Will Maldive be the new terror hub?

The twin blasts at Hyderabad shattered the calm of the city. This the second terrorist strike on the city in the last five months. Proof that the South has become a target for terror activities. As intelligence agencies pieced together the terror plot, a new route for militant activity has been revealed.

The route that starts from Pakistan to Male in Maldives and to the southern cities which have direct flights to Male. The Maldives is an Islamic state and recent evidence points to its traditional tolerant views being undermined.

President Abdul Gayoom is facing widespread opposition to his 29 year rule in 1998 helped by the Indian navy he overcame a coup but now as opposition mounts it is reported that he is using Islam to support his regime.

Some of the 52 madrassas set up under the president's patronage, have been linked to militant Islam in recent years. Human rights activist say the existence of luxurious holiday resorts Is helping radicals recruiting on the islands.

It is this that the militant oragnisations are using to target India as well. With Maldives offering easy entry to visitors Militant groups are able to send activists to Southern Indian cities via Maldives.

Intelligence reports suggest that even the LTTE is using Maldives to ferry arms, run drug smuggling, and send illegal migrants to work as spies. This could also present another threat to India.

For India this represents a new threat in the war against terror as traditional militant routes via Jammu and Kashmir and Nepal are identified. Those who target India are finding newer routes to get to its heart.

Source: Time Now India

Four LTTE terrorists to be sent for trial in Colombo - Maldives

Four Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres who are currently in a Maldivian jail, caught while smuggling weapons to Sri Lanka in a hijacked Indian trawler will be sent to Sri Lanka to stand trial as terrorists soon.

Maldivian Foreign Minister Dr. Shaheed has announced that he would not stand in the way of transferring the LTTE cadres jailed for smuggling guns through Maldivian waters, also to stand trial in Colombo on additional charges of terrorism under Sri Lanka law.

The Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Male Mohamed Farooq has confirmed to a Maldivian news agency that he has had successful talks with the Maldivian Foreign Minister about the transfer of the prisoners and the Maldivian Foreign Minister has indicated that he would not stand in the way of a transfer of the terrorists to face a trial in Colombo.

Both men have played down the concerns of some pro-Tiger NGO's that the LTTE prisoners would be at the risk of their lives in a Sri Lankan jail.

The international gun running fiasco occurred when the LTTE terrorists, hijacked an Indian trawler with 12 crew members, on March 29, while the DMK party was blaming that on Sri Lanka.

According to later evidence it was commandeered on high seas, to be used for gun running purposes for the ongoing LTTE terrorist atrocities in Sri Lanka.

The hijacked trawler was sunk by the Maldivian Coast Guard vessel twenty fours after one of the LTTE members on board had shot at a Maldivian fishing boat that approached the hijacked Indian trawler. Four surviving LTTE cadres were captured by the Maldivian authorities.

During a six week investigation, according to the Maldivian foreign ministry officials the four cadres confessed they were men of the LTTE .In early July they also pleaded, according to Maldivian authorities, guilty of gun running in the Maldivian waters. A Maldivian court sentenced them to a jail term of 15 years.

At first the Maldivian authorities were reluctant to extradite them to Sri Lanka. But later, following discussions between the two governments the government reportedly change their view.

The Sri Lanka High Commissioner in Male Farooq has said, "If we find they intended to commit terrorist acts in our country, we have the right to charge them with further crimes."

Sri Lankan High Commissioner Mr. Farooq, denying that they will be tortured said there are many LTTE prisoners spending their time in Sri Lankan jails and none of them are harmed.

Indian and Sri Lankan investigations have confirmed the trawler sunk by the Maldivian authorities was in fact the India registered "Sri Krishna" belonging to fishermen in Tamil Nadu. According to the Kerala mechanic, Simon Soza, who had been taken by the Tamil Tigers on their gun running adventure to be used as a mechanic , before abandoning others as LTTE prisoners in an LTTE dominated jungle area in Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tiger terrorist group hijacked the vessel. After sinking of the trawler, the other crewmen who were prisoners under the Tigers were released following some secret negotiations between the LTTE and the DMK authorities in Tamil Nadu.

