• Guilty as charged
  
  
• They carry the pain of Prabhakaran's terror

Guilty as charged

The crucial breakthrough linking LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran to the Central Bank bombing case was made by the detection of a plaque presented to an LTTE cadre involved in the attack.

The October 31 judgment sentenced Prabhakaran for 200 years for his role in the attack which killed nearly 100 people and maimed or injured several hundreds, but could not link LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman to the case due to insufficient evidence.

In the case Prabhakaran along with nine others had been charged. The important link between Prabhakaran and the suicide bombers who carried out the attack was established after one of the police investigators entered an LTTE controlled area of Muttur and picked up a vital piece of evidence.

The 126-page judgment delivered by High Court Judge Sarath Ambeypitiya said that Prabhakaran's finger prints were found on the plaque that was presented to one of the suicide bombers who was arrested by the public soon after the bombing incident on January 31, 1996. The finger prints had been compared with Prabhakaran's finger prints which had been taken when he was under arrest in 1982 in India.

One of the suspects who was convicted told court that he took part in the attack on the instructions of 'Charles' and 'Pottu Amman'. A day prior to leaving on the bombing mission they had been informed that Prabhakaran would visit the 'Sony' base where they were staying. Accordingly Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman visited the base and partook meals with them. Later, he was sent to see Prabhakaran in his room where he was presented with a silver plaque with an embossed Eelam map.

According to the suspect's confession, Prabhakaran had told him that he should follow the instructions related to the bombing of the Central Bank Building and that his family would be looked after by the LTTE.

Prabhakaran had said that he would be respected by the Tamil community for carrying out the attack and urged him to perform his duty properly. The suspect had confessed that the plaque presented to him was in a red box and had been sent to his father living in Muttur.

Accordingly Chief Inspector Nilabdeen, who was involved in anti-terror operations, led a team to Muttur on February 7, 1996. They had first visited the residence of the suspect's sister and found the directions to the father's house in an area controlled by the LTTE.

The Police team ventured into the uncontrolled area where they located the house of the suspect's father. They detected the red box which contained the plaque. The items including a letter in Tamil were brought to Colombo.

Subsequently the finger prints on the plaque were checked with a copy of Prabhakaran's finger prints that had been obtained from India by DIG Punya de Silva in 1982 on the instructions of the then IGP Rudra Rajasingham. A careful inspection had revealed that the plaque contained the finger prints of the suspect as well as of Prabhakaran.

The two suspects taken into custody in connection with this case were nabbed by the public and handed over to police soon after the truck bomb blew up the Central Bank building.

They were found in a bakery in Pettah while they were trying to don civilian clothing after dropping the suicide jackets, explosives and weapons.

The two suspects were identified as the persons who fired at the Central Bank building immediately before the explosion. A central Bank security guard was among those who went on the trail of the two suspects.

Central Bank Security guard B.G. Kumarasiri had identified the fourth and fifth accused as the same persons who had come charging towards the Central Bank with guns ablaze. Another security guard, Pathiranage had also identified the fourth and fifth accused.

A senior Central Bank security guard in his evidence said that he had seen two persons dressed in sarong and shirt firing towards the Central Bank and they were identified as the fourth and fifth accused. A trishaw driver too had identified the accused.

Sumanasiri Silva and Patrick Peiris were two key witnesses to the attack. Sumanasiri Silva had arrived from Panadura and was on his way to Kandana. He was close to the World Trade Centre when the explosion took place. Soon after the explosion, he had seen two people running away. He had immediately told Mr. Patrick Peiris that he felt suspicious about them. When he caught one of them by the collar he noticed a parcel under his shirt. He felt that he was carrying a bomb and had therefore let him go.

However, both Mr. Silva and Mr. Peiris pursued him upto Rohini Lane which is off Malwatte Street in Pettah. At that point, the suspects had entered a bakery. When Mr. Peiris went into the bakery, the two suspects came out of the bakery and started running away. At this point they had shouted 'Koti, Koti' (Tigers, Tigers). They were soon captured with the assistance of the public and handed over to the Pettah Police station. Inside the bakery, Police detected seven hand grenades, two T.56 magazines, detonators, six magazines and a suicide jacket.

Witness Wijewickrema, one of the persons who had given chase said that when he was pursuing them, they had threatened to shoot him. However, with the assistance of the public, they were arrested.

The witness had been able to clearly identify the fourth and fifth accused as being the same persons who had fired at the Central Bank and later arrested at Malwatte Road. They had also checked the fingerprints of the two accused and found that it matched the fingerprints on the weapons and explosives that were detected.

