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Madhu where the LTTE began its retreatJune 14, 2011, 8:48 pm
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Except for isolated security points situated along the Medawachchiya-Mannar road, there is hardly any evidence to suggest once heavy military presence to meet LTTE threat on this vital road link. The LTTE operated in both sides of the jungles targeting both military and civilian targets.
Now those travelling to Madhu shrine are unlikely to be stopped by troops until they reached the turn off to the 12 km long newly laid stretch of road leading to the church. Speeding along the Medawachchiya-Mannar road early in the morning to Madhu, the writer felt that with the conclusion of the war in May 2009, there had been a significant drop in the military presence, though some bases remained.
Vehicles turning towards Madhu aren’t checked, though drivers had to report to an army point at the entrance to the road.
Due to the coastal road north of Puttalam still being in a dilapidated condition, the majority visiting Madhu still had no option but to travel on A9 and take Medawachchiya-Mannar road. Once the coastal road is restored, pilgrims and travellers alike could reach Mannar sooner, without having to take the Puttalam-Anuradhapura road to reach Medawachchiya junction.
Those driving along the Medawachchiya-Mannar road, come across Manik Farm and adjoining facilities run by the government with the help of UN agencies and other organizations for the war displaced. At the conclusion of the war, there had been about 300,000 IDPs and the vast majority of them were held at Manik Farm under the supervision of the military, though there are very much less than 20,000 persons accommodated there now.
Reaching Madhu shrine at about 10.30 a.m. we were confronted by a distraught family and some Catholic priests. For want of transport, they inquired from my brother-in-law Dilruk Soysa whether he could move an elderly person, who had suffered an electric shock while trying to fix a bulb in a dwelling belonging to the church, to the government hospital at Murunkan, situated on the Vavuniya-Mannar road. The man didn’t survive, though he was rushed to the hospital. Although my brother-in-law missed the 11 a.m. mass, he didn’t hesitate to drive all the way to Murunkan, though two others had declined to help. Devotees and visitors alike leave their shoes and slippers outside and enter the venerated church. In the middle, devotees kneel in prayer, quietly make their way towards the altar, across the length of the church, where the statue of Our Lady of Madhu is placed. The Sinhala priest who delivered a short sermon didn’t mince his words when he lashed out at the women from the south for not being properly dressed.
The Catholic Church should discuss the possibility of setting up adequate medical facilities at Madhu with the Health Ministry to meet an emergency situation. Due to the growing number of pilgrims visiting Madhu, the Church and the government could no longer ignore the need to enhance medical facilities at Madhu.
With the dawn of peace, the 400-year-old church is likely to attract thousands of visitors every weekend. The LTTE controlled the area surrounding the church, though it hadn’t a large presence until the Army opened up a new front west of A 9 road in early March 2007.
The newly raised 57 Division launched operations targeting Madhu area as fighting was continuing in the East. In fact, the 57 Division fighting on the Vanni west was on its own and took heavy losses as it made slow progress. Later the army headquarters brought the 57 Div under Maj. Gen. Jagath Dias as part of its overall efforts to strengthen command and control structure of the fighting formation.
The LTTE held on to Madhu until the third week of April 2008. The liberation of Madhu by the 57 Div was the first significant victory achieved by the Army on the Vanni front. In May 2008, the Task Force I fighting on the western flank of 57 Div, commanded by the then Brigadier Shavendra Silva captured Adampan, thereby threatening the enemy on a wide front.
The Madhu area has to be regained without causing any damage to the shrine. The LTTE and those who represented its interests felt that a misguided army assault could pave the way for a massive propaganda campaign against the government. But the LTTE plan didn’t materialize due to the cautious approach on the part of the 57 Div, which relentlessly pursued its objective without resorting to overwhelming firepower.
The army declared a four square km no fire zone surrounding the church to ensure safety and security of the church, the Catholic clergy and people living in the area. In spite of the LTTE inducting some of its best fighting units to stall the advance of the 57 Div, troops slowly fought their way into commanding positions surrounding the church. By the first week of April 2008, about 11 months following the opening of the Madhu front, the LTTE knew it could no longer halt the army and ordered the priests and nuns at the Church premises to abandon the place along with the statue of ‘Our Lady of Madhu’. The statue was taken to Thevanpitti in Vellankulam, about 20 kms north of the Madhu church.
The 572 Brigade was tasked with keeping the Church under surveillance. While the 572 Brigade stepped pressure on the LTTE deployed in the no fire zone around the church, the 571 Brigade cut off the area from the northern direction. With that the LTTE abandoned the Church allowing the army to move in at 1 a.m. on Apr 24, 2008, thereby achieving a difficult task under an extremely dicey situation. The 57 Div fought the LTTE on three fronts, though the pressure somewhat eased after the Task Force I launched offensive action in Sept. 2007, thereby forcing the LTTE to divert its resources to counter the two fighting formations.
Although a section of the media and some experts believed that the army at the behest of the political leadership would try to seize Madhu ahead of the traditional Sinhala new years, the 57 Div wasn’t in an indecent hurry.
The LTTE deployed the Charles Anthony ‘Infantry Division’, Malathy Women’s Brigade and Radha ‘Special Operations Corps’ to thwart the army advance. The LTTE formations had been under the command of ‘Colonel’ Lakshman (aka) Letchumanan in charge of the Mannar district.
Some believed that LTTE’s Madhu defences had been under the special military commander ‘Colonel’ Jeyam, an experienced LTTE commander and a veteran of many battles. But he was not a match for the 57 Div commanders.
Soon after the liberation of Madhu, the military facilitated the return of the statue. On instructions given by army headquarters, the army handed over the church to the Bishop of Mannar Rayappu Joseph after effecting repairs to the church premises.
The LTTE’s retreat from Madhu was the beginning of their end. After liberating Madhu in Apr 2008, the army didn’t stop until it reached Nanthikadal lagoon in May, the following year.