Chinese Trawler was not attacked by a “third party” – SL Navy

[May 7, 2003 - 11.00 GMT] 

The Sri Lanka Navy’s Board of Inquiry into the sinking of the Chinese trawler off Mullaitivu coast, has submitted its much awaited report to President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

“Though there is no direct hard evidence, the circumstantial evidence points to LTTE being the perpetrator of the attack,” the report says.

The Chinese fishing trawler, ‘Fu-Yung-Yu 225’ went down off the eastern coast on March 20, killing eighteen fishermen, when an alleged LTTE vessel attacked it. 

The Navy report says “Considering the LTTE’s involvement in such attacks in the past, the location of the attack and the fact that the LTTE is the only militant group capable of such attack, known fact that only LTTE Sea Tiger Wing contain male and female cadres… the Board is of the opinion that the LTTE is responsible for this attack and it has been deliberate”.

To prevent such incidents in the future, the Board of Inquiry recommends among other measures, that no vessels be permitted to operate in high-risk areas, and that sufficient punitive action be taken against vessels that do not abide by these measures. 

The Board of Inquiry is confident that the deed was done not by a "third party" as speculated by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). 

PRINT THIS STORY

Contact Information: Send mail to gosl@presidentsl.org with questions or comments about this web site. 
Last Updated Date: May 06, 2003  - 10.45 GMT.