And now for something completely different – “Victor Claymore”!
Beginning with a story of Andare, Sri Lanka’s inimitable court jester, I go on to explore in a similar vein the phenomenon of unexploded ordinance in Sri Lanka, looking particularly at the emergence of “Victor Claymore”.
Victor Claymore refers to none other than our current Inspector General of Police and, as was told to me by a Policeman, is an epithet the Police force itself uses when referring to him.
Sri Lanka is awash with claymores and Victor is incredibly adept at discovering them at times and places most beneficial to the government. The claymores Victor discovers are hastily hidden and never explode on time or as planned. What is more, none of them are set of remotely during the process of discovery. Once, a claymore got in the way of a JVP rally in Colombo. Then there was the claymore in Delkanda recently, positioned strategically close to a SLFP rally and in the middle of a busy market. It never went off. Sripathi also claims of a conspiracy to kill him using claymores.
Never one to be left out of the limelight, even Keheliya Rambukwella had a claymore scare. What’s interesting however is that instructions for the use of the claymore in this instance (“This side up”) was written in Sinhala! But Victor Claymore even had an answer for that – apparently, it was captured in 1996 by the LTTE when they over-ran a military camp in Mullativu. Vintage claymores are clearly in vogue.
Let’s take another case – that of the explosive laden truck sent by the LTTE to Colombo. What does our Victor Claymore do? Instead of immediately and in secret mobilising check-points and police operations to ferret out this truck, he goes public with the news and even tells us the colour of the truck. That is, of course, if there ever was such a truck in the first place!
We recall that Victor’s support for the eviction of Tamils from lodges in Colombo was in part based on his phantasm that some residents in these lodges, members of the LTTE, were planning an imminent attack on the Colombo Port. We all know the sordid details of what ensued.
With an IGP behaving like Andare, I end by wondering, what more can we really expect from those in high public office so demonstrably partial to the whims and fancies of those in power?
Read my article, written in Sinhala, in full for the full story. It is available as a PDF here, and on Vikalpa.
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are you saying seriously saying that claymores and bombs were planted by police? and that ltte has not explodes and attempted to explode claymores and bombs in colombo and other places ?
are you saying that claymores and bombs did not explode killing and injuring ppl? did we imagine all that ?may be you think that was all manipulation of the media by government ?
may be you believe that ltte never did anything to hurt a soul? may be ltte is not a bunch of convicted criminals thugs oppressing sri lankans with mass violations of all human rights but a non violent bunch of democratically selected tamils trying to redress tamil’s problems with due consideration to other nationalities? may the wrong impressions about ltte is due to the propaganda of the illegitimate non democratically elected government trying to meddle in the affairs of sri lankans it wrongly claims to represent ?
is that what you believe? that it is all a government conspiracy ?( i take it you are convinced about the white van conspiracy as well?)
how dastardly! we and our senses must have been mislead by victor, keheliya, and their predecessors ? may be burning flesh, smoke, twisted metal , and above all blood, i and other sri lankans saw, smelt, and felt were all hallucinations due to some sort of advanced mind control equipment?
compared to you our level of iq and brain must be in a totally different place to be so delusional and blind about the actions of government and ltte
By far one of the most [edited out] articles I have ever read. You start sounding like Tamilnet and expect people to take you seriously?
There have been a number of instances of police manipulation of incidents of this nature in the recent past. This is because the police has become a political tool of whoever party in power. Even JVP claimed that was is been used to suppress opposition forces when Wellawatta claymore was ‘recovered’.
On the claymore that Sripathi alleges was placed against him, there has to date not been any inquiry on the charge that it was planned and placed with the complicity of the police.
Furthermore, what happened to the two explosive laden vehicles after UNP- SLFP-M Janarala meeting? Where did they go? Did they vanish? There is not even any mention of on-going investigations into it after the brouhahas that surrounded the issue in the lead up to the rally.
After any general election, notwithstanding whoever comes into power, the police recover bombs and guns from the opposition supporter’s houses!
In mid 90s grenades and other explosives were recovered by the police hidden at a temple next to the Military police HQ at Narahenpita. An assistant labour commissioner was arrested with much publicity. Six months later he was released and court found that those bombs were planted by the very same police who recovered them!!
And very recently five fishermen in Negombo were arrested for alleged sea-tiger attack on the harbour. Graphic descriptions were given on the incident saying three sea tiger boats were destroyed. All five fishermen were released without any charge. The story was a complete fabrication.
When the journalist Maunasamy Parameswari was arrested the police informed media that 12 kilos of high explosives were recovered in Gampaha district by the police after a tip off. Newspapers carried this as the head line story. No police station in Gampaha district recovered any explosives related to the story. It was again a complete fabrication. Not a single charge against Parameshwaree was brought forward by the Police, who nevertheless detained her for months.
