 metric tonnes before,” he added. He also pointed out that the nutrition level of the children has deteriorated over the years, due to the lack of proper nutrition.

IDPs
Although Jaffna Commander Major General Chandrasiri claimed that there were no Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Jaffna, according to the statistics presented by GA Ganesh there were 103,000 IDPs.

“Due to the confrontation at Muhamali in August 2007, 2732 families were vacated. There are 85 camps managed by the government at the moment,” he said. Also, there are 26,791 families displaced due to the setting up of High Security Zones.

These IDPs refuse to be resettled in alternate locations as they are reluctant to give up on their original places of residence. “We have tried to resettle these IDPs, but they refuse to move into a different place,” Ganesh said.

Army presence
Although they are not outspoken about the fact, many residents of the Jaffna Peninsula are wary of the Army presence in their places of worship.

Near the famous Nallur Kovil, a devotee said under the condition of anonymity, that they are vehemently against Army vehicles being parked at the Kovil vicinity. At that moment there were four BTRs and another military vehicle parked just in front of the Kovil entrance. The devotee was quite critical of the Army’s presence near the kovil, saying that it violates the sanctity of their holy place of worship.

He also said that most people share his sentiments, but due to the fear for their lives, they are not forthcoming with their protestations.

Fighting in Muhamalai:

‘ Our aim is not to capture land but destroy Tiger cadres”
According to the security forces, the troops have captured a significant area of the Forward Defence Line (FDL) in the Muhamalai area taking the troops nearer to the Tiger frontline.

The commanding officers of the Division-55 and First Light Infantry Regiment in Eluthumadduval area confirmed that although the 400-metre no-man’s land had been captured by the security forces, the area is flooded with booby-traps and anti-personal mines.

“We don’t want to approach the area with a large battalion, because our aim is not to capture land. We want to use small specialised groups to destroy as many as cadres as possible,” 51-Division Commander Brigadier Kamal Gunerathne said.

One of the other reasons to employ this tactic was that the area where the confrontation was taking place is the neck of the Jaffna Peninsula with the width of only 8km. Nagar Kovil is 3km in width. “It is difficult to launch a large scale offensive in this area.

The aim of the military is to weaken the LTTE by systematically destroying its cadre strength. Also, the Brigadier believed that the Tigers are running short of ammunition.

“My personal estimate is that there are close to 1500 cadres behind the Tiger frontline,” he added.

Although the FDL is safe at the moment, the sound of gunfire and grenade attacks is not infrequent.

Brigadier Gunerathne also pointed out the difficulties that the Army has to face in battling the Tigers in the Jaffna Peninsula. “The terrain that we fight in is varied. From Nagal Kovil to Mahamalai to Kilali, it has coastal areas, semi-desert, mangrove, plain areas, marshy lands, scrub and lagoon. One of the other problems confronted by the military is booby-traps connecting several anti-personal mines, to inflict a large scale damage. “These mines are wired together. If someone steps on one, the other will also go off, causing a larger damage. This is very dangerous. We have to conduct a thorough de-mining operation before venturing towards the captured no-man’s land.
High morale

The soldiers on duty along the Muhamalai FDL displayed high morale and confidence. Several who were on duty at the captured area said that they want nothing but to destroy the Tigers, which they believed would bring in peace for the country.

Lance Corporal Kularathne, who has served in the Army for more than 11 years, said that he was confident of their capability of destroying the Tigers. “If any one of them even comes out of their hiding places we will not spare them. We will destroy them all, even at the cost of our lives,” he said.

All the soldiers who were posted at the FDL displayed similar sentiments.

Corporal Ranjith of the Infantry Regiment has been serving for more than 20 years. He has been serving in the Jaffna Peninsula since January 1996.

“Sometimes in the night we see them coming out to see what we are doing. The moment they come out we attack,” he said.

In this area, mostly the snipers are used to attack the LTTE. Second in Command of the Infantry Regiment Major Samantha Wickramasinghe explained that the fighting took place mostly in the night.

Corporal Ranjith said that the night time fighting is easier because when they are near the Tiger frontline, the eyes get used to the dark: “Then it is very easy to discern any moment of the Tigers.”

Young Recruit Siriwardena (31), from Polonnaruwa said that in their free time they try to enjoy life as much as possible. “When we go back to the camp, we enjoy life as much as possible. Everything we need is given to us,” he added.

Duty time
A soldier’s duty time is 12 hours. But, according to Major Wickramasinghe they sometimes have to spend four-five days at the FDL, depending on the situation.

While we were near the FDL there were firing sounds emanating from the other side of the FDL. From the carefully whispered radio communication we learnt that the Tigers have thrown a grenade at random and started gunfire, to gauge the movement of the troops.

“This is one of their tactics. They throw a grenade and start shooting. If we get agitated, we get caught in the fire. They can also learn our position by doing that,” the Major explained.

LTTE surrendees bare their hearts and fears

From February 28, on three different occasions, 54 LTTE’ers have surrendered to the military through the Human Rights Commission. On February 28, 47 surrendered, while on March 8 and 9, the number of surrendees was three and four respectively. Among them were two minors, one aged 16 and other 17.

Suwaaji Sandur is 17 years old. He is from Valvettithurai. He has studied at Silembara School, but only up to Grade 10. “We had problems at home. My father used to be a fisherman. But since there were restrictions on going out to sea, we were finding it difficult to afford food. I have a younger sister and a brother,” Sandur said.

It was during that time, the LTTE had approached Sandur, giving his family food and other assistance. It was in 2005. The LTTE had used Sandur, mostly for intelligence work, especially to spy on the Army. “They taught me how to use the grenade and to attack the Army in small ways,” he added.

However, by 2006 when the war started the LTTEers who recruited Sandur started fleeing to the Wanni. When the Army had started its operations to draw out the LTTE cadres and supported, Sandur surrendered to the Human Rights Commission in fear for his life.

One of the many tasks entrusted to Sandur was helping out the LTTE in its propaganda work and to initiate small scale agitation tactics against the military, especially to provocate the Army personnel.

“My mother told me not to help the LTTE, but I didn’t listen to her. There was nothing we could do as we had many problems at home,”

Now that he has surrendered Sandur fears that the LTTE might take revenge. “I want to go abroad. If I stay here, I will not be alive for long,” he stated.

Among the other surrendees were V. Kohanandan, K. Krishnaharan, K. Thawarasan and A. Jetpil. They all stated that they were never part of the LTTE and only did propaganda work for the Tigers.

There were however, a few hardcore members who were not forthcoming with more details.

K. Thawarasan, who joined the Tigers in 1987, said he left the LTTE in 1989 and never rejoined. The only reason why he surrendered was to escape the pressures of the Army.