Velupillai Prabhakaran, the ruthless LTTE supremo who led a bloody movement for over three decades for a separate Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, was killed on Monday by the Sri Lankan Army, ending a saga of militancy that devoured over 70,000 lives, including Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa and former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Prabhakaran, 54, was shot dead by Sri Lankan special forces as he tried to stage a dramatic breakout from the Army encirclement, a military spokesman said. “We have successfully ended the war,” Sri Lanka defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse told the President in a nationallytelevised ceremony. “Now the entire country is declared rid of terrorism,” the Army Chief, Lt. Gen.
Sarath Fonseka, said, declaring an end to all combat operations in the northern war zone.
The news of Prabhakaran’s death also came along with reports of bodies of his son Charles Anthony and three other top leaders — Pottu Amman, Soosai and Nadesan — being found.
Prabhakaran and his top aides were driving in an armour-plated van accompanied by a clutch of rebels in a bus and approaching the Special Forces. A two hour exchange of fire followed and the forces fired a rocket at the van, bringing an end to the battle, Army sources said.
Prabhakaran’s body was pulled out of the van and identified, they said. Prime Minister Ratnasri Wickramanayake said the Army says they have killed him. “The next step would be development in the north (Tamil areas),” Mr Wickramanayake said.
The LTTE had conceded defeat on Sunday. But it has long warned it would intensify guerrilla attacks on economically valuable targets if defeated on the battlefield, something which has hindered growth in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector. The end of combat and Prabhakaran’s death sent Sri Lankan currency and stock markets to one-month and seven-month highs respectively.
The final act played out on a sandy patch of just 300 sqmetres near the Indian Ocean island’s north-eastern coast, where the military said the last Tiger fighters had holed up in bunkers guarded by landmines and booby traps. Officially, the military has not confirmed Prabhakaran’s death. President Rajapakse is expected to do so on Tuesday in a speech to be broadcast from Parliament.
Celebrations broke out in the capital Colombo as news spread of the death of Prabhakaran, who led the longest armed struggle in South Asia for nothing less than a separate homeland for Tamils.
However, the pro-LTTE website TamilNet.com did not comment on reports of Prabhakaran’s death but said the outfit has launched a protest with the International Red Cross over the “massacre” of Charles Anthony, Puli Devan and B. Nadesan.
Hours later, President Mahinda Rajapakse rewarded Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka by promoting him to full general.
Likewise, Navy Chief Wasantha Karannagoda has been made admiral and Air Force Chief Roshan Goonathilake air chief marshal. The three defence chiefs are the first Sri Lankan commanders to hold four-star ranks while in active service, the military said.
Prabhakaran, who had seen many a battle, could not survive the sustained assault of the Lankan forces that began in November last year, leading to the displacement of the Tigers from their long-held de-facto capital of Kilinochchi, and then from Mullaitivu. As news of Prabhakaran’s death trickled in from Sri Lanka, security agen cies in India sounded an alert in TN. Security for Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka was further tightened as they were already LTTE targets. The alert has also been sounded in Kerala and coastal Andhra Pradesh.
Sources said the alert specifically asked Tamil Nadu to keep a close watch as the Gandhi family may be visiting Sriperumbudur on May 21 to observe the 18th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, assassinated by the LTTE in 1991 during the run-up to elections.
India greeted the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka with caution amid fears of a relapse into further conflict if the island nation did not succeed in winning the peace. “It is our view that as the conventional conflict in Sri Lanka comes to an end, this is the moment when the root causes of conflict in Sri Lanka can be addressed,” external affairs ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said. New Delhi reminded Colombo to take “political steps towards the effective devolution of power within the Sri Lankan Constitution” so that all communities, including the Tamils, could feel at home and lead lives of dignity of their own free will. Prabhakaran founded the LTTE in the late 1970s on a culture of suicide before surrender, and had sworn he would never be taken alive.
