TAMIL TIGERS DEMAND A RAILAWAY TAX FROM RANIL WICKREMESINGHE TO LET TRAINS PASS THROUGH TO BATTICALOA
By Walter Jayawardhana reporting from Los Angeles
July 10.10.15 PM:The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has demanded the Ranil Wickremesinghe government that the Sri Lankan authorities should pay a “tax” to allow Sri Lanka government trains pass through “their territory”.
The Tamil Tiger terrorists suspended the Batticaloa trains by removing the sleepers of the railway track near Vantharamulai and Komanthurai between Valaichenai and Batticaloa stranding hundres of commuters traveling from Colombo to Batticaloa, July 8.
The protection “Kappam” or “tax” as they call it had been demanded through a message sent to Valaichchenai railway authorities , political sources in Eastern province said.
Due to the unprecedented demand by Ranil Wickremesinghe government’s peace partner with whom the Prime Minister signed a ceasefire agreement about one and a half years ago the Sri Lanka government Railway suspended all trains to Batticaloa until further notice.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has been enjoying various privileges under the Ranil Wickremesinghe government after the rebel group supported Ranil Wickremesinghe led United National Front to win elections. The newly formed government stopped the international pressure on the rebel group to retrench minor Tamil children for war after which the rebel group started recruiting nearly 10,000 helpless Tamil children from their homes and schools while the parents were up in arms against it.. The country’s opposition several times alleged that the Defense Minister of the new government Tilak Marapone allowed many LTTE shiploads of arms and ammunition in to the country. Pro-UNF police officers, to the glee of the LTTE, raided the Sri Lanka Army’s intelligence safe house, weakening the country’s total intelligence network. The government has admitted that the LTTE has sent hundreds of suicide bombers and teams of pistol toting assassins to the capital city after Ranil Wickremesinghe proudly announced that barriers and checkpoints were removed to exhibit the new spirit of the ceasefire agreement.
The railway authorities informed the threat to its trains by the LTTE to Norway backed Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission but so far the Scandinavian monitors have not taken up the matter with the Tamil Tigers.
