Consequent to the negotiations, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Friday (May 18) ferried 11 members of the crew to Tamil Nadu, a day after Maldivian Coast Guard rescued Simon Soza of the Sri Krishna’s crew following a confrontation with Sea Tigers which resulted in the destruction of the vessel in their southern territorial waters Thursday morning.
Soza told Maldivian authorities that the vessel was commandeered by Sea Tigers and 11 of his colleagues were transferred to Sea Tiger craft.
Sea Tigers are believed to have moved the Indians from a base at Arippu, south of Mannar and freed them in two different locations Friday. The absence of Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) patrols has made their task easier.
A well informed official said that the LTTE had no option but to release the Indians after Soza’s chance rescue. Had he died in the confrontation, the situation would have been different, he said.
The release took place as SLN gained access to Soza and four Sea Tigers in Maldivian custody. An SLN team reached Maldives after President Mohammed Abdul Gayoom’s administration swiftly responded to a formal request from Colombo. The Sunday Island learned that investigators are trying to establish the location of the vessel from which Sri Krishna took delivery of a consignment of arms, ammunition and equipment. It was intercepted by the Maldivian Coast Guard as it was crossing Maldivian territorial waters on Wednesday.
The vessel which was flying Sri Lanka flag and commandeered by Sea Tigers went down near Gaaf Alif waters at 8:25am on Thursday following a 12-hour stand-off with the Maldivians. The Coast Guard had swung into action after this vessel fired at a Maldivian dhoni (fishing craft) on Wednesday afternoon.
Of the nine-member crew, four died in this confrontation with the Coast Guard.
The incident took place against the backdrop of Indian Defence Minister A. K. Anthony’s recent accusation that the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) was responsible for a series of attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen resulting in the deaths of 77 civilians between 1991 and mid-April 2007.
Thursday’s sinking of Sri Krishna by the Maldivians is the first vessel destroyed carrying arms since the Indian Navy attack on MV Ahat in January 1993.
LTTE Political Wing leader S. P. Thamilchelvan recently accused the SLN of seizing the Sri Krishna.
The ‘Q’ Branch of the Indian CID on April 26 revealed the seizure of the large Indian fishing vessel along with 12 Indians-10 from Kanyakumari and one each from Thoothukudi and Kerala.
The ‘Q’ branch revelation followed the interrogation of six Sri Lankan Tamils arrested on April 11 by the Indian Coast Guard off the Tuticorin coast after a mechanical snag in their boat, Maria, caused them to drift into Indian waters. The investigators identified them as members of special Sea Tiger squads deployed to ferry arms, ammunition and equipment from an LTTE ship stationed on the high seas.
According to a two-page note issued by Tamil Nadu Director General of Police obtained by the Colombo foreign ministry, the squad seized by the Indian Coast Guard was one of the several units ferrying weapons and ammunition to their camps from an LTTE ship stationed on the high seas.
Under interrogation, the six Sri Lankans had claimed that one of the squads engaged in the mid-sea arms transfer on March 29 killed five Tamil Nadu fishermen off Kanyakumari coast believing the Indians were monitoring their movements.
Since last September, the SLN destroyed four large LTTE ships on the high seas.
Last November, the SLN rescued an Indian fisherman after blowing up an Indian trawler which was being commandeered by Sea Tigers. He was later repatriated although a section of the military suspected the rescued Indian may have been involved with Sea Tigers.
Authoritative sources said Sri Lanka requested access to five persons—three Sri Lankan Tamils and two Indians arrested on February 13 off Kodiakarai and the six arrested on April 11.
Sri Lankan intelligence services want to interrogate the suspects allegedly involved in moving arms, ammunition and equipment between Tamil Nadu and areas under LTTE-control in northern Sri Lanka. But India is yet to respond to Sri Lanka’s request.
Sri Lankan officials emphasised the need to share intelligence between the two countries. "We are fully aware of the Tamil Nadu factor," one official said. "But politics should not be allowed to impede anti-terrorist operations." A spate of recent incidents at sea underscored the need for a coordinated action plan to tackle Sea Tigers and their associates in Tamil Nadu.
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