Political Column

Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, President Mahinda Rajapaksa was elated that his troops were doing him proud in defending the nation. They had not only thwarted attacks by the LTTE but also inflicted heavy damage to it in terms of men and material.

He was so emboldened that he told envoys of the donor co-chairs last Monday that he needed a "clear and explicit commitment" from none other than the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, if he is to consider a halt to ongoing 'defensive military action' by the Security Forces. He said such an "initiative" should be "comprehensive" and accompany "a verifiable" pledge for cessation of hostilities. He declared that it should also include "explicit modality of ensuring that the Sampur area does not pose a military threat to the Trincomalee harbour and its environs. It emanated from the LTTE presence close to Sampur in what President Rajapaksa said was "in violation of the ceasefire agreement."

For the first time, the Government has officially acknowledged that the LTTE occupation of Sampur, separated by the sea from the Dockyard in Trincomalee, home for the Navy's Eastern Headquarters was a serious threat. Previous Governments turned a blind eye to a number of exclusive disclosures in The Sunday Times about the threats posed to the Trincomalee harbour. This acknowledgement underscores one of two options for the Government -- either a pledge by the LTTE not to direct artillery and mortar attacks on the Security Forces from Sampur or face the threat of being flushed out. It seemed a warning has been sounded.

As for President Rajapaksa's call for an explicit commitment from Prabhakaran, the LTTE remained silent. Only a muted response came from his spokesman and Political Wing leader, S.P. Thamilselvan. He only contested one part of Rajapaksa's remarks, that the LTTE was only resorting to "defensive action" in the wake of attacks by Government troops. The staunchly pro-LTTE Tamilnet web site that reported on this, and Thamilselvan, were both less ebullient. They left out any references to the assurances Rajapaksa had sought from Prabhakaran. Not surprisingly, since an affirmative response would be anathema to them, for they would be perceived as admitting defeat in the battlefield. Therefore, the corollary to all this would naturally mean the fighting is not over.

Rajapaksa was to tell envoys of the donor co-chairs -- Japan, United States, European Union and Norway -- that he would leave aside diplomatic niceties. As a politician who emerged from the countryside, he said, he would speak frankly. He said his Government remained committed to the Ceasefire Agreement of February 2002. The troops had not declared war but were engaged in defensive action against terror. One of the envoys asked what happens if the two sides continued to fight and go their own way. "I did not start it," said Rajapaksa who accused the LTTE of launching an attack on Army Headquarters on April 25 and continuing it thereafter. "The Commander of the Army was targeted. What do I do? Tell those who started it to call a halt," he said.

The President said that there have been reports that Thamilselvan wanted a cessation of hostilities and a return to peace talks. "That is not good enough. Such a call should come from Velupillai Prabhakaran. Don't tell me, tell him" he added. Norway's Ambassador Hans Brattskar was to raise issue over the shelling of Sampur. He said he feared more and more civilians were being affected. Rajapaksa was not moved. He asked Brattskar, "Are you telling me to give Sampur to the LTTE?" He said if the security forces did not take defensive action against the guerrillas in Sampur, troops in the Jaffna peninsula would be stranded. The meeting ended with the refrain from the envoys, asking Rajapaksa to consider a political settlement to the ethnic issue.

After the meeting, President Rajapaksa, well known for his public relations acumen, was to engage in some light hearted banter with Ambassador Brattskar. He asked where Erik Solheim was and the envoy replied that he was on a tour of Latin American countries. "Tell him to come over, stay in the Wanni and resolve this problem for us," he declared as he laughed loud.

Envoys taking part were James R. Moore (Charge'd Affaires, US Embassy), Julion Wilson (European Union), N. Ito (Charge'd Affairs, Embassy of Japan) and Hans Brattskar (Ambassador for Norway).

Later that day, President Rajapaksa was still buoyant. He took the chair at a meeting of the Government Parliamentary Group. Some ministers and parliamentarians had obtained prior permission to be absent. But there were many who had not. "At a critical juncture like this, I have no use for people who do not want to take part," Rajapaksa lamented. He said those who did not want to take part in the activities of the Government should leave. He would not be angry with them. He will attend weddings and funerals connected with their next of kin. He would even smile at them if he ran into them. But, they cannot continue to go on like this, not taking part in these meetings and thus not contributing to governance.

