Appearance of Tiger banner alarms Armed Forces

[TamilNet, Friday, 27 November 1998, 05:07 GMT]
Alarm bells rang through the maximum security zone of Batticaloa town early this morning when it was found that the Liberation Tigers had put up a large banner commemorating their war dead during the night at Thimilathivu junction.

The Sri Lankan Police and Tamil paramilitary groups rushed to the scene and removed the LTTE banner.

Civilians living by the junction in this densely populated suburb were grilled by the Police.

Army sources said that the appearance of the banner is highly alarming because it requires several able bodied persons to tie it up.

That many Tigers operatives were able to enter and put up a large banner in the high security Thimilathivu-Puthoor area is worrisome they said, pointing out that this strategic promontory in the lagoon, forming a bulwark between the LTTE dominated western hinterland and the Batticaloa town, is protected on all sides.

The Sri Lanka Airforce has a base here on the northern side. The SLA has a large camp on its western approach and the eastern approach by a short causeway is protected by the well armed camps of the SL military intelligence unit, the Raazeek group and PLOTE.

Military trained Police have a camp in the suburb where a large number of the families of Tamil paramilitary cadres working with the SLA live.

There are twenty sentry Police sentry posts around the area that is only about three square kilometers in extent in addition to bunkers manned by well armed Tamil paramilitary groups.

Many senior members of the PLOTE, EPRLF and the Raazeek group have built houses in this suburb, attracted by the high security.