JVP 1971 insurrection: April 9 at Tangalle

by Capt. FRAB Musafer, 4th Rgt. SLA (Retd.)

(Continued from last week)

Having left the two platoons at Tissa we made our way to Tangalle. The convoy was flattering although the the men in it were limited in numbers. As we approached the police station we were fired upon by a jittery police but fortunately unhurt. ASP Jim Bandaranayke requested me to to do a circuit around Tangalle town as a show of strength to deter any attack on the Prison that was virtually next door and unguarded.

I was leading the convoy when the lights malfunctioned and I asked one of my sergeants to lead the convoy in his jeep and that I would follow him. He went berserk at my request and asked me if I was talking nonsense. “Sir pissu katha karanna epa” to which I responded by reminding him that we were the Army and could not show any fear in the presence of the police. He reluctantly agreed but to my dismay just asked his driver to drive as fast as possible and as a result left the convoy behind.

His action brought home the reality that an element of fear and self preservation was creeping into the soldiers minds. Having driven through the deserted town we returned to the police station and took up positions around the prison.

That night was one of anxiety waiting for an attack that never eventuated. From that day onwards we were permanently stationed at the police station premises. Along with the ASP Jim Bandaranayake there was HQI Inspector Outschoorn, Inspector Boteju of athletic and cricketing fame and a young SI whose name I sadly cannot recall.

It was only recently that I came to know that Inspector Ivan Boteju (later SSP) had defied orders from the highest echelons and refused to surrender to the LTTE. He had fought valiantly until they were overrun and eventually executed in cold blood in Vavuniya. This was soon after the Indian Peace Keeping Force left the island and a peace accord was being brokered. In all a total of over 600 policemen were believed to have been butchered and executed having followed orders to surrender. The treachery of the LTTE!

Whilst in Tangalle the two youngest MP’s, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the former President of Sri Lanka accompanied by the late Anura Bandaranaike called in at the Tangalle Police station proudly displaying their Smith and Wesson pistols given by the Army Commander, Gen Sepala Attygalle. They were provided an Army/Police escort to their residence.

Coordinating officers were appointed in various parts of the island with the dual responsibility of coordinating military operations and restoring normalcy. Colonel Derrick Nugawela, a volunteer officer, was appointed Coordinating officer for Hambantota and set up his headquarters in the Hambantota rest house with Major George Fernando and Capt Ratnasabathy as his Staff officers.

Colonel Duleep Wickramanayke of the Artillery was appointed coordinating officer at Matara with gunner officers of the likes of Capt TonyAbeysena, Lt Neil Dias and Lt Parry Liyanage and Major Nanayakkara (SLI ) to form his team. Officers and men of 3v Gemunu Watch were also deployed in this region.

Colonel Douggie Ramanayake was appointed the Coordinating officer Galle whilst Colonel Ranatunga was appointed to Kegalle. My orders were to remain in Tangalle with specific instructions to secure the prison which in the meantime were filling up with suspected insurgents.

April 10

With Colonel Derrick Nugawela appointed as the Coordinating Officer for Hambantota I was now reporting to him and relieved of a burden of responsibility.On that morning we took some measures to improve the security around the prison and police station. and took up defensive positions that night. There was no attack. In the morning we were informed that the Beliatta police station had been attacked and made a beeline to Beliatta around 6.30 am. The police had repulsed the attack and there were no casualties on either side.

We ventured towards the bus stand that was just across the road from the police station and found a few young men loitering around. When questioned they said they were waiting for the bus. It was strange that there would be that many youth there so early in the day. It soon became obvious when it was observed they all wore boots, condemned army boots with its trademark hole. We rounded them up and handed them to the police.

Some of the things they said were interesting, most had been promised jobs, one in the CTB as manager at Kataragama. When asked how this was to be implemented they replied the older people over age 45-years were to be eliminated to make way for them. I wonder if there was any truth in that statement. None of them had been issued with guns only hand made bombs, those who were issued with shotguns had probably made their escape in a lorry which did not have room forcing them to take the bus.

Army Commander, Gen Sepala Attygalle

Meanwhile the country being in turmoil, uncertainty and fear prevailed in the minds of the policemen. There was some tension and discontent at the Tangalle police station as the constables were beginning to feel the strain and wanted to take vehicles out and take the law into their own hands. They were also demanding to see their families in their villages etc. Some of them wanted to burn the houses of suspected JVP sympathizers and also Wijeweera’s mothers house and collect the poultry.

ASP Jim Bandaranaiyke addressed the situation by asking me to take charge and address his men. I did so and imposed my own rules, that no one was to leave the police station premises in any vehicle unless accompanied by the army. They were told that the army would not hesitate to shoot anyone disobeying orders. The wireless operator had then contacted Matara Police and had complained at the conditions imposed on them and the legality of the order, he was told that the Coordinating officer at Matara Colonel Duleep Wickramanayake had threatened to line them up against the wall and shoot them if they failed to comply with the orders given to them. It was accepted that the army was now in charge and from thereon tensions eased.

Some of the smaller police stations were withdrawn to the larger ones. The OIC of Walasmulla Police station refused to withdraw as he had some expensive hi-fi equipment in his home that he did not want to abandon.