What is more, when the Naval officer Rohana Gamage was arrested the police said he was a LTTE spy. And provided “evidence”. He was released without any charge. The story was complete fabrication.
These are examples of irrefutable public record conveniently forgotten by those who seek to paint the Police as professional and impartial guardians of the law.
I can provide even more instances, but believe these suffice for now. if some one wants to read more incidents like this, openly anti-LTTE sources such as the UTHR-J’s recent reports also provide many more instances of the Police acting in a manner that’s far removed from their avowed professionalism.
Let’s not forget that the Police are widely perceived as the most corrupt institution in Sri Lanka (in Sinhala here) and that the incredible statements by former DIGs such as Kotakadeniya also point out to a serious credibility gap in what the Police say and do.
Sunanda Dehapriya
let us examine how mr sunanda deshapriya justifies his claims that police planted claymores and bombs.
he claims that jvp and other political parties ( whenever they are in opposition, ) claimed that police planted incriminating evidence. is that acceptable proof ? can he prove those claims of political parties with evidence? or does he believe all the claims made by political parties without questioning? or only those in opposition? or only jvp? how does he differentiate what claims to believe and what not to believe ? clearly we need more than claims
and does that take way the reality of the fact that ltte does plant and attempts to plant bombs and claymores that actually kill and have killed? he doesn’t answer the question. does he believe ltte never hurt a soul?
now let us turn to specific cases he cite with highlighted text
yes fishermen arrested were released but does that mean ltte did not attack in this case or before?
and wasn’t ltte members with boats and bombs discovered on the coast north of colombo few months before this particular attack, in another attempt to attack the harbor? didn’t some of them commit suicide by exploding themselves ? wasn’t galle harbor attacked and ltte boats destroyed and ltte member skilled ? wasn’t trinco harbor attacked ? that some fishermen were arrested on suspicion and released does not take way the fact that ltte attempted to attack the harbor and armed forces and some common ppl prevented that. mr deshapariya logic is faulty and he doesn’t prove that police staged the attack or it was a ‘complete fabrication’
as far as i know and widely reported in the media, ms parameswari was arrested in a sting operation aimed at a ltte member ( believed to be a female suicide cadre, who is still in custody) . ms parameswari was accompanying her when intelligence officers caught her. it may be that ms parameswari is innocent and was merely being used without her knowledge, by the ltte member, but there certainly were grounds for the initial arrest and detention. see what happened to that indian doctor in australia . he was arrested bc he gave a sim card to a would be terrorist relative. all this does not prove it was a ‘complete fabrication’ by the police, again mr deshapariya’s logic is lamentably faulty.
even in the case of rohana gamage, mr deshapariya shows his irrationality. arrest and release of an individual does not indicate police created ‘a complete fabrication’ . it merely proves they were mistaken, evidence is not enough, they were on the wrong track etc etc. does mr deshapariya think that when suspects are arrested and released by police for some crime or other ( anywhere in the world) the police were guilty of ‘fabrication’? police are not the court, they investigate and they have the power of detention to help in the investigation. this is done by all police all over the world. even when the court releases a suspect after a case( as again happens all over the world) that does not mean police ‘fabricated’.
of course there may be particular cases where individual police officers have planted evidence ( and he is able provide only one case in the examples from mid 90s) but does such individual and few instances by one or two police officers justify blanket accusations against police contained in the post above while totally disregarding ltte’s numerous attempts at attacks? such individual criminal conduct is found in all police forces. such officers of course should be disciplined and punished.is mr deshapariya saying that officers properly convicted of such a crime were not disciplined?
instead of ‘irrefutable ‘arguments mr deshapariya has merely shown that he has only a slim grasp of logic. and prefers to deal in empty slanders and absurd conspiracy theories instead of reality and facts .
nothing he says takes way the fact that ltte has attacked and attempted attack with bombs and other means. and that police and others has prevented some, while in other cases terrorists have succeeded in killing and maiming people. it takes a particular mindset to be blind to all that.
mr deshapariya has complained several times in the media that various ppl have accused him of being a terrorist supporter or a terrorist apologist. readers of this post would have had good opportunity to judge for themselves whether his accusations against igp and police or other ppl’s accusation against mr deshapariya have the better justifications.
Answer me one question sittingnut!
Are the police in first world countries more brutal and corrupt than police in third world countries?
suntzu, despite being a very unsubtle troll – I think I’ll take that challenge.
Two links of interest – check Wikipedia for instances of police brutality. You will find that the majority of cases documented there stem from the United States. I’ve seen worse than third world conditions inside the United States myself – but by general definitions, I think you’ll find that they are classed as a first world nation.