The Maldivian authorities came to know the truth about the vessel when the mechanic jumped from the boat and told authorities it had been hijacked by the LTTE. (Tamil Tigers). As usual the LTTE denied they hijacked the vessel. But both the fishermen and the mechanic have given vivid descriptions about the hijacking . During the intended trial in Colombo more details of the gun running are expected to be heard.

Source: Ministry of defense (Sri-Lanka)

Boat driver back home after four-month ordeal

Fisherman Simon Souza, who was held captive by the LTTE and then detained by the Maldives police over the past four months, returned here on Wednesday to an emotional welcome by members of his family and friends.

Souza, hailing from Kochi, had gone to sea from Kollam with 12 fishermen from Colachel in Tamil Nadu, but ran into the LTTE in March. While the 12 others were released some time back, his captors detained him in a boat they used for arms smuggling, officials said.

Souza, however, escaped from the LTTE during a shootout in the sea between the LTTE and Maldives police patrolling the area. His release from Maldives was secured with the state government taking up his case with the Centre.

Narrating his experience, Souza said the LTTE sought to use him for arms smuggling as he was an expert boat driver and mechanic. Though it was a bitter experience to be in the militant outfit's captivity, they did not torture him, he said.

"In the first few days, I refused to take food offered by them. They threatened me that I would be shot if I continued to starve myself. Then I said, I should be allowed to pray first before taking any food. They accepted my plea," he said.

Souza said he did not face any harassment at the hands of the Maldives police as they were quite friendly. They lodged and fed him properly and he was even allowed to move freely there. Before taking the flight home, they even gave him some gifts to be taken home.

State Fisheries Minister S Sarma, Souza's wife and his three sons were present to receive him.

Source: DNA

Boat driver back home after four-month ordeal

Fisherman Simon Souza, who was held captive by the LTTE and then detained by the Maldives police over the past four months, returned here on Wednesday to an emotional welcome by members of his family and friends.

Souza, hailing from Kochi, had gone to sea from Kollam with 12 fishermen from Colachel in Tamil Nadu, but ran into the LTTE in March. While the 12 others were released some time back, his captors detained him in a boat they used for arms smuggling, officials said.

Souza, however, escaped from the LTTE during a shootout in the sea between the LTTE and Maldives police patrolling the area. His release from Maldives was secured with the state government taking up his case with the Centre.

Narrating his experience, Souza said the LTTE sought to use him for arms smuggling as he was an expert boat driver and mechanic. Though it was a bitter experience to be in the militant outfit's captivity, they did not torture him, he said.

"In the first few days, I refused to take food offered by them. They threatened me that I would be shot if I continued to starve myself. Then I said, I should be allowed to pray first before taking any food. They accepted my plea," he said.

Souza said he did not face any harassment at the hands of the Maldives police as they were quite friendly. They lodged and fed him properly and he was even allowed to move freely there. Before taking the flight home, they even gave him some gifts to be taken home.

State Fisheries Minister S Sarma, Souza's wife and his three sons were present to receive him.

Source: DNA

Maldives, Lanka working on extraditing LTTE suspects

The Maldives and Sri Lanka are working towards extraditing to Colombo, the four LTTE suspects convicted of several crimes including smuggling of arms and currently in prison here.

An extradition treaty between the two friendly countries will enable the Maldives to transfer the four LTTE suspects to Colombo but when the decision would be taken was not known yet, Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed said.

“There are no legal snags in extraditing the prisoners to Sri Lanka since there is a treaty between the two countries to that effect,” the Foreign Minister told the Maaloafaanu website.

“There is no definite time as when the decision will be made and we are working on the matter now,” he said.

Sri Lankan High Commissioner Mohamed Ali Farook said Colombo government’s request to the Maldives to extradite the prisoners still stood.

