International   

'Many Sri Lankan soldiers under LTTE captivity'

By V.S. Sambandan

COLOMBO APRIL. 11. In a startling account of an "escape from a prison run by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)", a member of the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) today alleged that a number of Sri Lankan "soldiers and policemen" were held captive by the Tigers "in an underground bunker" in rebel-held northern Sri Lanka.

Narrating his version of detention and escape, Chelliah Paraman, said he was held captive by the Tigers before he broke out with the help of another detainee. He claimed that "army, police and navy personnel were kept handcuffed in the underground cell" in which he was confined for two days.

The EPDP member's statement questioned the assertion made by the LTTE last year that they held no "prisoners of war". Over 1,000 soldiers are said to be still missing, but the LTTE says it had released all prisoners by last year and had even earlier cremated the bodies of combatants that were not accepted by the Government.

The 23-year-old Paraman's troubles started with a visit from Government-held Jaffna to rebel-held Kilinochchi on March 31 to see his sister. "As I did not know the place, I was making enquiries, when someone pointed me out to the Tigers as a member of the EPDP," Paraman said. Taken at "gunpoint'' to a detention centre in Kilinochchi, he was questioned by the LTTE on a range of topics, including the movements of the EPDP leader, Douglas Devananda.

The EPDP, a militant outfit-turned-parliamentary party, is a fierce opponent of the LTTE and Mr. Devananda escaped several attempts on his life, the latest of which was in June 1998. From Kilinochchi, Paraman said he was "blindfolded and taken in a vehicle for about three hours" and pushed into an "underground cell" for "two days" after which he was shifted to solitary confinement in a cell above the bunker. It was there he learnt of the presence of the Sri Lankan security forces personnel.

"Guards were asleep"

Paraman's story of his escape raised several eyebrows at the press conference.

According to Paraman, "a member of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) was also detained in another cell". Just before dawn (on April 6), the PLOTE member, who escaped from his cell using a small saw, turned his benefactor.

"He broke the padlock to my cell and took me out of captivity. Two LTTE guards were sleeping when we made our escape," he said.

The EPDP did not reveal the details of the PLOTE member citing "security reasons".

Then, for "about three hours", the two reportedly walked through the jungles till they reached Kilinochchi, when "the PLOTE member showed me the way to the office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and parted ways".

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Parallel U.S., Iraqi-led Ministries, says Wolfowitz
• Turkey threatens to send in forces
• Saddam's half-brother 'dead'
• Iran against U.S. rule in Iraq
• Focus on N. Korea's security
• `Anti-war alliance' to mend fences with U.S.
• Schroeder warns U.S. against 'adventurism'
• Tests developed to identify virus
• 'Many Sri Lankan soldiers under LTTE captivity'
• 'Better ways to deal with Indo-Pak. tension'
• SARS: a biological weapon?
• Pak. armed forces can face any challenge, says Musharraf

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu