Defence.lk finally managed to assemble the anti aircraft gun they claimed to have captured "while it was being fired in combat". In their latest picture, they attached the gun barrels, so that it looks like a functioning weapon instead of an unassembled weapon they brought out of a storage room.
Why would they have first shown the weapon unassembled if it was actually captured from the LTTE in combat. Obviously the LTTE would have been using it assembled. It would have been impossible to have been firing if it was unassembled as originally shown:
Originally, when they "seized" it in "combat" it had no gun barrels. Then a couple days later the army adds the gun barrels because many people, not only here, but even on Sinhala forums, had pointed out it was unassembled.
What does this look like? The army brought the weapon out of a storage room for a shocking photo shoot, but since it isn't a common weapon the soldiers forgot it was missing the gun barrels. After it was pointed out, they quickly added the gun barrels. From where? Obviously they had the gun barrels in their storage room from where they brought out the gun.
It is highly unlikely that the LTTE had left the gun barrels unassembled on the front lines. What the government wants us to believe is that the Sri Lankan military first recovered the main gun during direct combat, braving live enemy fire from the gun even though it was unassembled, and then subsequently recovered the gun barrels two days later.
72 comments:
Several discrepancies between both govt websites. War always has its drawbacks and I'm pretty sure the fighters who died in recent days fightings did not die in vain. After all, the govt is pushing hundreds of soldiers to their grave by pushing for an offensive assault in such a small area of land. One can expect a certain number of casualties from the Tigers as well.
More bandaness in the article on defence.lk
http://defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090405_07
Pottu Amman having an emotional breakdown. I don't know how much lower these stinkalavans will stoop in order to please the modayas with their propabanda. Its funny how they write their articles with so much ROFL added into them.
Expect more casualties from btoh sides, thats the rutalities of war, however, keep in mind that a Tiger is most dangerous when its injured. Expect fireworks ;)
Wondered about frantic net-kills? ArmyLK answers: http://www.army.lk/detailed.php?NewsId=97
Looks like pressure was from US. Fonseka wanted to assure US that because all LTTE leaders are killed, there won't be any heavy fighting.
Nice one peter! that explains it all. They needed to get these net-kills to hoodwink the US. Damn Bandas. How much more funnier can they get?
I think the government is under extreme pressure to stop the fighting from India (for elections), from U.S. (due to human rights), and from the IMF (no loan without ceasefire). With unprecedented pressure coming from many sides, the government is forced to end combat operations, but they need to convince the voters that they are stopping on their own terms (namely after eliminating the LTTE).
That would explain the sudden net-kills of virtually the entire LTTE leadership, and now the claim that there are only 100 LTTE fighters left (15 of whom are senior leaders). Those remaining 85 fighters are keeping watch over 150,000 civilians, plus guarding against the Sri Lankan army.
Yesterday, I thought it might be to do with Indian elections, but not so. It has been US all along.
They did arrest a few Tamils and do some dirty dances under Bush, but when it comes to the UN, only the US would voice for Tamils.
Recent motions were pushed through via Mexico, US proxy.
US doesn't think we are worth taking on India over. But if Sonia-Congress is toppled, better days may await.
I don't think Indian pressure would start to bite until Apr. 20th ish. So they still have little time on that front.
Co-Chairs statement a few months ago said that areas will be taken "in weeks". Hasn't happened.
Bandas are failing on the deadlines they gave to IC. Net-kills are to buy some respite.
Yesterday, all leaders were net-killed. Now Kotaibaya says to BBC, "There are reports that there are lots of dissensions within the rebels. They can always surrender,"
So, story telling times are ahead while killing hundreds of civilians daily.
The Russian and Chinese support to North Korea against US and its Allies may pave way to US inclining somewhat to ceasefire demand in UN as the Russian and Chinese block this move while defending Sri-Lanka. Perhaps not, as US is speedily becoming a Banda-like, believing all what Bandas say…
Pressure does alot to us and understandably to a moda govt as well. However, putting up a front to temporarily please banda backers will only come back to hurt them in the not too distant future.