What had irked him seemed to be the news that ahead of the Government Parliamentary Group meeting, he had learnt that some Government MPs had been at a private gathering. It was at the residence of a United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian from the Kalutara district, known for his loquacious outbursts. The small group, nick-named the 'P-TOMS Group', was talking about efforts to halt the war and revert to peace, but complained that they did not have the mandate of the party for such a joint effort with the UNP. More so, it was pointed out, because the UNP was not backing Rajapaksa's efforts for an All-Party Committee to hurriedly formulate proposals for devolution of power.

It was at this group meeting that Rajapaksa learnt that Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike had taken flight to foreign climes. Before doing so, Bandaranaike had written what Rajapaksa aides said was a "very vituperative" letter to Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena. This was for reportedly not inviting his sister, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga for the upcoming annual sessions of the SLFP. For the first time, the party, during week long sessions, will devote considerable attention to praise the Security Forces. Several programmes including religious ceremonies to bless them, and to appreciate their role in the ongoing Eelam War IV battles are to be included.

It turned out that Minister Bandaranaike was spending a few days in Bangkok before flying to Kathmandu (Nepal) four a tourism meet. Rajapaksa directed his Secretary Lalith Weeratunga to immediately direct Bandaranaike to return to Colombo. Bandaranaike aborted his visit to Nepal and boarded a Thai Airways flight at midnight on Thursday, to return to Colombo and return to his official bungalow, Acland House.

Earlier, Rajapaksa had asked Sirisena during a meeting at Temple Trees why he had not extended an invitation to Kumaratunga. He said he had already done so. "Why then is Anura writing strong letters like that. We only learn of such things in the media. If he had any complaints, he should have told me or you, instead of telling the whole country," declared Rajapaksa. He asked Sirisena to write a letter calling for Bandaranaike's explanation for the serious breach of discipline. Having returned to Colombo, Bandaranaike was clearly on the defensive. He told friends that he had written to Rajapaksa before he flew to Bangkok, and had the news appear in the press. But he failed to say whether such a letter was acknowledged and permission was obtained. This is not the first time Bandaranaike has used harsh and what some SLFPers call "condescending" language. Two of the many such letters he wrote were to his cabinet colleagues Rohitha Bogollagama and Janaka Bandara Tennekoon.

Last Wednesday, after chairing a meeting of the National Security Council, Rajapaksa drove to the Presidential Secretariat. It was for a meeting with the Manel Mal movement. Prime movers of the organization like JVP's Wimal Weerawansa were on hand. Senior lawyer S.L. Gunasekera mooted the creation of Ranaviru Diriya for the benefit of Security Forces personnel. Rajapaksa readily agreed to enforce it. He said that very soon he would invite members of the public also to contribute to a Defence Fund. He said that Deputy Minister Kumar Welgama had been assigned the task of looking after troop welfare.

Rajapaksa said that several needs of the troops had to be addressed. He had heard of shortcomings during recent military funerals. "Our troops are facing the enemy bravely. We should do everything possible to look after them," he declared. One of the Manel Mal Movemement member's asked what Rajapaksa expected from them. He said, "Do anything that will boost the morale of the troops."

President Rajapaksa said he was taking immediate measures to ensure security in the City of Colombo and its immediate suburbs. "People who now say it is very good to hit the LTTE would turn back and blame me if something were to go wrong," he declared. UNP MP Naveen Dissanayake was among those present. "Naveen, become the leader of your party or join us," quipped Rajapaksa. There was light laughter all round.

The role of the international community was a question that was also raised. Rajapaksa said it was not as bad as some people try to project it. The reality was that most appreciated the Government's role. Most of the Government party politicians were not attending functions of the diplomatic community in Colombo. Most of those frequenting were from opposition political parties. Hence, the diplomats concerned were picking up their information mostly from opposition quarters. He said Government parliamentarians should also attend such parties and give their points of view. If that happens, the larger view would change.

Another significant event in the week was Wednesday's meeting between the ruling SLFP and the JVP. The "sometimes on" and "other times off" question of the JVP joining the Government became the subject of discussion. On the Government (or SLFP) side were President Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena, Mangala Samaraweera, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Susil Premajayantha, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Dulles Allahapperuma. The JVP was represented by Tilvin Silva, Wimal Weerawansa and K.D. Lal Kantha.

The JVP delegation was given a ten page document in Sinhala - the SLFP's response to the 20 point common programme set out by the JVP to join the Government.

