20 killed in attack on LTTE camp

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, OCT. 25. An armed mob today stormed a Government rehabilitation centre for LTTE cadres in central Sri Lanka killed at least 20 inmates and injured several others. The attackers also set fire to the institute buildings. ``We can confirm that at least 20 inmates have died, and 16 injured,'' said Mr. Harsha Gunawardene of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Official sources said the mob, over 1,000-strong, overpowered the policemen at the thinly-guarded Bindunuwewa rehabilitation camp in Bandarawela, and went about clubbing and hacking the inmates. Some of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition, an eyewitness said.

The centre housed about 50 persons, mainly LTTE members taken captive in the battlefield and young Tamils arrested for minor offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. They were being taught vocational courses to assist in their reintegration into the mainstream. Bandarawela, 230 km east of Colombo, is a small hill town in the central tea-growing Uva province.

The President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, condemned the incident as the work of an ``outside force'' and ordered two high-level enquiries.

Trouble began at the camp last night, when some inmates demanding to be set free, cut off the power supply and took a police official hostage. A platoon of soldiers from a nearby military base managed to free the official and restore order a little after midnight.

Early this morning, a horde of well-armed people, many of them said to be local residents, broke into the camp, easily overpowering the guards, and began attacking the inmates.

The Bandarawela town council deputy chairman, Mr. Raghupathy, who reached the camp around 11 a.m., said it looked like a ``battlefield''.In Bandarawela town, with an even mix of Sinhalese and Tamils, the Deepavali-eve festive-air gave way to tension after the attack, reminiscent of the 1983 Welikade prison riot. ``This was not a spontaneous attack, it was well- orchestrated,'' said Mr. Raghupathy.

In a statement, the Tamil United Liberation Front MP, Mr. Joseph Pararajasingham, termed the attack ``despicable'' and called for immediate action against the culprits.

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