03-24-2004, 09:41 AM
Tamil rebels square off along Sri Lankan river _ a potential flashpoint in renewed warfare
Associated Press, Wed March 24, 2004 01:31 EST . DILIP GANGULY - Associated Press Writer - VERUGAL FERRY, Sri Lanka - (AP) A barefoot Tamil rebel fighter perches in a tree by the Verugal river, using a leafy branch to rest the barrel of his machine gun that points to the northern bank. From behind sand bags on the north side, other Tamils point weapons the opposite way. Vinayakamoorthy Sivanesadurai, a 40-year-old field commander, eyed the north from the south bank that marks the edge of eastern Sri Lanka - territory controlled by a renegade Tamil leader.
``We will not be the first to fire,'' he said. ``But if they fire, it will have terrible consequences.''
His younger brother is the eastern commander who earlier this month broke from Tamil Tigers based in the north, arguing that the northern leadership treated eastern Tamils as second-class.
The nearby Verugal Ferry crossing provides the only link between territories claimed by the two groups.
Rebels carrying rifles, grenades and radio transmitters melt in and out of the jungle here, and Tamil Tiger propaganda blares from a loudspeaker on the north side.
Otherwise, the atmosphere can be deceptively calm.
On the southern bank, a Tamil woman sells ``alu bonda'' potato cutlets from a makeshift hut. A fish monger offers his catch to passengers who cross the river by hand-pulled ferry. The river, only 150 meters (500 feet) wide in the dry season, has crocodiles so nobody dares to swim.
But this picture-postcard ferry crossing carries deeper dangers: It could become the flash-point in reviving the civil war that left 65,000 people dead before a 2002 cease-fire between Tamil rebels and the Sinhalese-dominated government.
This tropical island of 19 million people was looking good after the Norwegian-brokered accord. Peace talks were launched.
But they were halted last April when the rebels made additional demands.
Then in November, the president began an intense power struggle with the prime minister her political rival on how to handle the peace process. That feud has culminated in snap elections to be held next week.
On March 3, the eastern commander, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, broke away from the Tigers with more than 6,000 of the group's 15,000 troops.
His elder brother, better known as Reggie, frequently visits Verugal Ferry to supervise its defenses. He is a renowned marksman credited with 100 sniping deaths of government troops during the peak of the civil war in the 1990s.
He calmly sips Coca-Cola on the river's southern bank.
``If they attack us, we are ready and they will regret their action,'' he said. ``We have enough weapons and cadres to beat back the other side.''
There have been preparations for war on both sides.
On the southern bank, rebels cut trees and logs for bunkers, transporting them in tractors to road-side points where others collect them on their shoulders and vanish into the jungle.
There are similar scenes on the northern side controlled by Tamil Tiger leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran. Rebels have set up camps every few kilometers (miles), said a European aid worker who was allowed by northern rebels to travel through that area.
The Verugal Ferry lies halfway between the northeastern town of Trincomalee, famed for its port, and the main eastern city of Batticaloa. Before 1983, when Sri Lanka - 's civil war started, at least 100 vehicles crossed per day. Now, only two state-run buses pass daily. Aid workers occasionally pass through.
The Sri Lankan army has a large presence nearby, and could easily be sucked into any conflict here. There is no proper demarcation between government and rebel-controlled areas. Hundreds of small hamlets dot the region.
Along the 70-kilometer (40-mile) road between Batticaloa and the ferry crossing, as many as five army camps are manned by Sri Lankan soldiers who stand behind sandbag fortification.
``We have no intention of getting involved in their problem,'' Lionel Balagalle, the chief commander of Sri Lanka - 's 100,000 armed forces, said in Colombo. ``But we may be forced to defend ourselves if they start using heavy weapons which may affect us.''
Military intelligence officers say neither of the rebel sides could sustain a conventional war for long. Fighting could start with a sniping death at Verugal Ferry, then open warfare. But both sides would soon opt for a guerrilla war, which would make the Sri Lankan army vulnerable.
``For two years we had no fighting. That was very good,'' said Jal Moly, a 19-year-old female fighter on the southern bank who clutched a M-16 Colt rifle.
``But now I am called again to duty and I am ready,'' she said patting her weapon. ``But I am told to wait.''