The fourth accused in his confession said that the reason he had joined the suicide squad of the LTTE was because he was influenced by Ameen master, an LTTE leader who was in custody. The accused had been with the LTTE for two years and was given a description of the Central Bank building.

The warden of the Pettah Central Load Lorry Park said that the lorry used for the bomb attack in Central Bank had been parked in the park the day prior to the attack. It had been brought there by a person named Navarathne. The fourth accused said that part of the rice in the lorry had been unloaded and the weapons and the explosives had been concealed therein. The following day the fourth accused, Ragu and another person named Raju had driven the lorry towards the Central Bank. On their way they had opened fire indiscriminately.

The fourth accused making a statement had said that on January 30 1996 he had arrived in Colombo with his aunt by train and on the day of the explosion he had gone opposite the station to purchase clothes and make a telephone call. At that time he heard the sound of the explosion. He said that he was arrested although he was not a LTTE member.

This was contrary to his confession made earlier in which he said that he came to Colombo by lorry. There was also evidence to suggest that the fourth accused was seen at the lorry park around 6.00 am on the day of the explosion. It was also proved that the fingerprints found on the T56 weapon found close to the scene were the fingerprints of the fourth accused.

The fifth accused in a statement said on the day of the incident he had come to Pettah to meet a job agent. On hearing the explosion he had started running since the others were also fleeing from the area.

He said he was arrested and handed over to the CID where they had obtained his fingerprints. He had denied sending a parcel to his father as stated by another suspect. But the owner of the house where he had been accommodated said that on the day of the incident the suspect had gone missing in the morning. His fingerprints also had been found on the T56 rifle.

During the investigation it was established that the fingerprints of these suspects matched those on the productions made in court. It was revealed that the bomb used in the Central Bank attack weighed 250 kg. The estimated damage to the surrounding buildings were around Rs. 1,050 million while damages to the Central Bank building was estimated at Rs. 375 million. In addition 21 vehicles parked near the Central Bank were also destroyed. Damages were estimated at Rs. 5.5 million.

It was proved beyond doubt that the intended to destroy the Central Bank building and were aware that death and destruction would be caused through the attack. However, it wasn't established beyond doubt that Pottu Amman advised and encouraged them to carry out their attack. Therefore Pottu Amman was discharged in the case.

The court taking into consideration all the evidence found the first, sixth, eighth, tenth along with the fourth and fifth accused guilty of conspiring to destroy the Central Bank building. It was established that the fourth and fifth accused had been directly involved in the attack. The first, sixth, eighth, tenth accused encouraged them to carry out the attack. Prabhakaran was found guilty of 59 charges.

They carry the pain of Prabhakaran's terror
By Faraza Farook
Reacting to the High Court judg ment that sentenced LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran to 200 years imprisonment, surviving victims and families of those killed in the Central Bank bomb blast said the conviction and sentencing had little impact on their lives, though they welcomed it.

However, many were of the view that the LTTE should be pardoned for the sake of peace, though they still carry with them the scars of the tragedy. Six years after the tragic incident on January 31, 1996, the scene is etched deep in their memories and rekindled every time they hear, see, smell or even sense the slightest threat. The Sunday Times visited some of the survivors of the bomb attack to obtain their views on the judgment.

For Dalmie Wickremasinghe (63) from Boralasgamuwa, losing his wife Padma was the worst tragedy. Three days after hearing the shocking news, his father died. "Padma (53),the Deputy Librarian at the Central Bank was based in the mezzanine floor. I rushed to Colombo from my work place in Kalutara, on hearing the incident. I had to search for her at the National Hospital and then at the Eye hospital. I really didn't want to find her at the eye hospital blind. She once said she would rather end her life with a cyanide capsule than losing her sight.

"Finally, I found her body at the morgue. I had to start life all over again because of my two children who were aged 19 and 23 at the time. Today, my eight month old grand daughter takes care of my loneliness, but the loss of my wife is a scar that will remain all my life".

Asked about the High Court judgment Mr. Wickremasinghe said it was a good judgment but added that since he believed that "hatred cannot be conqured by hatred," Prabhakaran should be pardoned for the sake of peace. "We should forget the past and support the efforts made at bringing peace."

Z. M. Rafeek (35) who was Head of Finance and Planning for Sri Lanka and the Maldives at the American Express, suffered multiple injuries which robbed him his vision. Despite total blindness, he is reportedly one of the few persons to be actively working even today. "I sustained multiple injuries from head to toe, my lungs failed and people thought I was going to die. I had been in and out of the operating theatre 11 times and was hospitalized for four months. My life remained a question mark. But in May 1996, I took up my position again at the American Express," he said with pride.

