The Killing Fields of Wahalkada

Body of a civilian who was killed at WAHALKADA is lying at his home

Unilateral cease-fires notwithstanding, the LTTE terrorists continue to violate their own, self-declared cease-fire with impunity. The latest outrage being the killing of four farmers, the injuring of one and the abduction of another at Wahalkada in the Kebitigollawa Division of the NCP.

The brutal slaughter of innocent, uninvolved civilians soft targets continues unabated. None of these men were even remotely involved with the Security Forces. They were honest-to-goodness hardworking tillers of the soil, eking out an existence from rice farming.

Weeping relatives

Six individuals were returning early in the morning from a night watch over their rice fields. This is done to keep out elephants and other wild animals that might otherwise damage their crops if left untended. This was when they encountered a group of terrorists, now estimated to be about 100-strong.

Having been surprised by the farmers, the terrorists fired and shot one of them dead. One, Vijitha Kumara, was injured as they all scattered and ran for their lives into the thick jungle.

Relatives and villagers have gathered to pay their last respect to their beloved comrade

Vijitha Kumara escaped and raised the alarm that led to the Security Forces in the area to deploy troops to search for the terrorists and the missing men. Later in the afternoon, troops, still searching, found the bodies of three of the four missing men bringing the death toll to four,

The dead farmers were P. Dharmadasa, W. Premachandra, U. Tikiri Banda and B. Raipal. The missing man was U.B. Rathnayake, a 45-year-old farmer. The injured Vijitha Kumara was later evacuated to the Anuradhapura Hospital where he is receiving medical care.

In continuing search operations in the area, troops found traces of the terrorist presence, discovered an abandoned terrorist base camp and some items of clothing with bloodstains on them. It is now believed that the terrorists have holed-up in the Peraru jungles, north north east of Wahalkada village, fearing Security Forces retaliation.


The corpse is being taken to the cemetery in a funereal procession.

Internationally, the terrorist spin doctors, lobbyists, apologists, and supporters have gone into overdrive claiming that they are the victims of an intransigent, bloodily repressive government bent on annihilating the Tamil community. However, the ground reality is otherwise. To date and still counting, there have been 122 serious violations of the terrorist’s so-called unilateral ceasefire declared on 24 December 2000. These blatant violations have resulted in five deaths, two wounded, and one missing person amongst ordinary folk. On the military side, there have been four deaths and 49 wounded in action. That is the plain truth about the terrorist’s cease-fire, now entering its third (!) month, and it also says a great deal about their credibility.

Indeed, the Killing Fields are not limited to Wahalkada village. The Killing Fields encompass the entire Island of Sri Lanka as these cowards strike without warning, wantonly maiming and killing ordinary men, women and children. Their cease-fire was supposed to be a goodwill gesture. Could this latest of outrages be another one of their goodwill gestures?

7 March 2001, Courtesy of SLA Web

  Home