Sunday, April 20, 2008

Fr. Karunaratnam and the blame-game

The Sri Lanka army flatly denies the killing of Rev. Fr. M.X. Karunaratnam today. The location of his death is on the Mallavi-Vavunikulam road in Mullaithivu District, which is 30kms from the SLA FDL.

The LTTE has on previous such assassinations claimed that the SLA makes random attacks on its targets in LTTE areas. On Sunday, 06 January 2008, 01:20 GMT, Tamilnet.com claimed that "Col. Charles, Head of Liberation Tigers Military Intelligence, was killed Saturday evening in a random Claymore attack by Sri Lanka Army Deep Penetration Unit in Pa'l'lamadu in Mannaar, LTTE sources in Vanni said."

Rev. Fr. Karunaratnam's killing does not, in any way, seem random. His vehicle had broken down midway his journey and had been towed when the roadside bomb (IED) went off around 12.30pm. This clearly indicates the assassins were aware of his journey, planned it then delayed it until his vehicle was towed to the location of the ambush.

Taking the Tigers' previous such claims and matching those with the claims made now, the truth becomes clear. When they lose a high-ranking comrade, the attack is random. When they lose a civilian/s, suddenly the attack is planned and executed to precision by 'DPU' and the blame game begins.

If the Tigers claims of 'DPU' is to be taken seriously, it also means that the Tigers are inadvertently admitting to a much superior intelligence capability on the part of Long Range Recon and Military Intelligence. It would also indicate that the Tigers have failed to protect its backyard; Mullaithivu, where they concentrate the majority of their forces.

The Tigers must also then admit to the fact that they are unable to guarantee the safety of even a civilian priest in their 'de-facto nation'. If the same was to occur in the south, it would be tantamount to State Failure and many organizations would jump at the opportunity to describe that failure and its numerous repercussions on the state and its people.

45 comments:

hemantha said...

Few things to consider.

1. LTTE is getting some flacks for occupying the Madhu church.

2. The pope is in US. The matter will be discussed in certain extent. If the tiger media is successful there will be some coverage in the international media.

3. The dead priest is the head of the LTTE terrorist's human rights organization.

4. SL armed forces would gain nothing for killing the idiot. It is a no value target for us.

5. SL armed forces do not pursue organized tit for tat killings as some LTTE maggots suggested here.

6. This is deep in the tiger territory. Recently, no deep penetration activity was reported. So suggesting a rare deep penetration activity spending valuable human resources to get such a no value target is absurd.

7. Considering the way the incident reportedly occurred mistaken identity is close to impossible.

8. Finally, LTTE is a one terrorist organization who is capable of killing their own if the sacrifice pushes them even an inch towards their final goal.

TropicalStorm said...

Hemantha

It is also possible that it was an accident. When ordnance is left lying around like that, it is bound to go off at sometime. That is one of the legacies of war on own terrain.

There'll be more dying, and among them many innocents and for years to come, due to the LTTe's habit of indiscriminately using explosives.

hemantha said...

TS,
Yes, I agree. That is possible too.

uzi94 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
uzi94 said...

The Tigers must also then admit to the fact that they are unable to guarantee the safety of even a civilian priest in their 'de-facto nation'.....

Even a world-wide multipower USA was not able to avoid the 11/9, despite its dramatic spy nets...

It's not because our countries are developped that we, people, are safe. How many hold-ups, how many shot deads, how many terrorist threats in one month, in one year ?

Unknown said...

I believe this is a revenge killing for fernado. The army should concentrate in taking out tiger leaders and not their lackeys. Looks like Mahindha is destroying the reputation of the army and paving the way for UN intervention for splitting the country. There can be no doubt why they prevented the tamil people voting for Ranil.

The LTTE should not go unpunished for their sins but not the civilians who support them. Then there is no difference between a terrorist organisation and government.

Mahindha did not blink to make his brother take Fernando's place.

Unknown said...