He carried out his first political murder, killing the mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappah, a fellow Tamil, by shooting him at point blank range while he was about to enter a Hindu temple at Ponnaalai.
Prabhakaran, 54, was shot dead by Sri Lankan special forces as he tried to stage a dramatic breakout from the Army encirclement, a military spokesman said. “We have successfully ended the war,” Sri Lanka defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse told the President in a nationallytelevised ceremony. “Now the entire country is declared rid of terrorism,” the Army Chief, Lt. Gen.
Sarath Fonseka, said, declaring an end to all combat operations in the northern war zone.
The news of Prabhakaran’s death also came along with reports of bodies of his son Charles Anthony and three other top leaders — Pottu Amman, Soosai and Nadesan — being found.
Prabhakaran and his top aides were driving in an armour-plated van accompanied by a clutch of rebels in a bus and approaching the Special Forces. A two hour exchange of fire followed and the forces fired a rocket at the van, bringing an end to the battle, Army sources said.
Prabhakaran’s body was pulled out of the van and identified, they said. Prime Minister Ratnasri Wickramanayake said the Army says they have killed him. “The next step would be development in the north (Tamil areas),” Mr Wickramanayake said.
The LTTE had conceded defeat on Sunday. But it has long warned it would intensify guerrilla attacks on economically valuable targets if defeated on the battlefield, something which has hindered growth in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector. The end of combat and Prabhakaran’s death sent Sri Lankan currency and stock markets to one-month and seven-month highs respectively.
The final act played out on a sandy patch of just 300 sqmetres near the Indian Ocean island’s north-eastern coast, where the military said the last Tiger fighters had holed up in bunkers guarded by landmines and booby traps. Officially, the military has not confirmed Prabhakaran’s death. President Rajapakse is expected to do so on Tuesday in a speech to be broadcast from Parliament.
Celebrations broke out in the capital Colombo as news spread of the death of Prabhakaran, who led the longest armed struggle in South Asia for nothing less than a separate homeland for Tamils.
However, the pro-LTTE website TamilNet.com did not comment on reports of Prabhakaran’s death but said the outfit has launched a protest with the International Red Cross over the “massacre” of Charles Anthony, Puli Devan and B. Nadesan.
Hours later, President Mahinda Rajapakse rewarded Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka by promoting him to full general.
Likewise, Navy Chief Wasantha Karannagoda has been made admiral and Air Force Chief Roshan Goonathilake air chief marshal. The three defence chiefs are the first Sri Lankan commanders to hold four-star ranks while in active service, the military said.
Prabhakaran, who had seen many a battle, could not survive the sustained assault of the Lankan forces that began in November last year, leading to the displacement of the Tigers from their long-held de-facto capital of Kilinochchi, and then from Mullaitivu. As news of Prabhakaran’s death trickled in from Sri Lanka, security agen cies in India sounded an alert in TN. Security for Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka was further tightened as they were already LTTE targets. The alert has also been sounded in Kerala and coastal Andhra Pradesh.
Sources said the alert specifically asked Tamil Nadu to keep a close watch as the Gandhi family may be visiting Sriperumbudur on May 21 to observe the 18th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, assassinated by the LTTE in 1991 during the run-up to elections.
India greeted the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka with caution amid fears of a relapse into further conflict if the island nation did not succeed in winning the peace. “It is our view that as the conventional conflict in Sri Lanka comes to an end, this is the moment when the root causes of conflict in Sri Lanka can be addressed,” external affairs ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said. New Delhi reminded Colombo to take “political steps towards the effective devolution of power within the Sri Lankan Constitution” so that all communities, including the Tamils, could feel at home and lead lives of dignity of their own free will. Prabhakaran founded the LTTE in the late 1970s on a culture of suicide before surrender, and had sworn he would never be taken alive.
He carried out his first political murder, killing the mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappah, a fellow Tamil, by shooting him at point blank range while he was about to enter a Hindu temple at Ponnaalai.
