International

Denial on Pottu Amman to avoid Indian reaction?

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO April 29. The Sri Lankan Defence Ministry denial that Pottu Amman, intelligence chief of the LTTE, was trapped by a naval cordon south of the eastern port city of Trincomalee last week, was aimed at avoiding an Indian negative reaction, officials said.

Pottu Amman, second accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, is wanted by India. There is a demand by the Indian Government for his extradition along with that of the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabakaran. There is also an Interpol arrest notice for him.

The Sri Lankan Defence Ministry on Sunday put out a statement that media reports of Pottu Amman being among the 40 LTTE cadre trapped in three boats by the Sri Lanka Navy south of Trincomalee last Wednesday were wrong.

The Navy cordoned off the boats that were transporting arms and cadre for two hours at Foul Point, eight nautical miles off Trincomalee, while the Government reported the matter to the Norwegian-led ceasefire monitoring team. The monitors then took over and obtained safe passage for the boats, its passengers and cargo.

Reports in the Sri Lankan press said the military had intercepted radio messages from the trapped flotilla to LTTE land bases about Pottu Amman's presence in one of the boats.

Government sources said the possibility that these reports might rouse Indian ire over a wanted man being let off, close on the heels of anger in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere in India over Mr. Prabakaran's public appearance, had prompted the swift denial from the defence establishment.

``The denial was stating the fact. There was a fairly clear idea of who was on the boat and from what we know, Pottu Amman was not there. The report was carried prominently and could have been misused by mischief-makers,'' said a senior official associated with the peace process.

But challenging the denial, local media are asking how the Government could so categorically deny the presence of Pottu Amman in the LTTE flotilla when, in fact, the Navy had not carried out identification checks on any of the 40 people in the three boats.

Since the outrage in India at Mr. Prabakaran's outing before the media earlier this month, Sri Lanka has grown sensitive to the complexities that could possibly queer New Delhi's support for its peace initiative with the Tigers.

The denial came ahead of a planned visit by a senior Indian official for a first-hand briefing from Sri Lankan officials on the ongoing peace process, with the proposed LTTE-run interim administration reawakening New Delhi's interest in developments here. New Delhi played host last week to at least three VIP visitors from Sri Lanka rivalling each other to give their own version of the peace process.

The Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, who stayed in New Delhi for a week, is believed to have conveyed her concern about too much being granted to the LTTE too early in the process to the range of Indian leaders whom she met.

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