There is an urgent need for the goverment to declare flour and rice and other food items as essential. They should take over the distribution of all items.

Black Marketing is going to destroy the lives of the poor people. Serve Punishment should be handed out to people hoarding food.

Sun Tzu's disciple said...

Is it not amusing how some posters name the LTTE at the drop of a hat when a known ltte-baiter is killed in the South whereas if a Govt-opponent is killed they twist their knickers trying to come up with some convoluted logic to explain it away as lttes action?

You are fooling nobody here folks(hemantha et al).People can see through the deception and find good reason to suspect the GoSL here.LTTE-supporters outside SL in the past,instead of moderating the tactics of Ltte, buried their heads in the sand and denied every killing using convoluted logic like some here to blame it on GoSL.They fooled themselves but not the IC.The SAME tactic is being used to stall any discussion of the GoSLs dirty tactics here by GoSL supporters--lets hope the result is the same too.

**
The SLDF is not a saint as made up here by some.It has been clearly caught with its hand red with the blood of innocent children,women and men in multiple killings in the past, including of Sinhalese.

Sam Perera said...

STD,

Please take your baseless argument elsewhere. I have seen enough jokes (fake balanced views) like yours. Please come-up with some reasoning your master could have been proud of.

Sun Tzu's disciple said...

SP,

You are welcome to take your fake arguments elsewhere too. Do not think everybody is an automaton--tell them X was killed by a Martian and Sam Perera wants you to believe it, or else...

Moshe Dyan said...

hemantha,

i respect your opinion. i don't think this was done by the LTTE.

1. the bottomline is LTTE lost a MBT in its war in projecting a better human rigths position than the govt, in the minds of the IC (you know why they use CATHOLIC priests for that). you need them in the HR war, not colonels.

2. SLDFs do use tit-for-tat attacks. it is a highly successful anti-terror strategy

3. DPU/LRRP attacks are not reported by MoD (for obvious reasons), LTTE (as they didn't report the sinking of they arms transport boats) UNLESS civilians (or a LTTE VIP) were targetted

4. your points 7 & 8 - agree

5. LTTE-bishops fallout can be bridged again by none other than a LTTE father (priest)!! who is trusted by both sides.

even when that old cripple was killed by the SLAF some blamed the LTTE!!

but this coming only days after ananda sangari's appeal not to kill civilians puzzels me.

i'm happy about this incident. basically if any LTTE shit dies i'm happy. it brings US CLOSER TO OUR GOAL.
like robert macnamara said in a popular documentary, to do a little bit of good, sometimes you have to do ALOT of evil.

he has won and lost many large battles (a very rare bundle of experience) and i respect his wisdom.

Unknown said...

Sam as far as STD argument goes, the dispora were tolerant of the LTTE attacks as they felt that its revenge for why they had to leave Sri Lanka.

However such feelings should not be followed here. Its cheap to try to get payback by taking targets with low security. They should take out tiger leaders particularly the military commanders. Its shows that the LTTE has managed to prevent such attacks on their leadership since Charles.

Sam Perera said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sam Perera said...

navindran and STD,

Your hypothesis of SLA revenge attacks are coming from nowhere. They are downright baseless and WRONG. Therefore, anything that was built on the hypothesis that SLA-DPU will waste valuable assets on relatively useless targets is absurd.

Navindran,

How long did we wait to get Charles before the previous high value target? How long have we been since Charles was taken out? As I have said, your statements are base on full of assumptions and so is STD’s.

STD,

I don't try to profess in this form with a fake pundit name and come up with new unfounded allegations. Therefore, you are the one who should take fake arguments (or jokes) elsewhere. Please take your jokes to a place like LNP.

Sun Tzu's disciple said...