“Sri Lanka is ready to ensure that the prisoners serve the same sentence in Colombo, if they were handed over” Mr. Farook said.

The Foreign Ministry is scheduled to send a copy of the official court verdict to the Sri Lankan High Commission today to be delivered to the Sri Lankan Government.

The court on Sunday sentenced the four suspects to fifteen and a half years in jail after they were captured by the Maldives Coast Guard in May 17 in Maldivian territorial waters while smuggling arms to Sri Lanka.

On May 22, a team from Sri Lanka arrived here for its own investigations into the incident and requested the Maldives to hand them over to Sri Lanka following the court procedure.

Source: Daily Mirror

Four LTTE arms smugglers sentenced to jail in Maldives

Four LTTE cadres who were recently seized in Maldivian waters when sailing in a hijacked Indian fishing trawler carrying weapons for the LTTE, have been sentenced to 15 years and 6 months imprisonment by the Maldivian criminal court.

The accused are Mahindhra Rasa Kajeevan (20), Ramesh Raja Chandhan (20), Muthalingam Yogaras (24), and Navarathna Rasa Ranjeeth (21). They pleaded guilty to the charges of illegally crossing international waters into Maldivian territory, "disobedience to orders" and firing at Maldivian security forces.

The hijacked trawler carrying weapons for the LTTE terrorists was destroyed by Maldivian coastguards on 17th June, when intercepted off Gaaff Alif atoll in Maldivian waters.

The suspected trawler flying a Sri Lankan ensign was first observed by the Maldivian fishermen. Maldivian coastguard vessels later ordered the suspected trawler to stop for inspection. When it ignored this order and started firing at the Coastguard vessel, they carried out a retaliatory attack and destroyed the trawler following a hot pursuit.

Maldivian officials indicated that five crew members, including the LTTE terrorist cadres, who had jumped overboard from the destroyed boat, were rescued by the Maldivian coastguards. A crewmember speaking the South Indian Malayalam language had identified himself as a South Indian fisherman and told the Coastguards that the trawler was smuggling arms and ammo for the LTTE.

He has further revealed that the four LTTE terrorists had hijacked the fishing vessel and threw the other crew members overboard along with their fishing gear. He had also claimed that he was spared because he is the Technical Officer on the vessel, and was needed by the crew in case of breakdown.

Source: Defence Srilanka

Four LTTE arms smugglers sentenced to jail in Maldives

Four LTTE cadres who were recently seized in Maldivian waters when sailing in a hijacked Indian fishing trawler carrying weapons for the LTTE, have been sentenced to 15 years and 6 months imprisonment by the Maldivian criminal court.

The accused are Mahindhra Rasa Kajeevan (20), Ramesh Raja Chandhan (20), Muthalingam Yogaras (24), and Navarathna Rasa Ranjeeth (21). They pleaded guilty to the charges of illegally crossing international waters into Maldivian territory, "disobedience to orders" and firing at Maldivian security forces.

The hijacked trawler carrying weapons for the LTTE terrorists was destroyed by Maldivian coastguards on 17th June, when intercepted off Gaaff Alif atoll in Maldivian waters.

The suspected trawler flying a Sri Lankan ensign was first observed by the Maldivian fishermen. Maldivian coastguard vessels later ordered the suspected trawler to stop for inspection. When it ignored this order and started firing at the Coastguard vessel, they carried out a retaliatory attack and destroyed the trawler following a hot pursuit.

Maldivian officials indicated that five crew members, including the LTTE terrorist cadres, who had jumped overboard from the destroyed boat, were rescued by the Maldivian coastguards. A crewmember speaking the South Indian Malayalam language had identified himself as a South Indian fisherman and told the Coastguards that the trawler was smuggling arms and ammo for the LTTE.

He has further revealed that the four LTTE terrorists had hijacked the fishing vessel and threw the other crew members overboard along with their fishing gear. He had also claimed that he was spared because he is the Technical Officer on the vessel, and was needed by the crew in case of breakdown.