India has always been the dirty hand in this war. Hopefully, the govt will feel the bite from the Tamil Nadu voters. As more international pressure mounts on the bandas, the propabanda will become more and more ridiculous. I wont be surprised if VP is sniped down tomorrow along with pottu amman and the rest of the remaining un-net-killed commanders.
in shitlanka, the stinkalese will always be the same no matter how many decades of civilisation are thrust upon them. It is time for change, it is time for Tamils to lead their own people. Tamil Eelam is our solution.
Viva la Eelam!
Looking at all of ur comments, you guys are counting days when bandas will actually take NFZ.
But if you look at open heartly whats future for tamils? What is LTTE going to do? Looks like everybody is waiting to inevitable end.
Peter, Until unless we change the political landscape of Tamilnadu in coming days, there won't be any better days for Eelam Tamils. Plz someone kill this son of gun, Karunanidhi for good. Jeyalalitha can be control freak and treats her ministers as slaves but she is not a drama/spin king as Karunanidhi who is low life in every way. Think about if these scumbags weren't selfish- the 40 seats of TN- they would have saved many lives of Eelam Tamils.
hey guys, for the protest on 11th April, we need signs that have 'we want support from Russia and China'
http://www.tamileelamonline.com/en/Tamil_Eelam_Events
whats this articles say:
போர்களத்தில் எரி நச்சுக்குண்டு தாக்குதல் திடுக்கிடும் தகவல் வெளியாகியுள்ளது
http://athirvu.com/target_news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1239025587&archive=&start_from=&ucat=4&
translate the summary for us. why photos r named poison?
Badri, you think the decomposed looks of LTTE bodies may have been the result of chemical warfare used against them?
Remember our heroes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLGc6-gS1jE
According to some Sinhala bloggers, SLA has moved into NFZ and fighting is going on. Anyone has updates regards this?
["you think the decomposed looks of LTTE bodies may have been the result of chemical warfare used against them?"]
I don't think so, because only a few are extremely decomposed, others are mostly bloated (which means several days dead). I think it shows the LTTE was fighting very ferociously in that area and the army could not recover the bodies for several days.
But I can't say, they may have done anything.
Complete silence of puthinam, sankathi and other Tamil websites is odd.
Yes, it does not look good now. Pulikalinkural hasn't updated for past few days, but that has been the story lately.
Peter, can you tell me whats the law in UK about showing LTTE flags? Previously protesters would show only yellow/red flags, but lately they are showing LTTE flags.
VoT updates once every few days on-line. Last update was less the 24-hrs back; nothing odd about that.
Our media's focus should now be on the civilian side.
Military pressure is on the Sinhalese to stick to their deadline. TamilNet has noted this on several reports.
As Indian election nears, net-kills will spiral out of control. It makes a lot of sense for bandas to pretend that the war is over.
Badri,
I think the Canadian ruling set a precedent. Previously people were unnecessarily worried. LTTE flag and Tamileelam flag are as different as Russian and Cheque flags. As long as people are careful enough not to take LTTE flag they should be fine.
British police have ignored the Tamileelam flag. Banning the ideology of Tamileelam will be very difficult for them.
1.
can anyone verify any of these long list of casualties?
This page even shows the pictures of Theepan(?) and Vidusha(?) as killed:
http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=7430
"Meanwhile the number of bodies of the LTTE cadres recovered by Army by this evening rose to 300. The bodies of senior LTTE cadres Kamalani, Panjan, Mahindan, Keerthi, Naguleshan and Nayakan were identified late in the day in addition to the bodies of Theepan, Ruban, Nagesh, Vidusha, durga etc. that were recovered earlier."
below: "Rathnam Master killed; Swarnam's leg amputated"
http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=7435
2.
The tamilwin also shows bodies of 100s of ltte fighters and all with burned bodies. It is surprising that the LTTE did not prepare for the chemical gas attacks from the GOSL which is the lowest in the world.
http://www.tamilwin.com/view.php?2adsE99Zb0bcfDpYUe0ec4C0jt20cc35ZLu624d326Wn534b30tVQ6C4d4eQUG7fcd0ebPh2gsde
3.