Moshe Dayan,

I may not agree with your justifications for GoSLs tit-4-tat killings but I respect you for speaking your mind boldly.I also agree with you that this tactic has materially damaged the LTTE a great deal.
Even if GoSL kills TNA parliamentarians(eg Sivanesan/JPS) and LTTE GoSL ministers(JF/DMD) it can be excused in some ways("War is an extension of politics by other means").
However deliberate killing of unarmed civilians(Moneragala/Sencholai),Human Rights Workers(Fr Kratnam),Aid workers(ACF/TRO), Media(Sivanesan) are unambiguous War Crimes and can only be punished in the World Court @ Hague.

Sun Tzu's disciple said...

SP,


I know the truth hurts . Its alright dont feel so low.

Sun Tzu's disciple said...

MD,

Do you know that Robert Mcnamara has profusely regretted his actions during the Vietnam war,wept and apologised in public to the victims on both sides?

There is nothing called good evil.

Moshe Dyan said...

STD,

yes, i know.

But this documentary was produced much later and he defednded everything the US did in vietnam including napalm.

at one point he was "forced" to apologise by political elements. but even later he defended his actions.

he summed up his experience in 10?? rules of which one i mentioned. He was a strong numbers man when it came to war; something that i find attractive.

he cried during the interview when he described the death of JFK.

OK, i agree killing civilians should stop and instead govt. should take LTTE targets. if this priest was in an affiliated LTTE agency, he is NOT a civilian target as much as tamilchelva.

Only deliberate targeting of civilians (and other war crimes)go to the Hague. but by the time someone is taken there he has achieved his mission!! It is better that way than die as a coward doing nothing by a LTTE bomb attack or by old age; i think.

Sam Perera said...

STD,

Sorry man, I can't empathize how low LTTE stooges like you feel. On the other hand, my heart bleeds for the great heroes of armed forces of Sri Lanka for their selfless acts of saving my motherland from the worst terrorists world has ever seen, LTTE.

Unknown said...

"like robert macnamara said in a popular documentary, to do a little bit of good, sometimes you have to do ALOT of evil.

he has won and lost many large battles (a very rare bundle of experience) and i respect his wisdom.
"

Moshe, sorry I must disagree with you here, I think Mcnamara was a moron who lost the Vietnam war through his politicaly correct running of the war. I would compare him to a Ratawatte.

There are enough documentaries to watch on the subject and how he tied the US militaries hands behind their backs and then wanted them to fight.

just my 2c

Moshe Dyan said...

yes Jack he was a failure in Vietnam. That is why i said he has won many battles and lost many too.

all that has added to his experience.

he stated the rules based on both winnings and loses.

i doubt there is anyone more experienced in modern day warfare. of course he was a bastrad just like any military man, even moshe dayan for that matter.

the documentary is,

The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

there is a link in wikipedia.

------------------------------------

may be i'm too influenced by him after reading far too much of his work. and his work (he formulated the US nuclear strategy, initiated anti-guerilla warfare, stopped racial issues in the army, economically planned to defeat communism) marvels me.

Sun Tzu's disciple said...

MD,

agreed overall with your thrust though the details may digress.

SP,
dont torture yourself more please:))

Pundeyeelam said...

I think It's DPU/LRRP or not Theres no such thing as no value target as long as the target is connected to LTTE.
we must do the Ethnic Cleansing for LTTE. BUT NEVER THE TAMILS.
TAMILS AND SINHALA MUST LIVE IN PEACE TOGETHER.
But for the LTTE High or low we must take our targets, and wipe off LTTE from planet Earth.

So welldone DPU (Thats if you realy did it).

Unknown said...

Sam, I think you should go to LNP or defencenet and you can banter with like minded people. Do not come here and waste your precious time.

As I said before even if you call me a LTTE stooge, it does not matter as you know you have no counter arguments and live in a coccon. All you can do like every other Sri Lankan politician is name calling and not bringing the country anywhere.

You expect the soldiers to die in the battlefield in the country yet you will not step forward to contest the elections in the east. All but hot air. You leave the likes of Pilliyan to come in. Why do you stand by the side while stupid politicans ruin the country and trade the soldiers lives for their political ends.