Source: Defence Srilanka

Maldives sentences 'Tamil Tigers'

A court in the Maldives has sentenced four suspected Tamil Tiger rebels from Sri Lanka to 15 years in prison. The charges included trying to import illegal firearms and weapons.

In May, the Maldives coastguard sank a boat carrying suspected Tamil Tigers in its territorial waters near an atoll, south of the main archipelago.

At the time, the rebels' military spokesman Rasiah Llanthiriyan had denied the Tamil Tigers were involved in the incident.

Source: BBC

Maldives Say Indian Reaction To Send Reconssainnce Aircraft To Help Engage Ltte Boat Was Quick And Swift

The Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has telephoned Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to thank for Indian naval aircraft’s quick response in providing reconnaissance for the country’s Coast Guard to help engage the high jacked Indian fishing trawler “Sri Krishna” and sink it with an alleged load of LTTE guns and rocket launchers.

The Indian response for help to pursue the hijacked boat by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been described by the Maldivian government as “quick and swift.”

India’s Tribune newspaper publishing an agency item quoted Maldivian Foreign Minister Ahamed Shaheed as saying, ““We asked for the Indian government's assistance,” and, “the response was swift.”

The Maldivian government used its coast guard ship “Huravee” to engage the allegedly gun running hijacked “Sri Krishna” trawler that attempted twice to leave the territorial waters of the Maldives. The renamed “Huravee” is a former Indian coast guard ship given to the Maldives and its former name was INS Tillanchang. The transfer took place last year when Indian Defense Minister visited Maldives .

Now it has been revealed four of Sri Krishan’s occupants were killed when it was engaged by Huravee and five survived including the kidnapped Kerala based Malayali boat mechanic Simon Soza, whom the alleged LTTE gunrunners took with them in their long illegal sojourn.
The Indian Trawler “Sri Krishna” was missing from the last known position of the South East of the Pamban island and is believed to have been hijacked by the Sea Tigers with its crew of 12 , 11 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and one mechanic from Kerala, named Simon Soza.

“Tamil-speaking persons” who hijacked Sri Krishna first threw out its fishing equipment and later brought in arms including AK-47s and RPG launchers. Soza, who is from is a Malayalam speaking person from Kerala, had reportedly told the Maldivian authorities that he was kept on board because he was the trawler’s mechanic, someone very essential in the long journey undertaken by the pirates of the Sea Tigers. He was one of the first to jump from the boat to the sea when the boat was being pursued and rescued by the Coastguard ship.

A team of investigators from the Sri Lanka navy also has traveled to the capital Male where the alleged LTTE Sea Tigers are in custody to investigate what actually the boat was doing in the Maldivian waters.

In the sting operations conducted by the FBI undercover agents in the United States it had been revealed that the LTTE was planning to ship its arms shipments to the Indian Ocean and from there to smuggle them to Sri Lanka in smaller vessels.

During the regime of Ranil Wickremesinghe , when a lie low policy was advised to the Sri Lanka Navy larger ships came closer to the LTTE dominated shores to unload cargos of armaments and explosives. Thereafter the LTTE has been increasingly engaging fishing craft re-loaded from other ships in mid seas to smuggle in arms.

Source: Lanka Web

Maldives 'not certain' on trawler

The identities of the arrested foreign nationals three days ago off Maldives seas are yet to be determined, authorities in Maldives said.

Maldives government spokesman Mohamed Hussein Sharif told BBC Tamil Service that one person, identified as Simon, is an Indian national probably from South Indian state of Kerala.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), together with the police are conducting investigations to verify the identities of other four people captured after sinking their boat, the spokesman said.

"We don't know for certain as yet whether it was a Sri Lankan trawler or whether the persons who are currently in the custody are Sri Lankans," he added.

Sri Lankan detectives

He confirmed that Sri Lankan detectives are also taking part in the investigations.

"The Sri Lankan authorities contacted our foreign ministry and they were given due permission to participate," Mohamed Hussein Sharif said.

