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SLMM spoils Tiger arms boat capture
Navy Commander writes to President
The Sri Lanka Navy yesterday accused the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) of jeopardizing an operation on Thursday night to round up a Tiger guerrilla arms ship.
The charge, The Sunday Times learns, has been made in a report sent yesterday by Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Commander-in-Chief. This was in response to a directive given to him to provide details of the incident.

Vice Admiral Sandagiri, who presided at a top-level conference of officers at Navy Headquarters before the report was sent, The Sunday Times learnt, said he was aware information of the Navy's operation had leaked to the LTTE. Hence, the suspected ship was able to get away from the locality.

The Eastern Naval Area Headquarters in Trincomalee had received reliable information on Thursday evening that a guerrilla arms ship was heading towards the Mullaitivu coast. It was located some 250 miles east of Mullaitivu when the information arrived.

Whilst making hurried preparations, the Eastern Naval Area Headquarters had sought Air Force assistance to conduct air surveillance. A Beechcraft that patrolled the area had reported recording echoes on its radar at the location of the suspect vessel made available to them by the Navy.

Defence Secretary Austin Fernando had given written orders to Commander, Eastern Naval Area after the Navy sank an LTTE vessel in the deep seas on June 14, that no future operations should be carried out without the presence of SLMM monitors on board. Hence, the SLMM office in Trincomalee had been informed. An SLMM monitor was therefore accommodated on one of two gunboats that set out from the Dockyard in Trincomalee.

The monitor, who had been carrying a satellite telephone had called the SLMM head office whilst he was on board the gunboat and given details of the mission. The SLMM office had thereafter got in touch with the Defence Secretary Fernando. The latter is learnt to have then queried Vice Admiral Sandagiri as to why the Navy vessels were setting out to sea with an SLMM monitor on board.

The news had soon spread that the Navy was on an operation to track down an arms ship. Immediately thereafter interested lobbies had carried out a whisper campaign in the defence establishment to suggest the Navy's reports were wrong. The Sunday Times (Situation Report) last week reported how the Navy's Eastern Area Command were on alert to track down a suspected guerrilla arms ship. (See also Situation Report by Iqbal Athas)

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