Unknown said...

It does not matter if someone is Pro LTTE, you do not kill him if he is not an armed combatant. The worst part is that he is a priest. I think people are buying into the mahindha bullshit in the country. If this goes on, regardless of how many lives are lost in fighting the LTTE just like Vietnam Sri Lanka will lose.

The Americans lose in Vietnam just like they are losing in Iraq because the actions of the military are no longer justified.

For example, the military now says Madhu can be bypassed. Its the same as the Americans who bypassed certain islands in reaching Japan. In that case, some Islands had they whole battalion intact while the island next door's battalion got annihlated.

Mahindha should allow the military to run the show and stop trying to ride on the scarifices of the soldiers.

Srilankan said...

Sam Perera,
I am with you bro.This is incredible..so all the tamils that left Shriilanka did so against their will?..what a load of crap.In those "wonderful" days the west looked like a gold mine.It is after 9/11 and now kosovo did certain people beging to realise that the attentions of GOD IC was not solely concentrated in their direction.
So because they were forced to leave SLanka against their will they back a murderous terror organisation for a period of 30 yrs?..The foundation for this effing LTTE filth was started many years before 1983-4.
Yes Hon president should let the army do their job..and by the look of things they are doing pretty well.As for you spending your time here that is your affair alone.

Srilankan said...

Sam,
As for SLA army battalions being decimated in future ..lets wait and see.DefenceNet is gradually been encroached by these filthy LTTE vermin that seem to think we are kids without anything else to do but keep them entertained.

Nishanthe said...

This is the website maintaning by the NESOHR. http://www.nesohr.org
Its has lot of blatant lies against Security forces and GoSL. One case noticed to me.
It says One person is missing from "Kinniya, Uppuweli, Trincomalee" ..I can confirm this is worng because I am From Trincomalee. Kinniya is more than 10Km away from Uppuweli. This is not a joke, though this seems as a joke, because these maggots are destroying the image of the country. Most of the cases are generalized Like "one man Killed in Colombo" ..and it attributed to SF ..

I never endorsed killing, But I feel it is better to kill people like this "Cloaker" to the sake of country and the religeon.

Sam Perera said...

STD,

SP,
dont torture yourself more please:))


Sure not, we don't practice self torture in the south like LTTE does.

Navindran,

Show me one grain of facts in your posts. Your self portrayal of a pundit is merely laughable. Everything you talk is based on ifs and thens' which anybody else can do. Please take your baseless, for lack of a better word, arguments home to LNP.

Sam Perera said...

In the latest news, LTTE spokesman Rassiah Illanthiriyan said that LTTE made a tactical withdrawal from "Lima Base - 3" in Mannar. According to Rassiah, this was mainly done to box in SLA troops who will go home in 10,000 body bags.

Sam Perera said...

DefenceWire,

How is 61 progressing these days? Induction of another division will no doubt weaken the lines of control.

Gringo said...

Sam,

[In the latest news, LTTE spokesman Rassiah Illanthiriyan said that LTTE made a tactical withdrawal from "Lima Base - 3" in Mannar. ]

Proud Sri Lankans can team up with GOSL and SLDF ... and certainly accelerate these withdrawals... and direct the remaining LTTE pigs towards the slaughter house called Elaam.

Let us pray at each meal promising ourselves to be better terrorists than LTTE terrorists... and kill or maim them on a daily basis in order to:

a) To aveneg killing of 70,000 sri Lankans
b) To pay homage to our fallen troops
c) To humiliate the Tamil Diaspora to the maximum.

... and balance the books.

Rover said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rover said...

It would have been great if there was data to show the likelihood of the priest being killed by the LTTE against SLA.

But since I lack data (btw it is great if someone could provide this), let me make an educated guess.

But it is known that LTTE kills their own agents if they even make a small step away from their doctrine. This is typically the mentality of an organization that violence is the solution to all problems. Why else would the closest confidantes of VP killed, by the LTTE itself?