Sharif who earlier suggested the arrested were Tamil Tigers told BBC Tamil Service on Sunday that Simon's allegations that other four are Sri Lankan Tamils led to speculations in the media.

Sri Lankan authorities were concerned after media reports that alleged they were LTTE members.

'Arms smuggling'

A Maldivian coastguard vessel has opened fire on a suspected boat and arrested five foreign nationals on board on Thursday.

"They were definitely intruding Maldivian waters but their motive is yet to be determined," the spokesman added.

The chief spokesman for the Maldives government Sharif said on Thursday that nearly 12-hour stand-off between its coastguard forces and the suspected rebel boat happened near an atoll, several hundred nautical miles south of the main archipelago.

He said it may have foiled an attempt by the rebels to smuggle arms to Sri Lanka.

The five people on board the boat were being questioned, the spokesman said.

The Tamil Tigers military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiraiyan has denied the rebels were involved in the incident.

Sea clashes

"We are not operating in that area," Ilanthiraiyan told the Reuters news agency from a rebel base in the north of Sri Lanka.

"These guys are not our people."

Earlier this month, a number of rebels were killed in a sea battle with the Sri Lankan navy off Sri Lanka's north-eastern coast.

The navy said it sank two Tamil Tiger boats, part of a flotilla of 26 rebel vessels, and killed at least 10 rebels.

The Tamil Tigers are fighting for an independent state in the north and east.

Clashes at sea and on land are now an almost daily occurrence. Both sides say they still respect the ceasefire and are responding to the other side's aggression.

Source: BBC Sinhala

Maldives probes Sri Lanka LTTE suspects

The Sri Lankan government is closely liaising with Maldivian authorities in the interrogation of five LTTE suspects who were on board an ammunition laden trawler that was destroyed by the Maldivian coast guard on Thursday morning, Foreign Ministry officials said.

The men are suspected to have been transporting weapons to the Tamil Tigers, according to reports from Male.

The trawler had been fired upon by the Maldivian coastguards in the Maldivian waters. Five of the men had jumped over board and were picked up by the Maldivian authorities later on, Foreign Ministry officials confirmed.

The suspected trawler flying the Sri Lankan ensign had allegedly fired upon a Maldivian fishing vessel and had been pursued by the Maldivian coastguards who had ordered the trawler to stop.

The trawler had ignored the orders and started firing at the coastguards which lead to the retaliatory attack.

News reports from Maldives said the five crew members were found to be LTTE cadres after interrogation.

Investigations are in progress to ascertain whether the trawler bearing the name “Sri Krishna” is the same vessel that was reported missing by the Indian authorities since March 12 along with 12 Indian fishermen, reports from Male and Colombo said.

The Minivan news Agency that operates from the Maldivian capital Male quoted the

Director General of the Coastguard, Colonel Zakaria Mansoor, confirming at a press briefing on Thursday that the men were involved in smuggling weapons.

“Several large explosions also suggest to us that the vessel was carrying a considerable load of weapons and explosives,” he said.

Source: Lanka Every Thing

LTTE sympathy to erode over fishermen abductions

The dramatic return of 11 of the dozen Indian fishermen abducted from the sea by the Tamil Tigers marks the end of an ugly nearly 70-day saga that is bound to cost the group valuable sympathy in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, officials say.

Indian officials who closely studied the case say that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has lost face over the episode when it initially denied seizing the men who had done it no wrong until its own cadres arrested in Tamil Nadu spilled the beans.

And with the return to India of the 11 men from Tamil Nadu Friday, soon after the 12th man from Kerala got caught in a battle involving a LTTE vessel and Maldivian security forces, has only deepened the embarrassment of the Tigers and their supporters in Tamil Nadu.

'It is a huge blunder (by the LTTE),' an official here said of the abductions and the commandeering of their vessel, Sri Krishna. The 12th Indian is stated to be in custody in the Maldives now after apparently jumping into the waters.

The bizarre drama unfolded in March when the fishermen who had set out from Kanyakumari to stay put in the sea failed to return home even after weeks, sparking alarm in their families who sought help from the authorities to trace them.