I do not see the link below as pressure from the USA. It clearly shows that the USA is happy to shake-hands with huge smiles all around with the commander of the genocidal forces :-(
http://www.army.lk/detailed.php?NewsId=97
...
Just to clarify on the pictures of dead LTTE soldiers, I counted them from two angles and there are around 60 bodies. Over three or four days of fighting, that is reasonable and expected.
A Q&A update about "safe-zone" on my blog
http://peterratna.wordpress.com
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I don't think SLA used serious chemicals. All bodies appear as they are because they have been int he open or dug out of fresh graves.
LTTE has been losing 15 cadres a day since start of '09. In five days they've collected around 75 bodies; that should be expected.
----
Smiles and handshakes are diplomatic etiquette. However, ridiculous net-kills point to pressure from some-front. Army commander to meet US ambassador a day after LTTE was net-finished indicates US is involved in some kind of push.
The Tamilwin suggests that the chemical ga only makes the fighters to faint and then the SLA can just walk in to kill them. So, we may not see much evidence on the bodies! only a medical test can tell the truth.
To me, it is a realistic scenario as the ltte has never lost more 5-10 bodies in any defensive battle, i.e. they prepare and withdraw without sacrificing the manpower.
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can anyone verify the photo of Vidusha? Thepan's photo is not fully visible!
http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=7430
...
["The Tamilwin suggests that the chemical ga only makes the fighters to faint"]
Russia has used this chemical before, so it is possible, but no way to know from here.
Vidhusha's photo is not at all similar. Theepan's photo is similar, but we can't say its him just based on that. The nose looks slightly different.
Peter, that was good one about the FAQ of NFZ.
more senior names listed as killed below:
http://www.army.lk/detailed.php?NewsId=105
if chemical gases were used to suffocate and faint them, it could have been possible?
...
Given the seriousness of the claims, it may be beneficial to at least show the evidence of Theepan and Vidusha by the LTTE.
It is also possible that the GOSL is trying to make the LTTE to expose where Theepan & Vidusha are now :-)
...
SLA's Col. Keerthi
http://www.army.lk/html/images/image/Keerthi.jpg
Our Col. Keerthi (May '08 photo)
http://www.puthinam.com/d/p/2008/MAY/20080505010.jpg
(account for camera flash)
Is it true that SL used Chemical Weapons yesterday??? I m hearing it from various people!!!
The female is neither Col. Vithusha nor Col. Thurga.
The male does have slight resemblance to how Col. Theepan used to look like in mid-90s. He has a visible scar at the lower end of one of his eyes. That's not visible on the photo.
Maybe someone noted this already but notice how clean the unit is in the original photo with the barrels missing, and now in this one its all dusty. Whether this was a purposely done effort to make it look 'battle worn' or whether the dumb animals are too dumb to have thought of it I don't know. Iy may have just got dusty when they towed it to where ever they attached the barrels.
Also I heard from some internal sources that over 3,000 Tamil civilians and close 100 LTTE have been killed in a chemical attack just within the last few hours. Does anyone have more details on this.
The source indicated this would spell doom for the animals who think they are safe in the south. The gloves are going to come off and animals will be killed where ever they crawl to in the south - about time, please enforce my 10 to 1 rule.
Kill them everywhere, kill their kids, women, old men, everyone just as they do to us. 10 - 1.
If the chemical weapons was true I think Tamilnet would have mentioned it.
Publishing photos just to show that they are alive will make tigers look reactive.
It will also set a bad trend, i.e. bandas will say they were killed in air-raid mins after the photo-shoot and demand more photos. Then the claim would be, you showed photos last time, why can't you do it now?
Net-kills are nothing new to us. From VP onwards, everyone has had a net-death.
Equally, we should be prepared for loss of Col. rank leaders. There are two dozen of them, all leading battles. Anything can happen to any one of them.
MR NEW LOOK...
http://www.puthinam.com/d/p/2009/apr/london_20090406007.jpg
Don't forget that the major audience of the net-war are the Tamil Diaspora.
