The east is red and yellow
Year zero west of lagoon
OVER 2,000 civilians fled to Valaichenai in early July as Sri Lankan troops launched a major offensive on Tiger-controlled Vaharai, north of the Polonnaruwa road on the eastern coastal strip.
Army units overran five LTTE camps and secured control of the town. The Tigers say six civilians were shot dead during the operation. Government sources declined to say whether troops would hold the remote area or withdraw.
Troops withdrew from Vaharai and most of the area west of Batticaloa lagoon in 1994 leaving a fragile ribbon of coastal road in their control from Valaichenai through Batticaloa to Amparai. The Kumaratunge government gambled heavily taking troops north for the Jaffna offensive and the east is increasingly vulnerable.
Journalists travelling west of Batticaloa lagoon say Tiger presence is all pervasive with new LTTE cemeteries established in many places for martyred cadre as a theatrical symbol of their dominance. Twenty-foot hoardings of martyred heroes look down on dusty village roads and the red-and-yellow Tiger flag is everywhere. Local LTTE officials have ignored Colombo’s change of time zone in May leaving the region one hour behind the rest of the country. In late July, the Tigers setup their own police force led by former Chavakachcheri police chief Krishnakumar. The region’s rich rice lands make it a potential stronghold though the landscape is currently racked by drought.
On the contested coastal strip, the Army rules by day, the Tigers by night. Casual killings proliferate. Udayakumar, brother of ruling SLFP Batticaloa organiser Ganeshamoorthy was shot dead at Kaluwanchikudy on 6 July. A day earlier TULF MP Selvarajah escaped unhurt in an attack on his home. One person was killed and several injured. Both attacks were attributed to the Tigers. Tamil widow Arulammah, 33, was shot dead on 10 July at night when gunmen called her out of her house at Valaichenai.
The Tigers keep the Polonnaruwa road, the only real link to the rest of the country, under constant pressure. Seven police were killed and 11 injured in an attack on Sungavil near Polonnaruwa in late July. Another three soldiers were killed and eight injured in a confrontation at Welikande. One civilian also died in crossfire.
Further north in troubled Trincomalee district there are continuing signals of the Tigers’ military capability. Over 30 soldiers were killed in a LTTE ambush at remote Meegasgodella on 1 July. Tiger casualties are unknown. Two soldiers died in a landmine ambush at Pulmoddai north of Trincomalee town in late July.
Sinhalese villagers in Seruwila say over nine schools have closed after the military withdrew from villages south of Trincomalee bay leaving them increasingly vulnerable.
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