The same month, Tamil Nadu was enveloped in protests over the killings of five fishermen from the state, with most political parties blaming the Sri Lanka Navy for their deaths in the sea at the hands of men from a vessel called Maria.

Early in April, the Coast Guard caught six cadres of the LTTE's Sea Tigers off Tamil Nadu and handed them over to the police after dramatically sighting the Maria floating in the sea sans any occupant.

In revelations that shocked Tamil Nadu and the Indian establishment, the arrested men confessed that it were the Tamil Tigers who had not only shot dead the five fishermen but also kidnapped the dozen men who had gone missing -- in two separate incidents.

The guerrillas - whose confessions were videoed - said that another group of Sea Tigers involved in smuggling weapons ended up killing the five Tamil Nadu fishermen when the latter picked up a row with the rebels thinking they were Sri Lankan fishermen.

One of the arrested Sea Tigers also stated that he had seen the abducted Indian fishermen in LTTE territory.

Officials speaking to IANS gave credit to Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi for giving the police a free hand to deal with the latest crisis, quite unlike in 1989-91 when his government was dismissed for overlooking similar activities of the LTTE.

The abducted fishermen have stated that they suffered while in LTTE custody, were moved from one place to another and threatened with death if they tried to escape. One of them was asked to sail with a group of Tigers who got hit near the Maldives.

Eventually, the remaining 11 men were taken to the sea and transferred on to two Indian fishing boats Friday when it became clear that the Tigers' complicity in the saga could no more be denied.

The LTTE, which has used Tamil Nadu since the early 1980s in its armed campaign against Sri Lanka, is known to have commandeered Indian fishing boats earlier too. But it is the first time it ended up seizing and holding Indian fishermen this long.

Source: IANS

Missing the boat: " Not all boats are tigers, but all captured ones are "

Recent stories about boats captured by both Indian and Sri Lankan military authorities are so dubious that we have piled up several convincing jokes on all the stealth stories of these captures and the destruction. Readers have a recollection of the recent increase in the so-called 'captured' and 'drowned' LTTE boats on the mainland as well as in the island's international waters. The claims stating that the boats belong to LTTE are quite hilarious.

In this article we produce some obvious questions that the news reporting agencies ignored. Do all of these boats belong to LTTE? In the following we found some interesting facts.

The anti-Sri Lankan Tamil newspaper, HINDU, reported on May 16th, 2007 the following:

Sri Lankan boat seized
Staff Reporter - The arrested include two Sri Lankan nationals RAMANATHAPURAM:

The `Q' Branch on Wednesday arrested six persons, including two Sri Lankan nationals, and seized a Sri Lankan boat with 50 bundles of beedis worth Rs.2.75 lakh and a van. Two 25 HP engines and another 1.5 HP motor engine were also seized. `Q' branch Inspector P.

Thiagarajan said they were arrested while trying to load the bundles onto the boat at Valangapuri near Thamaraikulam. Xavier (33) and Roshanth (23) of Pesalai in Sri Lanka, Gandhi (33) of Ponkulam, owner of the van, Baskaran (31) of Servaikara Oorani and Selladurai (23) of Thamarai Oorani in Ramanathapuram were among those arrested. They purchased beedi bundles from a shop owned by Zia-ul-Hag (47) of Ramanathapuram, who was also arrested.

How come the above boat captured by the so-called Q-branch does not belong to LTTE? This was the only time in the history of the HINDU newspaper that they reported on captured boats belonging to Sri Lanka and not to LTTE.

Smelling a rat in the story, our staff officers called the HINDU newspaper to clarify the obvious and the Hindu newspaper refused to discuss the matter.

So was LTTE smuggling beedi bundles to its war-weary military officials? If not, how come the non-LTTE boat stories are always written by a staff reporter of the HINDU newspaper?

The answer reveals some interesting facts from the HINDU newspaper and other news agencies.

