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Lankan police uncover plot to disrupt SAARC summit, kill Kumaratunga

P Jayaram in Colombo

Two days before the SAARC summit in Colombo, the Sri Lankan police took into custody two suspected Tamil Tiger militants armed with powerful bombs in a northern suburb.

Police officials said the women were arrested close to the Kadawatte telephone exchange.

The police believe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been responsible for more than 25 bomb attacks on telephone exchanges, and electricity transformers across the island in the last two months.

Officials said the bombs were packed in plastic lunch boxes containing a kilogram of plastic explosives, with a fork and spoon on top.

The arrests came a day after the chance discovery of a similar bomb near a transformer at Negembo, about 35 kilometers north of Colombo.

A schoolgirl found a plastic lunch box under a transformer and took it home. Her father informed the police when he saw a watch and two wires inside the lunch box. The police bomb disposal squad defused the bomb.

Earlier, the police uncovered a plot by the LTTE to assassinate President Chandrika Kumaratunga. The Sunday Times reported that the assassination bid was to be made on July 22 by a female suicide bomber during a Hindu cultural programme to be attended by Kumaratunga.

''Although they were unaware of the plot at that time, security authorities had advised the president not to attend the programme. She had instead delegated Cultural Affairs Minister Lakshman Jayakody to take part,'' stated the weekly.

The report said the plot came to light following the interrogation of Ganesh Thanarani of a female LTTE suicide cadre. Eight members of the cadre, including three journalists from Virakesari -- a leading Tamil daily were arrested.

The plot was to target Kumaratunga in the same manner as Rajiv Gandhi and then president R Premadasa were assassinated. ''Plans had been afoot for a suicide bomber, suspected to be Thanarani, to explode herself when President Kumaratunga took part in the function,'' the newspaper said, quoting a 'high-ranking source.'

The interrogation of Thanarani, described as a ''hardcore LTTE intelligence cadre," led to the seizure of three suicide jackets, over ten kilograms of explosives and 25 cyanide capsules from a grocery store in the predominantly Tamil Jampetta street.

Five suspects, including the grocery shop owner, were taken into custody.

The arrest of the three journalists, including its astrology columnist -- also an assistant director in the government's Hindu culture affairs department -- followed the interception of a letter written by the suicide bomber to one of the journalists after her arrest.

Colombo has been placed under unprecedented security ahead of the tenth SAARC summit. The government has activated the biggest security operation in the city in view of the summit. According to the police, most of the roads in the city will remain closed during the three-day summit.

Some 4,500 additional recruits have been deployed along with regular police personnel along the roads to check the identity of pedestrians and vehicle users.

The army's air mobile brigade has also been deployed, while the air force is standing by to provide any assistance.

The Taj Samundra hotel, overlooking the Indian Ocean and where the delegations will stay, is out of bounds for visitors.

UNI

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