Tilvin Silva said he wished the document had been made available to them earlier. If that had happened they could have reached decisions before coming for the meeting. SLFP General Secretary Sirisena replied that the time was now ripe for the two sides to take a decision.

Of the 20 demands made by the JVP, ten were already being heeded, with ten outstanding. Of that ten, the Government was in the process of fulfilling six, and only four were considered contentious. The introduction to the ten page document titled 'WISHES OF THE PUBLIC BEING TURNED INTO REALITY' declares that the Central Committee of the SLFP has decided that an official invitation should be extended to the JVP to join the Government. Paragraphs in the preamble reason out why the JVP should join.

The preamble, among other things said:
Pointing out that the SLFP's response to the JVP Politburo document of July 23 titled "Common Programme to rebuild Sri Lanka by defeating separatist terrorism" is being given with this background. Here are excerpts of SLFP's responses to the contentious issues:

" ABROGATING THE CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT: We accept that the Agreement signed between then Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on February 22, 2002, is not consistent with the country's Constitution or laws. We agree it is practically harmful to the country's security. Due to LTTE actions and the unlawful situation created, it has been seriously violated. Like the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement, this has also been reduced to signatures. However, it is our opinion that to resolve the conflict it is important that there is some sort of ceasefire. Despite shortcomings in the CFA we should taken into consideration that there has been recognition to it based on local and international developments. The armed forces share a similar opinion.

" The alternative has been to make the document a more balanced Agreement with focus on protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. The Government took part in the Geneva talks with this in mind. Therefore what is necessary is that to open a political process that leads to creating an agreement without the current shortcomings and a more meaningful agreement instead of totally rejecting the existing one.

" It is no secret to your party or the country that President Rajapaksa has taken several important steps to overcome threats to national security after the CFA was signed. It has been the opinion of the general public also that there has been no other government which has worked with responsibility to safeguard the national security, protect the integrity and safeguard the rights of persons belonging to all communities.

" We also wish to state without any hesitation we will act to defeat any threat to national security without being bound to any conditions.

" IMMEDIATELY ENDING THE NORWEGIAN FACILITATOR ROLE: It was during (former) President Kumaratunga's period that Norwegians were invited to play a role leading from a facilitator to mediator in Sri Lanka's national issue. During Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe's period the Norwegians were made part of the CFA and a Monitoring Mission was included. Therefore there has been an official invitation from the Sri Lanka Government for the Norwegians to intervene. Politically both the main parties have contributed towards this. India, the United States, Japan and other countries which have an impact on Sri Lanka have accepted the Norwegian role. Therefore, removing Norway immediately is not practical. The danger of doing that would be that the Norwegian Government will be brought into disrepute and they will be pushed to a camp against Sri Lanka. They would be one of the main international opponents.

On Friday, August 18, Satha and three others drove across the border from Canada to New York. They were questioned by a US Customs official. They replied they were going to Buffalo, New York, for a bachelor party. The Customs official ran their names through a government database and discovered that one of them had a criminal record. He was not permitted to enter United States. Others were allowed in.

The FBI informant met Satha and his two associates at a location in Long Island. An undercover agent (UC 4) drove to the location. Later the FBI informant, Satha and the duo travelled in the FBI informant's car. The undercover agent followed in his car. A second undercover law enforcement officer (UC 2), who posed as a technical expert in military weaponry, joined the others for a meeting at another location.

At the meeting the "arms dealer" asked Satha and his associates what they wanted to purchase. It was Thani (one of the associates) who replied. He said "We need something for Kfir. He said they also needed some weaponry to destroy boats.

The "arms dealer" stressed the importance of having the financial terms and manner of payment in place. Thani said the money could be made available by Monday or Tuesday (August 21 or 22, 2006). Satha and another associate Sahil repeatedly attempted to place a call on a cellular telephone to their contact about specifics of funds transfer. They discussed using bank accounts in Switzerland, St. Croix or other off shore locations. Sahil, who was identified as the "financial guy," explained that the accounts they used would have to be active accounts.

Sahil said "if there is no activity in the account and you throw in a million dollars that is going to raise a red flag. They will freeze the account on both sides." The parties discussed depositing the money into an account that the FBI informant controlled and, after the "arms dealer" executed the transfer of weapons, the money to be transferred to him.

