LTTE DISINFORMATION EXPOSED

This report is not only totally false but also a desperate attempt by the LTTE to cover up for the failure of its cadres to achieve their objectives due to the high level of alertness shown by the security authorities of the Colombo Port.

In addition to a detailed account of the incident issued by the Defence Ministry immediately after the incident, the same morning, a group of journalists including foreign correspondents representing major international news agencies who were taken in and around the Port area by boat, clearly saw whatever damage that was caused by the abortive attack of the LTTE. An AFP report filed subsequent to this visit, having made reference to the LTTE claim of having sunk six naval vessels observed that "however, just after the attack the Ports Ministry allowed journalists and cameramen into the Port where they saw the remains of one suicide bomber and minor damage to two foreign owned vessels and one local merchant ship". Commenting on the LTTE claim, the report filed by the Associated Press states "the military denied the report and reporters taken to the scene by the government saw little evidence to support the rebel claim."

Such persistent boasts by the LTTE of so called "military successes", not only shows their desperation to justify their military failures, but also reflects an assumption that the international community would be gullible enough to accept whatever line the LTTE chooses to sell, despite independent eye witness accounts to the contrary.

21 April 1996

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