'Incident-free WC cricket matches prove annihilation of Tigers'

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20110401_01 'Incident-free WC cricket matches prove annihilation of Tigers' Had the LTTE retained at least one per cent of its military capability, it would have certainly staged an attack during the World Cup Cricket qualifying matches played in Sri Lanka, says Sri Lanka's No 2 at the UN Maj. Gen. Shavendra Silva. Even a minor incident could have embarrassed the country and strengthened those seeking to undermine post-war recovery effort, the soldier says. "Presence of international print and electronic media in Colombo especially for cricket coverage could have caused chaos," the diplomat said. In a brief interview with The Island on Thursday (Mar. 31), Maj. Gen. Silva said that those who believed that the LTTE would launch at least hit and run attacks would have been really disappointed by the incident-free matches. The bottom line was that the LTTE military machine had been wiped out and its leadership either killed, in custody or taking refuge overseas, the former General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 58 Division said. Responding to a query, the Gajaba veteran said that having realized the LTTE rump couldn't even cause a minor incident, some pro-LTTE website declared, in the run-up to the semi-final between Sri Lanka and England in Colombo, that gunmen had targeted an army convoy in the East. Military convoys, the Maj. Gen. said was a thing of the past and nothing could be as foolish as ongoing attempts to offset battle-field rout through planting news items. Maj. Gen. de Silva's Division led the final assault on the LTTE Vanni east front, where the enemy groupings, including its top leadership were wiped out. Sri Lanka declared end of combat operations on May 19, 2009. A victory for Kumar Sangakkara's team at Saturday's final against India in Mumbai would be a tribute to those who made the supreme sacrifice in the war against terrorism, Maj. Gen Silva said. The New York based diplomat said that the ICC denied Pakistan an opportunity to host at least one match citing security concerns. Had the SL armed forces failed in their mission, we, too, would have experienced the same fate, the Maj. Gen. said. "What we have achieved was unthinkable. At the last edition of World Cup cricket in early 2007, LTTE fixed wing aircraft caused mayhem by dropping bombs at Kolonnawa and Muthurajawela. And we were still fighting in the East, while facing the LTTE which had the Vanni under its control," he said. President Rajapaksa was away in Barbados to watch the final between Sri Lanka and Australia when the government was forced to switch off power in the entire country due to LTTE attack, Maj. Gen. Silva said. But within four years, under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the country had triumphed over terrorism, he said, adding that the entire nation would be free watch Saturday's encounter without expecting any trouble. In the run-up to the final, the Amnesty International launched a propaganda campaign targeting the Sri Lankan team over human rights violations committed by government forces, the Maj. Gen. said. He said that India's Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri invited him along with Pakistan's top diplomat at the UN to watch Wednesday's semi-final between India and Pakistan. Maj. Gen. Silva said that unlike any previous World Cup final this would be between two SARRC nations. He said that he had an opportunity to congratulate Kumar Sangakkara on Thursday ahead of team practices and wish his team success at the final. Although Sri Lanka lacked the advantage of playing at home, the team had the strength to beat India, he said. A victory in Mumbai for Sangakkara's boys would be a tremendous boost to Sri Lanka's image abroad. Courtesy : The Island