Three suspected Tamil Tiger operatives shot dead by Army
Saturday, 12 April 2014 00:00
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Early morning clashes between the Army and suspected Tamil Tiger operatives in the northern part of the country have killed three terrorist suspects including a local leader, the Government Information Department.
The Government ended a 27-year war with the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 but has come under fire from the international community for disregarding allegations of war crimes and undermining human rights.
In recent weeks the army and police have been engaged in a controversial crackdown of suspected LTTE operatives in the northern region of Sri Lanka who the Government insists is attempting to revive the organisation.
The Army had reportedly earmarked LTTE suspects Kajeepan Ponniah Selvanayagam alias Gopi and Sundaralingam Kajeepan alias Thevian as being operatives in the area.
Following the clash the Army confirmed Gopi and Thevian as being among those killed in the clash between armed forces and suspected LTTE operatives in the Nedunkerny area of the northern town of Vavuniya.
Gopi is believed to be the new local leader of the LTTE.
The LTTE suspects were attempting to escape from an Army cordon at the time of the clash, the Army Spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya told reporters.
Defence authorities have been searching for Kajeepan Ponniah Selvanayagam alias Gopi which culminated in the clash in which three LTTE suspects were killed. While two of them have been confirmed as Gopi and Thevian, the third victim is suspected to be LTTE operative Appan.
Gopi was suspected by armed forces to be heading an attempt to revive the LTTE in Sri Lanka and repeated search operations were underway to locate him.
Sri Lankan authorities are also interrogating an overseas leader of the LTTE arrested recently when he entered the country.
The Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) of the Police is questioning a senior LTTE leader who has been identified as “Nathagoopan” who was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport three weeks ago while entering the country after his deportation from Malaysia.
Nathagoopan was reportedly operating as one of the two deputy leaders of the LTTE’s overseas operations under the command of Perinbanayagam Sivaparan alias Nediyavan.
He was arrested by the Malaysian authorities for using a forged passport and served six months in a Malaysian jail. Malaysian authorities have deported him to Sri Lanka following the end of his sentence, Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said.
Nathagoopan was in charge of LTTE’s media division and has fled the country when the war ended, according to the police spokesman.
Last month the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a resolution allowing an investigation through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the last seven years of the conflict. A probe that has been vehemently rejected by the Sri Lankan Government.
In response the Government also banned 16 Tamil organisations that it says is pro-LTTE. Ongoing investigations have also resulted in the arrest of 60 people who Police suspect of attempting to revive the LTTE in the country.
