Claiming that the killing of his close confidante S P Thamilselvan in an aerial strike by Sri Lankan Air Force on Friday was “an unparalleled loss” to the rebel outfit, Tiger Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran has vowed to carry on his struggle for a separate state.
“In a new form, he joins our liberation struggle which is moving on like a lengthy river of blaze. In this new form, he has set alight in our heavy hearts a deep yearning for the goal.”
 “He has nourished that yearning. Strengthened by his nourishment we will continue to travel on our path towards the goal with renewed determination,” the rebel leader has been quoted as saying in his condolence message.
Claiming that slain Thamilselvan’s death has resulted in “profound shock and sorrow”, the rebel leader has said that he had raised him “as a great commander, an unparalleled political head, a diplomat who communicated with the entire world, and a skilled negotiator”.
Thamilselvan is the highest-ranking rebel leader to be killed by government forces in the history of the bloody ethnic war and his death is widely seen as a major setback to the rebels politically as he was the point of contact for the outside world.
Accurate reports
Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said that “the successful air strike which killed Thamilselvan along with five top rebels conducted by the Sri Lankan Air Force on Friday morning was based on “accurate real-time intelligence reports”. Prabhakaran, who paid his last respect to Thamilselvan by garlanding his remains in an open coffin covered with the Tiger flag, has also said that despite the repeated and continuous calls from the international community to find a peaceful resolution to Tamil national question, they “have not seen any goodwill from the Sinhala nation”.
“We do not see the Buddhist universal love. Sinhala nation did not open its heart and send a peace message. On the contrary, it is sending war-vultures that are dropping giant bombs. It has cruelly killed our peace dove,” Prabhakaran has been quoted as saying in his message.
Four Tigers killed
Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry said that four Tiger terrorists were killed and four bunkers were destroyed when a fresh confrontation ensued between the army troops and a group of rebels in Forward Defence Line area at Muhamalai in the Northern Jaffna peninsula Sunday morning.
It said one soldier was also killed while another injured in the clash.