VoT Sinhala service begins

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 November 1998, 18:52 GMT]
The Sinhala service of the Voice of Tigers (VoT) radio, which was broadcast on 97 FM, could be picked up in the Sri Lankan government held town of Vavuniya amidst frequent electronic interruptions said sources there. The programme commenced at 7 p.m. and concluded around 7.30 p.m.

The radio addressed the soldiers engaged in operation Jayasikurui, pointing out that the Liberation Tigers were not fighting the Sri Lankan security forces at Kurunegala, Matara or Galle (areas in the southern, Sinhala parts of the island) "but in the Vanni, in the mother land of the Tamils".

The radio said that the soldiers were shedding their blood and sacrificing their lives in vain and in a fight that could not be won. It said the Jayasikuri (Victory Assured) operation which was launched with the aim of opening the highway to Jaffna within 3 months has now dragged on for more than a year.

The broadcast, according to observers, is the first major attempt by the Liberation Tigers to address the Sinhala people.

Analysts in Colombo said that the launching of the Sinhala broadcast, the political tone of its content appeared to indicate a new phase in the LTTE's approach towards the Sinhala populace.

Sources in the Vanni attributed the electronic interruptions which made part of the transmission inaudible to jamming by the SLA.