Though Mr. Rafeek opted for early retirement on 31 January 1998, the Saudi Travellers Cheque Company, a sister group of American Express, offered him a post as Regional Manager for Asia in which capacity he is working to date. "They encouraged me and said that being blind should not deter me from being employed. Life is very much interesting and it's a totally new life.

"Having accepted my situation as God's will from day one, I don't want to find fault with anybody. All are subject to the court of law and thus, the judgment has to be respected. If I had dwelled about who did what or felt revengeful for my position today, I wouldn't have been able to pull through," Mr. Rafeek said while adding there should be a positive approach to the peace process and needs support from all sectors.

Piyadasa Wijesighe (58) who was Head of the Media Unit at the Central Bank is fully blind and has scars of cut injuries on the left side of his body. "It was hard initially to adjust myself to this new situation after being a photographer for 25 years. But, in eight months, the situation changed, my mind changed. I began to make small envelopes as a hobby and distributed them free to doctors and then I used the waste papers from this to do sculpting. In the bank I used to work only for eight hours, but now my hobby keeps me busy for 14 hours a day.

"Although I've accepted my situation and adopted a totally different lifestyle, my family still carries the pain. I am a happy man today, but still I desire to see society once again. "The judgment, however, doesn't hold any significance to me. I have no opinion on that and I didn't feel any impact. But I feel the peace process is a vital step and appreciate the efforts made so far".

M. F. Hameed (63) former Deputy Director Information at the Bank lost his wife Sriyani who worked as a Senior Assistant Director for the Bank. "I didn't know she had died. I sustained cut injuries, but survived." Living with his children, a daughter and a son, Mr Hameed repented the invaluable material that was burnt in his Department. "I feel very remorseful that the Central Bank was bombed".

Welcoming the judgment he said, "A judgment has to be given for the atrocities done. However, the blame is on all sides for the political mismanagement of things. But, irrespective of all that has transpired, we must forgive and forget". Wimal Cooray (58) also lost his wife who was working at the Central Bank. "I really miss her" he says mournfully. "Shirani was the Senior Assistant Director in the Department of Information. My son was only eight when she died. And when it comes to day-to-day matters and making decisions, I feel her absence strongly. It seems like losing my right hand.

"Her death not only left a void in our lives, but affected my son's education. Once a bright boy, his studies fell below average and he took some time to improve". "Six years later, I hardly see any change. We still feel the loss, but we have to carry on". While remaining optimistic about the progress on peace talks, Mr. Cooray appreciated the High Court judgment. "That was the correct judgment," he said.

H.W. Sunil (51), a security officer on the Bank's main building,lost his job when the medical board decided that he was unfit for work following injuries that handicapped his left knee. "I can't walk for more than 200m and I can't stand for over 10-15 minutes. Two surgeries were done, yet to no avail. Though I took over secondary duties at the Bank thereafter, I had to stop after two months when the Medical Board condemned me as being unfit for work.

"My wife, my teenage daughter and son were mentally tormeted. They feared that the injury might paralyse my left leg, or that I may not walk all my life. "There aren't many people willing to give me employment. My pension is the only income, since my wife doesn't work".

A Basket ball player who was in national team, Sunil yearns to share his skills. "For 12-15 years I have been a basket ball player. I wish I could teach or share my skills or at the least be an umpire. This is something I really want to do. But I've had no opportunity. I have also been a rugger player for the Air Force team and the Havelock team."

Commenting on the judgment he said that although it was a welcome judgment, the timing was bad because it came at a time when peace talks were taking place. "We need to somehow achieve peace, no matter what and for that, we need to forgive and forget the faults committed by both sides and through dialogue achieve peace."

Dr. A.G.M. Zuhair (57), one of the Directors at the Central Bank is totally blind today. Recalling those moments in 1996 he said, "It was totally dark and I was telling my final prayers. Though I thought I'll regain my sight, it later proved to be medically impossible. I was able to face it though, because of my faith which gave me strength.

Dr. Zuhair who holds a doctorate in Economics is a father of three daughters still studying. "Materially I have lost lots of things in life, but God has taken care of me. A senior teaching fellow at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore at one time, I wanted to migrate there with my family on my 55th Birthday. (delete)

Commenting on the Court ruling he said, "It's strange it took so long. However, wrongdoers should be punished. I have no self satisfaction on this judgment, after all this bomb was not personally aimed at me.

"Yet, I only hope that the LTTE is honourable in its attempts at peace talks. It is the Tamil community that must impress upon the LTTE to be honourable," Dr. Zuhair said. Although the judgment served to be a significant ruling especially at a time when peace talks were taking place, for the victims and their families it held little importance. Their inner mind was a storehouse for one of the most unforgettable incidents, and they needed much more than a judgment to re-adjust to the new lifestyle.