Examine the Amnesty International 2007 report (as I have) and you will see that 102 countries have documented instances of police excess and brutality. Considering that first world countries are outnumbered by third world countries by a factor of 4 (conservatively speaking); in absolute numbers perhaps the third world does have more cases. With your vague wording, it’s impossible to answer further. I saw Greece, Bulgaria, Poland and Italy (all members of the EU). I saw the UK mentioned as well.
Perhaps your question is indicative of rhetoric rather than an actual point. Pray, quantify the parameters and we can refine the answer further. I myself am interesting in finding out.
Now, the question arises in my mind. Why would you want to conflate the issue of alleged claymores plants with police brutality and corruption? Are there, perhaps, too few instances of police brutality and excess to be found by your good self? Must you clutch desperately at the illusory bulkwark of alleged planted claymores to highlight police connivance with political aims?
Answer me this, “suntzu”.
You’re not taking your moniker to heart and practicing dissimulation to cover up a faulty premise for this original article, are you?
Wellawatta claymore story under suspicion
(Lanka-e-News, 2007 August 16, 5.45 PM) The recovery of a travelling bag that contained two claymores, three hand grenades, two detonators, and a cyanide capsule from a car parked in the premises of a lodge in Wellawaththa is suspected to be an attempt to trouble the owner of the lodge.
The lodge is the dwelling place of the seven petitioners who filed applications over fundamental rights violations in Supreme Court, against evacuating 376 ethnic Tamils from Colombo lodges after a discussion between the Secretary of the Defense Ministry and the senior police officials.
Lanka-e-News learns that the bag of bombs suddenly appeared from a room of the lodge following the lodge owner’s non-response to threats to remove the seven petitioners from the lodge.
An individual who came to the lodge around 7.45 AM yesterday had left his travelling bag there, after the workers turned down a request from him for a room since they do not rent single rooms. The suspected man told that he came to obtain a passport.
As soon as the lodge workers lodged a complaint at the Wellawaththa police station, the officials rushed into the lodge and recovered the bombs. The lodge workers have divulged the physical characteristics of the suspect.
Police said that several occupants of the room which the suspect expected to stay were arrested for interrogating and still a clue to identify the person have not been revealed.
Lanka-e-News learns that the police rushed into the lodge as soon as the suspect kept the bag there and left.
drac …check this out…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_terrorism_in_Sri_Lanka
suntzu,
That you choose to point to a wikipedia article to prop up your point of view is telling indeed. When you find a clue, please examine the edit history of your linked page at length. Please also read the discussion.
you pointed me to a wikipedia article contains 8 accusations post 2006 – 6 of them by pro-LTTE groups. Are you denying that the pro-LTTE groups have the most to gain from accusing the government of state terrorism?
Since one stupid link deserves another … suntzu, check this out – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_attacks_attributed_to_the_LTTE
I see several references to claymores in there. Clearly, I win at the internet!
drac…read your link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_attacks_attributed_to_the_LTTE
now go to the bottom of the page, and under,
Categories: Terrorist attacks attributed to the LTTE | Terrorist incidents | Civilian massacres in Sri Lanka
…click on Civilian massacres in Sri Lanka read about massacres attributed to the Sri Lanka Armed forces!
A * Allaipiddy massacre
* Akkaraipattu massacre
B * 1990 Batticaloa massacre
E * Eastern University massacre
J * Jaffna lagoon massacre
K * 1987 Kokkadichcholai massacre also known as Prawn farm massacre
* 1991 Kokkadichcholai massacre
* Kumarapuram massacre
* Kumudini boat massacre
M * Mirusuvil massacre
* Mylanthanai massacre
N * Nagerkovil school bombing
* Navaly church bombing
P * Padahuthurai bombing
* Pesalai Church attack
R * 2007 murder of Red Cross workers in Sri Lanka
S * St.Phillip Neri church bombing
T * 2006 Trincomalee massacre
* 2006 Murder of TRO workers in Sri Lanka
* 1974 Tamil conference incident
* Tampalakamam massacre
* 2006 Trincomalee massacre of NGO workers
V * Vaharai Bombing
ps. the rest of the massacres are attributed to the LTTE. Over to you drac!
Oh dear. Reading comprehension not your strong point, suntzu? I tend to find that the case with the hysterical shills. I said my link was a foil to your own stupidity in relying on wikipedia – and you seized upon it and proved my point.
When you can summon up an argument even slightly germane to the point under discussion, let’s talk, suntzu.
I don’t usually debate people with a two syllable vocabulary and a one-track mind but in your case, I’ll make an exception.
Well drac…facts are stubborn and the truth is bitter…but people like to believe what they want to believe! That is why some of them still like to read the Lake House papers and watch the news on Rupavahini and ITN!
Remember that there is no smoke without a fire!
Some people are so blind with patriotism that they can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it !
I think it was Voltaire who said, “As long as people believe in absurdities, they will continue to commit atrocities.” And this just what has been happening in the 20 odd year war in Sri Lanka!