Bandas were expecting Tamil Diaspora to give-up as soon as LTTE looked weak.
But, as LTTE lost more land, more Tamils have taken to the streets. Largest ever protests have been held this year.
Now bandas think that mass net-kills can deviate the Diaspora.
How PTK was captured
http://www.army.lk/detailed.php?NewsId=104
Accompanying photo
http://www.army.lk/html/images/image/troop_a.jpg
Exif Info says taken in 2005; clearly not in PTK.
Many bandas would argue that the photo was taken in PTK.
I hope it is not true for the sake of our people, but my source was very upset at the news, and mentioned some large protests were about to take place in the UK and Canada.
In either case enforce 10-1 rule against the animals!
One of the bodies posted on puthinam does look like its been eaten by animals. Then again, it could like the result of chemical weaponry.
I highly doubt the use of chemical weapons due to the close proximity of the sla infanftry itself and the civilians (not that they give a shit about them).
Silence on all the Tamil sites is very eerie indeed. From past trends, long periods of silence is usually broken with breakthrough news on the battlefront. So I hope to be expecting some form of good news in the days to come.
Bandas are starting to trip serious balls. Even the bandas themselves are confused on the authenticity of their govts propabanda. Modayas will always be modayas.
British Tamils are protesting at the moment. One important street is blocked...
Defence.lk orbit map is updated but it still shows LTTE holding the edge of PTK.
"http://www.army.lk/html/images/image/troop_a.jpg"
Peter, got to love those nice clean boots and uniforms :)
3 days of hard fighting in the bush, but they still manage to keep everything spotless. The dumb animals learnt well from their British masters. Bet they could serve a splendid cuppa too.
On second look, a lot of the bodies have peeled and burnt skin. I still think Sri Lanka would not be so stupid to use banned chemicals, but there are many other chemicals and munitions that are not banned that can cause these types of wounds.
[In either case enforce 10-1 rule against the animals!]
Killing innocent civilians regardless of their background shouldn't be justified by any civilized person. It is understandable about the mindset of our folks when we see 100s of our kids and adults getting killed in daily basis by SLA but we can't lower ourself by taking retaliatory moves against innocent Sinhalese who may not be directly responsible for whats happening here. One thing we have to make sure that the war criminals/traitors - MR,GR,SF,Karunanidhi,Karuna,Sonia Ghandi, DD,AS,Pillaiyan, should be taken from the street at any cost.
["Maybe someone noted this already but notice how clean the unit is in the original photo with the barrels missing"]
I noticed this. When the gun is first found (without the barrel) it is spotless, even though it was supposedly being used by LTTE in the front lines. Then when they tow it to another location it becomes filthy.
If just towing it made it so dirty, why wasn't it dirty when the LTTE was using it in the front lines.
Another point I was thinking about was the fact that there is no UAV footage showing artillery weapons in the no fire zone. If the LTTE was really firing weapons from the no fire zone, why hasn't the Sri Lankan government filmed it, or at least filmed the locations and shown the world.
The fact that one artillery piece was bombed deep inside PTK, seems to show the LTTE was not keeping their artillery in the no fire zone. Just think for a minute, which civilian would live next to an artillery gun? Even if the LTTE brought it there, they would move to another side of the no fire zone. No one would want to sleep next to a gun, knowing the Sri Lankan army may bomb it. I think the LTTE is not firing these guns from the no fire zone. In fact it seems the LTTE has mostly stopped firing artillery.
["Killing innocent civilians regardless of their background shouldn't be justified by any civilized person."]
I agree with you 100%, but just for the sake of thought, when you see stupid Sinhalese cheering when civilians are killed in the no fire zone, laughing at them dying, saying they are actually LTTE (when the photos show mostly children) - don't you feel they are guilty for these murders?
Neither side can use arty to the front-lines.
LTTE can fire to behind lines, but that is a large area and most shells would go to waste.
SLA can fire into "safe-zone" to kill/pressure the civilians.