Thani said they wanted delivery to occur ship-to-ship in the Indian Ocean. Training of LTTE fighters in Sri Lanka on operating the missiles was also discussed. The "arms dealer" said they could either be trained by video or that he could provide the training himself. Thani and Sahil said they wanted him to travel to Sri Lanka to train the ultimate users. They assured the FBI informant that the "arms dealer" would be kept safe.

The "arms dealer" asked whether "you guys" currently have the Russian made SA 18 surface-to-air missiles. Thani said no, that they currently have the "7s," a reference to the Russian made SA 7. He said they were not effective in hitting aircraft. He said currently it took two to three missiles to hit an aircraft.

Thani also said they wanted to purchase AK 47 assault rifles. He said the Chinese equivalents they use now were "garbage." He specifically asked for American or Russian made weapons. The parties discussed the quantity and price of SA 18s and AK-47s. The parties agreed that an initial shipment would consist of 10 SA 18 missiles and 500 AK-47s. The "arms dealer" agreed to provide technical training on the use of missiles. The package for missiles, guns and training was to be between US $ 900,000 and US $ 937,500.

The "arms dealer" wanted to know if the LTTE trio wanted to see an SA 18 and the AK-47s they were discussing. Thani said yes. The first undercover agent with assistance brought in a long wooden crate containing an SA 18 missile. Sahil was to remark that it looked like a "casket." The "arms dealer," a witty one, laughed and declared it could put a few people in caskets. Another undercover officer then brought in a large cardboard box containing two AK 47 assault rifles.

When the missile was unpacked, Thani picked up the tube and placed it in his shoulder, in the same manner as it would be used to shoot down a plane. He and his associates raised questions about how far ahead the target should be and the speed. Satha, Sahil and Thani each then held the Ak-47 in firing position.

Sahil and Thani also asked about various other weapons and military items. For example, Thani discussed with the first undercover law enforcement officer posing off as the technical expert in military weaponry, the use and availability of anti-tank missiles, "fire finders" that would enable the LTTE to track the location from which enemy fire had come, and surface-to-surface missiles that could be used for attacking targets such as ships. Sahil also asked for the availability of other weaponry, including American and French made surface-to-air missiles, and a "forty-forty," which, based on the conversation, appears to have been a reference to a multiple rocket launch system that can fire multiple surface-to-surface rockets simultaneously.

The "arms dealer" also asked if the trio were interested in night vision equipment, and Thani said they were. When the agent took out the night vision goggles and handed them to Thani, he indicated that the goggles were "Generation 2," and that they wanted "Generation 3."

The most shocking moment came just then. The under cover agent posing off as the technical expert on military weapons gave a signal. The trio with LTTE connections were arrested.

The details leading to their arrest are contained in a 21-page indictment filed before the Eastern District Court of New York on August 21. A copy of this, together with a 35-page indictment of five others, was obtained by The Sunday Times. That first is in respect of Sathajhan Sarachandran (Satha), Sahilal Sabaratnam (also known as Sahil and Shakil), Thiruthanikan Thanigasalam (Thani) and Nadarasa Yogarasa (Yoga). The four of them were charged with multiple crimes including conspiracy to provide material support and resources to the LTTE.

Earlier, a five-page statement from the US Department of Justice gave brief details about the outcome of exhaustive investigations by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) together with their Field Offices. The FBI investigations had started in 1999. Following a visit to the United States by Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, the US Government sent an FBI team to Colombo. That team also unearthed data that have been incorporated in the two indictments.

The second FBI indictment also is on four others - Thirukumaran Sinnathamby (also known as Thirukumaran Sivasubramaniam), Murugesu Vinayagamoorthy (also known as Dr. Moorthy and Vinayagamoorthy Murugesu) and Nachimuthu Socrates in the same Courts. This is for providing material support to the LTTE that included the procurement of military equipment, dual use technology, fund raising, money laundering through "front" charitable organizations and United States bank accounts.
The latter also includes charges that they attempted to obtain classified information and conspired to bribe US public officials in an effort to remove the LTTE from the State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations and dealt in financial transactions with the LTTE. Later, the FBI updated this indictment with the inclusion of the name of Ramanan Mylvaganam.

The four indicted in this case, the FBI investigations have revealed, were engaged in a far-reaching conspiracy to provide material support to the LTTE. It consisted of procurement of military equipment, communication devices, other technology, fund raising, money laundering through front charitable organizations and a myriad of other criminal activities. It included conspiracy to bribe public officials, attempting to obtain classified information, dealing in financial transactions and money laundering among others.