We counted more than 75 news reports on the so-called mid-sea battles encountered by both Sri Lankan and Indian military officials with LTTE during the last one year period.

One wonders: is LTTE really into the business of boat making rather than a self-determined fighting machine against a terror state?

And very recently, on May 17th, 2007 the news was buzzing again and this time the tiny coastguard of Maldives swung into action.

The Associate Press states, "The Maldives coast guard Thursday sank a boat suspected of ferrying arms for separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in neighboring Sri Lanka - and captured five men", a government spokesman said.

Maldives, an archipelago of 1,200 coral islands, is located 400 nautical miles (740 nautical kilometers) southwest of Sri Lanka - But before long the story takes another turn.

Reuters reports: "However, one man who threw himself overboard before the clash and surrendered spoke the south Indian language Malayalam and not Tamil, and officials were treating the alleged rebel link with caution."

So one wonders: are all the boat stories really true or not? Should the news agencies report on something that has no news value rather than just a rumor, should the news agencies ask the obvious questions from these so-called governments which are claiming victory over sea battles?

What are these vessels doing? At any given time there are thousands of marine vessels moving in and around the globe in international waters and the ones that are sunk are always LTTE vessels.

And the pathetic news agencies reported it as if they were news worthy and therefore they, too, profit from making news.

All in all, if you believe the tall tales from these news agencies, one thing is clear: not all boats are Tigers but the ones destroyed and captured are.

Now that is no coincidence. Interestingly, during the arms surrender by the militant groups soon after the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan accord, the late President Ranasinghe Premedasa asked the obvious, "How come we have so many weapons here and how did they all come here?" And now we know they all came from the sunken ships down in the deep ocean.

Source: Tamil Canadian

'LTTE' vessel sunk off Maldives was from Kerala

A trawler which the Maldivian Coast Guard sunk on Thursday, on suspicion that it was an LTTE gun-runner, was registered in Kerala, the Sri Lankan Navy's spokesman Com DKP Dassanayake told Hindustan Times on Friday.

The vessel bearing the name Sri Krishna ( registration number KFO 7339 ALP 2749) had set sail from Kollam (Quilon) in Kerala on March 7, Dassanayake said.

The Indian Coast Guard had last seen the vessel on March 12, near the India-Sri Lanka maritime boundary off Pamban near Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. It reappeared on Wednesday May 16, south of the Maldives chain of islands. Trouble arose with it fired on a Maldivian fishing boat and invited the attention of the Maldivian Coast Guard vessel Huravee. After a 12-hour stand off, the trawler was sunk early on Thursday.

Four of the nine-member crew were captured, one surrendered, and four were killed, reports said. The man who surrendered was Simon Soza, a Malayali, the vessel's engineer, Dassanayake said. The others were apparently Tamils.

The suspicion that Sri Krishna was a gun-runner for the LTTE arose because of the kind of resistance the crew offered and also the explosions which could be heard as it sank. Reports said that the vessel, which started off as an innocent deep sea fishing trawler, was hijacked by the LTTE to do some gun-running for it.

There is a suspicion in diplomatic circles that the vessel was to rendezvous with an ocean going LTTE arms vessel in the high seas off south Maldives, and take on board a part of the lethal cargo for delivery in Sri Lanka. This could be the reason why the engineer of the vessel, the Malayali Simon Soza, had jumped ship and surrendered to the Maldivians, it is said.

Maldivian fears

However, the Maldivian authorities are reluctant to say, at this point of time at least, that the vessel was an LTTE gun runner.

"We are now treating this with caution, because the man (who surrendered) was speaking Malayalam and not Tamil," the chief Maldivian government spokesman, Mohammad Shareef, told media on Thursday.

Diplomatic sources said that there could be a worry that tourism, the Maldivian economy's mainstay, may be badly hit if it is known the world over that the most peaceful and idyllic archipelago in the Indian Ocean has become a rendezvous for terrorists.

