It all began in 1987

By V.S.Sambandan

COLOMBO, MAR. 12. Friday's bloodbath in Colombo is the latest in an endless string of suicide-bomb attacks which began in the island in 1987.

As office-goers were heading back to their homes on March 10, a suicide-bomber, suspected to be a LTTE member, blasted himself to death prematurely.

Several well-armed militants lay in wait in a nearby overgrowth, which was planted with improvised explosive devices to carry out what could have turned into a ghastly carnage. Six Tamils from the North have been taken into custody, as investigations continued into the infiltration and explosions.

Based on the evidence unearthed so far, military observers say that the plan of the militants was to bring traffic to a stand- still by deploying a suicide-bomber at their target.

After the suicide-bomb explosion, traffic would have come to a stand-still. The gunmen would have then shot down their other targets like sitting ducks. This would have also been different from earlier attacks in which there was only one target, the experts said.

The failed attempt is seen as a commando-style operation to take the lives of the Deputy Defence Minister, Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte, military bosses and Parliamentarians who would have taken the route.

The mission, according to military observers, failed as there could have been a time lag between the intelligence gathered and the execution of the plan.

However, the fact that the militants could infiltrate the high- security approach to the Parliament building has become a cause for concern.

Sri Lanka's unending episode of suicide-bomber attacks began on July 5, 1987, in an army camp at Nelliady, 15 miles from Jaffna. Forty soldiers were killed.

The anniversary of the bombing is among the two days of significance for the Tigers and is observed as `Black Tigers Day' every year.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : 'Govt.-LTTE peace talks will continue'
Next     : 'At home' everywhere