Jungle Telegraph

19th September 1999

Escapes accident

Military top brass are making discreet inquiries about a senior officer who reportedly escaped an accident in the south when a motorist rushed towards the middle of the road from a lane.

The move follows a complaint to the big boss that the security detail assigned to the officer assaulted the motorist and wrenched off a side mirror from his vehicle.

The complaint is learnt to have come within minutes of the incident from an eye witness.

He made a hurried telephone call.

Man spotted

Even the intelligence sleuths were carried away by the story that floated around about a Chief Inspector of Police, who escaped a Tiger suicide squad, had successfully obtained asylum down under.

If they reported the matter to their top brass, they discovered that the story has been deliberately floated around to put off the prowling Tigers, the two legged variety.

The story came to light when the man, who was known to be in hiding, was spotted by an intelligence sleuth.

Tiger posters

Who was responsi ble or posters that have surfaced in some parts of the Batticaloa district including Cheddipalam, Kalawanchikudy and even the town areas ?

Police suspect the LTTE. The posters claim that the LTTE will dominate the Batticaloa district within six months by introducing their "own administration."

The posters praised the virtues of LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Not ghosts

They were not ghosts though they were spotted in black military clothes in a cemetery in Mamaduwa, south of Medawachchiya.

The six armed cadres, Police have found, were Tiger guerrillas tasked to attack a Deputy Minister in the Wanni district.

He has now been warned not to take the route past the cemetery when he makes his regular visits.

No response

It is not only media per sonnel who are debarred from visiting operational areas in the Wanni except on conducted tours. It seems to cover even parliamentarians.

Opposition MP, Dr. Jayalath Jayawardene, sought permission from the Presidential Secretariat to visit Wanni. Of course he also wanted to cross the recently established Civilian Security Zone (CSZ) to the uncleared areas to "see the problems faced by the people."

The Secretariat has referred the request to the Ministry of Defence for a ruling. Weeks have gone by but Dr. Jayawardena says he has still had no response.

Freezer

That seems his way of helping the man in uniform.

The food supplier who regularly sent the man his quota of rice, chicken, fish and vegetables had a complaint.

Some of the meat was going stale.

So he let him have a freezer !

The Special Report

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