| COMMUNITY |
| Message Boards Chat Feedback |
| SITE SOURCES |
| Contents Help! Search CNN Networks |
| SPECIALS |
| Quick News Almanac Video Vault News Quiz |
 |
Security boosted after 12 killed in Sri Lanka blast
January 25, 1998
The damaged temple
Web posted at: 12:43 p.m. EST (1743 GMT)COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- Security has been stepped up after at least 12 people were killed and a temple badly damaged in a suicide bombing that came only days before 50th anniversary independence celebrations.
Police announced that more troops and policemen from other areas would be moved into the central town of Kandy, where the bombing occurred Sunday.
A defense ministry statement blamed the bomb attack on separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas.
"A suicide squad of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had proceeded in a lorry along Raja Veediya (road) and had fired at the roadblocks. The lorry crashed through the gate and exploded in front of the Dalada Maligawa (temple)," the statement said.
However, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam did not claim responsibility for the blast.
The ministry said the three rebels and eight civilians were killed in the incident, but the director of the Kandy General Hospital said that 10 civilians had died in the blast.
Police survey an area of temple debris The truck bomb damaged the entrance and the roof of the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth), which is mainly Buddhist Sri Lanka's holiest shrine and houses a sacred tooth of Lord Buddha. The inner chamber housing the relic was not damaged in the attack.
The blast in Kandy, 72 miles (116 km) northeast of the capital Colombo, came only days before Kandy's February 4 celebrations to mark the island's 50th anniversary of independence from Britain.
"We see it (bombing) as an attempt to disrupt the celebrations and provoke a backlash," said Kandy Mayor Harindhanath Dhunuwila. "We have to be careful how we tackle the situation."
A government spokesman in Colombo said the celebrations in Kandy would not be canceled.
Ethnic clashes could threaten the government's attempt to persuade Tamils they have a future within a unified Sri Lanka.
On Thursday, local government elections will be held for the first time in the northern Tamil heartland of Jaffna. After the vote, Parliament is expected to debate a new constitution that would give local councils wide autonomy, including a Tamil-administered area to partly meet the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam demand for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and south.
A section of Sri Lanka's Buddhist clergy have been trying to rouse public opinion among the Sinhalese majority against the draft constitution, saying it would divide the country along communal lines.
Ketheswaran Loganathan, an author of books on the ethnic conflict, said the attack was unlikely to alter the equation.
"The hard-liners will remain hard, while those favoring peace will support the proposals," he told Reuters.
But Harry Goonatilleke, a retired air force chief, said the blast could change the opinion of people who are undecided about the proposals.
"Those sitting on the fence might decide against the proposals," he said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- 8 killed in Sri Lankan blast at temple - January 25, 1998
- Sri Lanka rebels attack police station, kill 20 - May 12, 1997
- Report: 1 million children hurt by Sri Lankan conflict - November 12, 1996
- Former Sri Lanka president dies, leaves mixed legacy - November 1, 1996
- Sri Lanka pays high price for endless war - August 28, 1996
- Sri Lanka: Civil war in paradise - October 30, 1995
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- Sri Lanka Web Window
- Sri Lanka (from the CIA World Factbook)
- Tamil Eelam home page
- Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - profile from the Naval Postgraduate School
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
|
Sound off on our message boards & chat |
|
© 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
A Time Warner Company
All Rights Reserved.