India's worries

It is learnt that thorough investigations are going on in the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India to get to the bottom of the matter and nip any terrorist activity in the area in the bud. India, which has a strong and long standing relationship with the Maldives, does not want to see the Maldivian economy collapse on account of any terrorist activity.

Earlier in 1988, the Indian Navy had intercepted a vessel carrying Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries who were trying to seize power from President Mohammad Gayoom and hand it over to some leaders of the opposition.

Sri Lankan view

The Sri Lankan media has already announced that that the vessel was an LTTE gun runner. The media and the government, are keen to show that the incident is another proof that the LTTE has been increasingly using South India to smuggle in arms for its operations in the Sri Lankan North-East.

Sri Lankan naval sources say that smuggling of war-like material from Tamil Nadu has increased in the past six months and cite instances in which the Tamil Nadu police and the Indian Coast Guard had captured such material and made some arrests. It is pointed out that the LTTE had killed non-cooperating Indian fishermen in March and had also abducted 12 persons, according to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police D Mukherji.

The LTTE, however, has denied any role in the killings and abductions of Tamil Nadu fishermen. And on the incident in the Maldives, its military spokesman Rasaiah Ilanthirayan said: "These guys are not ours."

Source: Hindustan Times

Maldives destroys boat suspected of carrying LTTE arms

The Maldives coast guard yesterday sank a boat suspected of ferrying arms for separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in neighboring Sri Lanka and captured five men, a government spokesman said.

Maldivian fishermen spotted the boat on Wednesday evening and gave chase after believing it was a fishing boat poaching in their waters, Maldives government spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said.

When the boat's crew opened fire on the fishermen, they informed the Maldivian coast guard, which later sank it after a 10-hour stand off, Shareef said.

One of the men captured later said the boat had weapons and ammunition aboard, Shareef said, adding the five were being interrogated.

Maldives, an archipelago of 1,200 coral islands, is located 400 nautical miles (740km) southwest of Sri Lanka.

Tamil Tiger spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan denied the rebels' involvement.

"We have nothing to do with this and they are not our people," he said by telephone.

In 1988 a former Tamil separatist group based in Sri Lanka, the People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam, attempted to overthrow President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and seize power in the Maldives for a group of local dissidents. In return, the group was to receive a base on the archipelago.

However, Maldives security forces, with help from India, defeated the coup.

The Tamil group later gave up arms and entered mainstream Sri Lankan politics.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels have continued to fight for more than two decades to create a separate homeland for the country's 3.1 million ethnic minority Tamils.

Source: Taipei Times

MNDF says sinks suspected vessel in Maldives Water

The Maldives coast guard opened fire on and sank a vessel carrying suspected Tamil Tiger rebels on Thursday after a 12-hour standoff at sea in their southern territorial waters, the government said.

However one man who threw himself overboard before the clash and surrendered spoke the south Indian language Malayalam and not Tamil, and officials were treating the alleged rebel link with caution.

"We have sunk the vessel. We have captured the five people aboard," Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed told Reuters by telephone from the Maldivian capital of Male.

A government spokesman said one of the captured men said four people he believed to be Tamil Tigers had boarded his 80 ft (25 metre) fishing trawler at sea and loaded it with guns and mortar bombs.

He said there was confusion over an initial coastguard report that the man had identified himself as a Tamil Tiger.

"We are now treating this with caution, because the man was speaking Malayalam and not Tamil," said chief government spokesman Mohamed Shareef.

Sri Lanka's Navy has sunk several boats and trawlers in recent months suspected of trafficking weaponry for the Tigers across the Palk Strait that separates Sri Lanka and India.

Maldivians are mindful of an abortive coup attempt in 1988 by dissidents backed by Tamil paramilitaries from Sri Lanka, which ended in the Indian Navy chasing and sinking a vessel the plotters had tried to escape on with hostages.

The Tamil Tigers, fighting for an independent state in neighbouring Sri Lanka, were not immediately available to comment on the incident, which took place several hundred nautical miles off the south of the Maldives archipelago.

Source: Reuters