Associated Press, Wed March 24, 2004 01:31 EST . DILIP GANGULY - Associated Press Writer - VERUGAL FERRY, Sri Lanka - (AP) A barefoot Tamil rebel fighter perches in a tree by the Verugal river, using a leafy branch to rest the barrel of his machine gun that points to the northern bank. From behind sand bags on the north side, other Tamils point weapons the opposite way. Vinayakamoorthy Sivanesadurai, a 40-year-old field commander, eyed the north from the south bank that marks the edge of eastern Sri Lanka - territory controlled by a renegade Tamil leader.
``We will not be the first to fire,'' he said. ``But if they fire, it will have terrible consequences.''
His younger brother is the eastern commander who earlier this month broke from Tamil Tigers based in the north, arguing that the northern leadership treated eastern Tamils as second-class.
The nearby Verugal Ferry crossing provides the only link between territories claimed by the two groups.
Rebels carrying rifles, grenades and radio transmitters melt in and out of the jungle here, and Tamil Tiger propaganda blares from a loudspeaker on the north side.
Otherwise, the atmosphere can be deceptively calm.
On the southern bank, a Tamil woman sells ``alu bonda'' potato cutlets from a makeshift hut. A fish monger offers his catch to passengers who cross the river by hand-pulled ferry. The river, only 150 meters (500 feet) wide in the dry season, has crocodiles so nobody dares to swim.
But this picture-postcard ferry crossing carries deeper dangers: It could become the flash-point in reviving the civil war that left 65,000 people dead before a 2002 cease-fire between Tamil rebels and the Sinhalese-dominated government.
This tropical island of 19 million people was looking good after the Norwegian-brokered accord. Peace talks were launched.
But they were halted last April when the rebels made additional demands.
Then in November, the president began an intense power struggle with the prime minister her political rival on how to handle the peace process. That feud has culminated in snap elections to be held next week.
On March 3, the eastern commander, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, broke away from the Tigers with more than 6,000 of the group's 15,000 troops.
His elder brother, better known as Reggie, frequently visits Verugal Ferry to supervise its defenses. He is a renowned marksman credited with 100 sniping deaths of government troops during the peak of the civil war in the 1990s.
He calmly sips Coca-Cola on the river's southern bank.
``If they attack us, we are ready and they will regret their action,'' he said. ``We have enough weapons and cadres to beat back the other side.''
There have been preparations for war on both sides.
On the southern bank, rebels cut trees and logs for bunkers, transporting them in tractors to road-side points where others collect them on their shoulders and vanish into the jungle.
There are similar scenes on the northern side controlled by Tamil Tiger leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran. Rebels have set up camps every few kilometers (miles), said a European aid worker who was allowed by northern rebels to travel through that area.
The Verugal Ferry lies halfway between the northeastern town of Trincomalee, famed for its port, and the main eastern city of Batticaloa. Before 1983, when Sri Lanka - 's civil war started, at least 100 vehicles crossed per day. Now, only two state-run buses pass daily. Aid workers occasionally pass through.
The Sri Lankan army has a large presence nearby, and could easily be sucked into any conflict here. There is no proper demarcation between government and rebel-controlled areas. Hundreds of small hamlets dot the region.
Along the 70-kilometer (40-mile) road between Batticaloa and the ferry crossing, as many as five army camps are manned by Sri Lankan soldiers who stand behind sandbag fortification.
``We have no intention of getting involved in their problem,'' Lionel Balagalle, the chief commander of Sri Lanka - 's 100,000 armed forces, said in Colombo. ``But we may be forced to defend ourselves if they start using heavy weapons which may affect us.''
Military intelligence officers say neither of the rebel sides could sustain a conventional war for long. Fighting could start with a sniping death at Verugal Ferry, then open warfare. But both sides would soon opt for a guerrilla war, which would make the Sri Lankan army vulnerable.
``For two years we had no fighting. That was very good,'' said Jal Moly, a 19-year-old female fighter on the southern bank who clutched a M-16 Colt rifle.
``But now I am called again to duty and I am ready,'' she said patting her weapon. ``But I am told to wait.''
<span style='font-size:20pt;line-height:100%'>Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.</span>