[On second look, a lot of the bodies have peeled and burnt skin. I still think Sri Lanka would not be so stupid to use banned chemicals, but there are many other chemicals and munitions that are not banned that can cause these types of wounds.]
It seems to me Indian congress party is giving go ahead to all kind of chemical weapons to be used in a difficult situations such as these.
Unlike all the dead bodies we have seen, these have bodies have distinguishable burn marks.
These cowardice act of racist Sinhellese should not go unpunished.
I think most people knew this already.
Any surprise as to how the only access BBC Tamil Service got was to Indian hospital in Pullmoddai?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7985155.stm
Their service, their hospital, their propaganda.
We know the enemy, but we don't want to speak of it.
If policy does not change in post-April/May era, it may get its fingers burned at the worst of economic times.
[Killing innocent civilians regardless of their background shouldn't be justified by any civilized person.]
I am sorry my friend at one time I was civilized, but now I am just an animal that wants Sinhala blood, only people like me can deal with the Sinhala animals. Civilization stops at the shores of the island.
They keep speaking about child recruitment, but they haven't found a single child's body out of the thousands they have claimed to have recovered. Why does the BBC keep printing unproven claims of the government? Of course we know why, the reporters are paid off.
BBC reporters may not be paid-off but almost all news there originates from Sinhala Service (speaks for itself) or Tamil Service (which is infiltrated in every nook and corner by a known 3rd party)
I think the faces are pixelated to cover signs of skin peeling. Notice only some faces are pixelated, but on other photos the faces are showing. On one photo the mans chest is pixelated, but no blood (so its not a bullet wound).
AFP: "Foreign investment in bonds stands at US$ 19m" Down from 527m in Sept. 08. http://tinyurl.com/ct837m
How ironic could be BBC Tamil service while hundreds of Tamils are killed daily? Their agenda appears not the suffering Tamils but putting the blame on Tigers..
I still don't think serious chemical weapons were used. Perhaps CS or other sleep inducing agents, but not WMDs.
Bodies look days old. After most major assaults tigers are quick to cremate all bodies more than two days old. They are extremely conscious of infective diseases.
Bandas, either are unaware of disease risks or value propaganda more.
Some bodies look like they are at least a week old.
One thing for sure is that the 'round-up' of LTTE 'offensive formation' is total BS.
Even their list of so called recovered weapons don't indicate presence of offensive troops in the area.
Nice overview.
This is from Peter's page.
(http://peterratna.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/surviving-in-the-“safe-zone”/)
This is post is very important to see others as How cunningly the Sinhella regime systematically kills Tamils. I hope Peter and Badri do not mind.
Surviving in the “Safe-Zone”
April 6, 2009
Civilian struggles in Vanni
Around 80, 000 families, more than 200, 00 people, all of them Tamils are temporarily settled in the Sri Lankan government declared “Safe-Zone”, a half-a-mile wide strip of sandy beach stretching less than ten miles in length.
Atrocities taking place in this zone have gone unreported in the international press, thanks to a blanket ban imposed on aid workers and journalist by the Sinhala state. Only the Tamil media, led by the English language website TamilNet.com, has dared to defy official orders.
Here we provide details in short Q&A format
Who declared the “Safe-Zone”?
Unilateral declaration by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL).
Is the region appropriate for such large number of people?
No. Previously home to only a handful of fishing hamlets, it has no infrastructure.
Water and Sanitation?
Number of toilets and wells were in single digit.
Could civilians have refused to move into the area?
No. Everyone outside the zone were declared “enemy combatants” by the Sinhala sate.
Did anyone stay out?
International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) operated the PTK Hospital. It was repeatedly shelled. Sri Lanka’s defence secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, told Britain’s Sky News that the hospital was a “legitimate target” as it was operating outside of the government declared zone.
Who is looking after the civilians?
Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) and a number of local charities are attending to daily needs. Tamileelam Administrative Service (TAS) has deployed unarmed cadres to help with construction of temporary shelters.
How about international aid agencies?
None. All have been banned by the GoSL.
Even the UNHCR?
Yes, even the UNHCR. The “Safe-Zone” is the only part of the world with high number of displaced civilians unattended by UNHCR.