Did the current GOSL kill any of its supporters?

Let's take the priest now. According to most, he supported the LTTE's cause by finding fault with the army/gosl. The army has been dealing with this preist for a long time (giving him access to go through checkpoints ect.).

But currently, there is a big discussion going on about Madhu, the removal of the statue ect. among the catholic community. What if the Father took even a small step to challenge the view of the LTTE?

You decide.

Gringo said...

[But it is known that LTTE kills their own agents if they even make a small step away from their doctrine.]

These days even a Sri Lankan kid will tell you that for the LTTE, human life has never been of any value.... absolutely no value.

The killing of this alleged Holyman is very well timed to get maximum attention to the LTTE 'cause'.... [survival]...when the pope is visiting the US.

Timing... my friends... timing... is everything....

Now... I wonder... when will the lucky day of Rayappu dawns... ???

Cannot be too far.... judging by the attention needed for the cause of LTTE pigs... to survive another day.

Poor sacrificial lambs!

Unknown said...

Sam, you have no guts to scarifice your life for the sake of a better tommorrow for Sri Lanka. However you do not have the guts to do so. So stop running away from the question.

Again calling me a pundit. Another name calling excerise. "Show me one grain of facts in your posts. " Again you should pose this question to yourself. Prove me wrong and I will admit I am wrong. However you have never done that.

You are apt for politics in SLFP or UNP. People like you will continue to bullshit the people and never give a solution. Ifs lead to theory when backed with facts. Thats hypothesis and you do research to lead to support or disprove that hypothesis.

Unknown said...

Sri Lankan, there are people outside Sri Lanka who bear a hatred against Sri Lankan goverment due to the past. However what must be looked at is for those who support the LTTE, how do you win them over.

There is no justice in Sri Lanka for the crimes politicians and their thugs did. From the killing of thousand of sinhala youth to tamil youth. The bastards only created these issues do divert the people's attention from one area to another.

Today the food crises is going to be Sri Lanka's biggest problem. Oil might hit US$150 a barel. The price of commodities keep rising. However in Sri Lanka, the government is selling war stories to get by.

Everybody talks about victory but nobody talks of the day after. This has been the sales pitch for the politicians. If I am in power, blame the other for all the problems. Today Sri Lanka needs to import everything thanks to short sighted politicians. Does Sri Lanka not have the brains to forsee so many of the problems comming today.

When the shit hits the fan, then comes all these fancy schemes to boost local production. Does anybody talk about bringing the people back to Sri Lanka, particularly the women folk who need to work in deplorable conditions in the middle east.

What Sri Lanka needs is a truth and reconsiliation council like they did in South Africa. Let the facts come out, at least that will give closure to people by knowing what happened to their loved ones.

The LTTE used to say they did this and that in revenge for this and that, do you think the Sri Lankan goverment should do the same. If you think the international community will think otherwise and split the country.

Moshe Dyan said...

navindran,

"What Sri Lanka needs is a truth and reconsiliation council like they did in South Africa"

what for?

only a fraction of a fraction of the 20 million sri lankans don't know what happened to their loved ones.

but almost the whole 20 million are suffering due to cost of living rises and terrorism.

what should be the priority?

you say the IC will split the country if we kill tit-for-tat. no. the IC cannot make such a decision without the consent of the 5 permanant member states. and they cannot agree on ANYTHING.

if you site kosovo to dispute my claim,
unlike kosovo SL has india and china both not wanting any foreign troops here. without foreign troops if anyone tries to divide SL it will be genocidal.

so only option is for indian or chinese troops to come. but one would not tolerate the other.
if indian troops plan to come, SL can easily side with paki., bangla and nepal (everyone else in the region) and seek chinese mediation. india will dissipate in no time.

i believe every small country needs an active sponsor. china is the sponsor for many countries including chad and sudan!!!

even darfur is OK if you have the right connections. this is the reality.