In the absence of any intelligence and no concerted insurgent activity in the area we were confined in our task to protect the police station and the prison. The deploying of the Artillery platoon at Tangalle was based more from political pressure as we were a regular army unit whilst two volunteer platoons were sent further south.

During this time the Tangalle Bay hotel was being built and the owner, Dr Wickremasuriya, had the glass panels for safe keeping in the police station premises. I thought it was not the best of ideas having seen the damage caused at Wellawaya. There was no electricity in the region, power was by way of generators requisitioned from the cinema in town. The cold rooms of the Fisheries Corporation was badly affected and as stocks were going bad we helped ourselves to some of the best seafood perhaps of a lifetime, king sized prawns, lobsters and seer fish thereby saving on our ration allowances.

On one occasion we, in a show of force, accompanied the police on information that there were bombs in a coastal village not far from the town reputed for its thugs and violence. What we found was a single homemade bomb hidden away among some plantain trees. There was no one who could confirm it was a bomb; nor did anyone have the expertise to dispose of it. Bomb disposal is a special skill and not something that one should ever attempt.

The police on the other hand thought we could do anything and everything and as such we had to find a solution to impress upon all those around us. I had with me Sgt Jayatilleke who was an army marksman and a sharpshooter and had impressed me when he brought down a young coconut with a single shot of his sterling sub machine gun (SMG) whilst resting in the Tissa police station premises. He came to my rescue by shooting the supposed bomb from a safe distance after having cleared the inquisitive crowd. There was no bang but all were impressed of our capability to do anything.

Each night we anticipated an attack on the prison and police station that never eventuated. On one of these nights Sergeant Jayatillake checking the guard positions accidentally discharged his sterling submachine gun at Bombardier Jayaweera hitting him on his shoulder. It was a situation that created some mayhem. Sgt Jayatilleke came running to me in tears crying out that he had shot Bombadier Jayaweera and in an uncontrollable state of shock threatening to kill himself.

When I saw Bombadier Jayaweera’s injury it was a clean wound well away from his chest, he was in a state of shock but surprisingly cool. He requested me to let him lie down so that he could die there. I assured him that he would not die as the injury was not that serious. We were fortunate that the surgeon of the Tangalle hospital (I think it was Dr Buultjens ) lived next door who attended to him and reassured us that it was not a life threatening injury but recommended that he be taken to the Matara hospital.

As there was a curfew in place, the coordinating officer at Matara Colonel Wickramanayke who was also my commanding officer of the regiment was informed and the injured despatched in an army truck. Sgt Jayathilleke was a mental wreck and had to be sedated for a few days. Bdr Jayaweera never regained the full use of his shoulder and was later retired on medical grounds.

The country was in turmoil, there were many police stations and areas that were in insurgent hands in almost every province except the Northern and Eastern provinces. In Kegalle, Major Jayantha Jayaratne and Capt Sirilal Weerasooriya (who became the Army Commander in 1998) had the opportunity to fire the 76mm Yugoslavian mountain gun for the first time at insurgent hideouts, something deemed a far fetched reality a few years back.. These were the only battle worthy Artillery pieces the Army had at that time.

During the latter period of the insurgency China gifted us with their version of the 85mm field gun. India, Pakistan, America, Britain and Russia had come to our assistance supplying arms and equipment. Rumour was rife that the 24-hour curfew was imposed to ferry arms from Singapore on Air Ceylon planes and that Indian troops were securing the airport and the harbour. There were Indian and Pakistani helicopter pilots flying missions to supply arms and ammunition.

While Tangalle was never attacked nor had been under a direct threat we were being supplied with an array of automatic weapons and ammunition, too much in fact that I that I feared for their security and safety. These drops were interesting in that there was no paperwork issued to acknowledge receipt and the foreign pilots took off no sooner the load was dropped. It was Hi and bye.

Around April 17 Col Nugawela informed me that his staff car was being sent to Colombo for replacement and that I could go home for a day provided I could get some one to hold the fort at Tangalle. The Coordinating officer at Matara obliged by releasing Lt Rohan Liyanage ( Parry). who had hurt himself and could not be used on operational duties.

On my way driving past the Ambalangoda police station premises I saw Brigadier Douggie Ramanayke the Coordinating officer Galle marshalling his troops of the field engineer regiment and Gemunu watch to re-capture Elpitiya as this was a region still under the control of the JVP 12 days after the initial attack.

As there was no means of direct communications (no mobiles) the families of the officers sent out on deployment at very short notice, were constantly enquiring the whereabouts of their spouses from the sweet talking Adjutant Capt Siri Samarakoon who was smart enough to allay their fears with the sweetest of lies. Unfortunately with the prolonged duration of the insurgency he ran out of ideas and was badly caught out.

When I went home unexpectedly that evening my wife asked me if Parry Liyanage was dead . I replied that I was home for a day as it was he who relieved me. She did not believe me and said that some people had even attended his funeral. Parry later confirmed that his mother was subjected to a lot of embarrassment as people had turned up at his home to pay their last respects.

There were so many rumours of all sorts being circulated in Colombo, one of which was the Kataragama murder which had been openly bragged at the CR & FC by Lt Wijesuriya himself resulting in him being investigated and stood down.

(To be continued)