Has LTTE blocked aid agencies or UN?
No. LTTE has written several letters to all prominent aid agencies and UN, even pleading with them not to abandon the Tamil people.
How about Safety?
UNHCR and a number of international aid organisations are present in Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan, where they are declared targets.
What are the main problems faced by the civilians?
Artillery attacks and air raids; shortage of food and medicine; and lack of shelter.
What is being done about it?
Attacks by the Sri Lankan military are ongoing. Nothing can be done about it other that defeating them on the battle front, or exerting international pressure to stop the shelling.
Food, medicine and shelter?
TAS is building small shelters using Palmyra leaves. All shelter material are banned by the GoSL. WFP is delivering rice, dhal and some medicine by ship, but nowhere near enough for the number of people in the area.
How about the shortfall in food and medicine?
LTTE’s Sea Tigers have managed to “smuggle” small supplies of essential items. Rice porridge ‘kanchie’ is given twice daily to all adults. A protein rich version of it, ‘pyintham-kanchie’, is given to children. Families with babies under a year-old are given milk powder.
No food shortage then?
Minimal food is “smuggled” to prevent death by starvation. People have not ate vegetables for months. Vitamin deficiency diseases may become more common.
Why don’t Sea Tigers transport more?
They are having to work under great difficulties. Both Indian and Sri Lankan navies have increased patrols. Tamil Nadu police is actively following individuals purchasing large quantities of food or medicine.
Are there civilian casualties in the “Safe-Zone”?
Yes. Around 100 people are killed and 200 are injured every day.
Why?
GoSL wants force them out of LTTE administered areas. It hopes to limit choices to death and moving out.
What happens to injured people?
They are taken to two makeshift medical facilities in the zone. Most minor injuries become major complication because of shortage of essential medicine. Serious cases are transported by the ICRC to Trincomalee.
Does the LTTE have positions inside the “Safe-Zone”?
No. If it did, they would have been filmed by UAVs. Defence Ministry releases detailed videos from outside the zone. Same would have been done if there were positions inside. LTTE has requested international monitors to visit the zone to verify.
Is the LTTE holding civilians by force as “human shield”?
No. Given the ratio of civilians to cadres, that would be a physical impossibility.
How about civilians who say they were held by force?
People in Sinhala army detention camps and militarised hospitals are limited in what they can say. Taking their words without context is the height of naivete.
Why are some media quoting them then?
As it suits their agenda. Readers should put themselves in the shoes of the civilians.
Why would UN make that claim as well?
UN should send monitors into the region. With no presence in the “Safe-Zone” UN has no credible way of assessing people’s wishes. UN appears to want to do something. But, it has been banned from the region by the GoSL. Only thing left for it to do is blame the LTTE
I hope to be able to update more often as critical days lay ahead.
This may sound unbelievable, but when Indian election campaign is in full-swing, we should expect a spectacular military event on the island of Eelam.
Our responsibility is to increase international pressure to save the civilians 'till then.
vanniyan, for readability purpose, i put peter's QA in bold.
Thanks Bhairav.
Peter, this writing style Q&A is the best way to educate the readers.
Pls continue to expose the lies and deceptions by the SInhella Regime
[don't you feel they are guilty for these murders?
]
Real Editor sir, I hold the Sinhalese responsible since any just person would know what they are doing is a crime, perpetrating their false ethno religious view that the island is theirs and then using untold violence to make it so. Hasn't survey after survey told us that the majority supports the war to eliminate Tamils, so then they are the enemy and must face the consequences of their actions.
We should think about advertising on TV. We have the resources to do it. Just like Obama did to win the presidency, we should start a grassroots movement where lots of people donate small amounts of money ($10 or $20) pretty soon you enough money to buy prime time TV advertisements. We should create a campaign that resonates with the average western family: "We asked for our freedom and all we got was genocide" and "stop your government from spending your tax dollars/euros/pounds on a genocidal war".
0% of Somalians support the LTTE. Take it from me because, as my handle reads, I am a Somalian.
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