RomeoAlphaFoxtrot said...

Hi All,

Here is news that is interesting for the Mig-29 fans. Check out the video.

Russia 'downs Georgian drone'
Georgian military officials said that footage from the drone showed a Russian MiG-29 [File: GALLO/GETTY]
Georgia has claimed that a Russian warplane shot down an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft that crashed over the breakaway region of Abkhazia.

Officials in Tbilisi released footage on Monday that they said came from the drone's onboard camera and showed a Russian military MiG-29 jet launching a missile at the aircraft.

More on - http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A6A7ED58-EA2B-439E-B9F0-35B125CEDC7F.htm

YouTube Video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkeCvQ47bDY

So guys, this means a Mig-29 used properly can bring down a slow moving aircraft effectively. But then the question is "Are we using a sledge hammer to kill a fly?"

Unknown said...

Moshe Dyan, you may not have realised the power of the truth and reconciliation council did for south africa. Closure is more important then revenge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_and_Reconciliation_Commission_(South_Africa)

As far as India and China, they could both be in cohots to screw Sri Lanka. The best is to keep outsiders outside. One time with India in and Sri Lanka should have learnt her lesson. India is hands off tibet and so will china be hands off sri lanka.

If India feels a tamil state will pro India and secure trinco for her own security, she will play that angle. Sri Lankan problem became worst with India training groups like the LTTE. This was done primarily to subjecate Sri Lanka so she will not allow pakistan to refuel to bomb India like in the liberation of bangladesh.

The United States on the other hand is a different ball game.

RomeoAlphaFoxtrot said...

Hi DefenceWire,

Can you get us the views of Tomcat your fellow contributor on the drowning of the Georgian drone by a alleged Russian Mig-29? I would want to know his expert views on this and a possible/similar role by a SLAF Mig-29 in the Sri Lankan Skies.

Srilankan said...

Navindran,
I am with moshe on this.Reading your post gives me the impression that you prefer sri-lanka to handle its own affairs without foreign support and next you say that we need to involve ourselves with the internationalComm..what is it your saying exactly..

As for this truth commission we need to start with the position of srilankan tamils in this british raj and take it from there..which is not possible now.This truth commission should have been done many years ago when commander Karuna asked vp to sue for peace after elePASS..its too late now..too much killing specially hon kadir who would have been a very good/perfect choice for pres of SLanka.
You cannot blame the normal srilankan on the street for what the idiotic politiicans and their thugs did and take revenge on them by butchereing innocent people in the most inhumane manner including monks...this is like us killing the tamils in colombo which wont happen and what Vp wants us to do.
As for the tiger supporters overseas they have created this impression (supported by fact) of supporting a monstrosity in SLanka for 30 yrs.i am not sure if the people in Slanka will want to reconcile with them ever because the people think this is directed at them personally and not any govt or party just like the tamils did.Also we need to inquire into the role of the TULF in all this.
I think that if 9/11 and Kosovo never happened among these LTTE supporting Diasphora.. their views will be much different..too much to gt into.
I think our first step is elections in batti.next produce our own rice..lets take it from there.
The problem here is that Vp never ever wanted peace..well take this up after elections in batti

Srilankan said...

Navindran,
I cannot see the U.S launching the 7th fleet to save the LTTE although some people in SLanka may believe this because they have had no exposure overseas.As for you comments about sinhala maids working in deplorable conditions..this tells me that you have not kept up with recent news!!!.this applies to agriculture as well.

Srilankan said...

Navindran,
http://www.itn.lk/newsmain.html..incase it is of any use to you

Sam Perera said...

navindran,

"Sam, you have no guts to scarifice your life for the sake of a better tommorrow for Sri Lanka."

Buddy, how do you know this? Do you have my biography in your hand? Or did you just assume?

What exactly are the questions you are talking about. All what you have are baseless assumptions and wild theories built on them.

Yes, once again, show me a single grain of facts in your postings.

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