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Jungle Telegraph

Did LTTE teach them?
The Chief Minister of India's Andhra Pradesh state, N. Chandrababu Naidu, survived an attempt on his life last Wednesday when suspected Naxalites exploded a land mine.He escaped with injuries to his arm only because he was travelling in an Ambassador bullet proof car.

The Naxalites or the Maoist revolutionaries who style themselves the People's War Group (PWG), Indian Police say, learnt the technology to use improvised explosive devices (ied) from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In the attack on Mr. Naido's car, they are said to have used a crude type of claymore mine which had been powered by a camera flashgun.

Intelligence sources in Colombo say there was strong evidence in their files to confirm a close link between the LTTE and the Naxalites in 1999. Guerrilla cadres had not only provided training in IEDs to the Naxalites but have also been interacting very closely with them.

After the Naidu incident, local intelligence operatives were opening files and making inquiries to ascertain whether there have been any recent links.

This is whilst President Chandrika Kumaratunga sent a message to Mr. Naidu in which she said "we in the region have watched with great admiration the progress that the State of Andhra Pradesh has made under your stewardship as Chief Minister. ..
Expressing revulsion over the incident, she declared "our total condemnation of such acts and our hope that you will never again be a victim of terror."

Behind the curtain
Has a top official in the Ministry of Defence granted "unofficial" permission for Sea Tigers to operate in the waters two miles off Mullaitivu? Insiders say he not only did so but also ask the Sri Lanka Navy to ignore guerrilla presence in these areas. But senior SLN officials had rebuffed the man who is ever so willing to please the guerrillas. Only another stand off will bring to fore what has been going on behind the scenes, according to insiders.

If not here then there
A formal Cabinet endorsement is due shortly on Foreign Minister, Tyronne Fernando's candidature for the post of UN Secretary General. According to insiders, UNF leaders have agreed on the move after a long drawn discussion.

Not a bad idea at all. If he has no role to play as Foreign Minister (with the tasks being handled by others), might as well dabble in UN issues even if the post of SG is far, far off.

Well set in their ways
Even if the security forces do not seem to be benefiting a great deal from the so called defence reforms, there is one man who is having it all good. He has now received a luxury car to run around. The rental is Rs 60,000 a month or just two thousand bucks a day from the tax payer's money.

Two weeks ago, the man tried to introduce reforms to the annual ceremonies connected with the convocation of the Kotelawala Defence Academy. He said service chiefs need not salute when the Sri Lankan national anthem is played at the end of the ceremonies.

The three service chiefs, smartly attired, stood to attention and saluted as the strains of Namo Namo Maatha played. As one remarked wittily, "it is not so archaic for us to change."

Case of camaraderie
Cops in a Police station in the city suburb have the unenviable task of probing death threats made by one colleague to another. Funny enough, it is not from one gun toting cop to another gun talking one. Instead, the case involves two sleuths from the spy community, one serving and the other retired.

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