COLOMBO, 8 July 2004 — A suspected Tiger rebel set off explosives strapped to her body, killing herself and four police yesterday in the first suicide attack in the Sri Lankan capital since a truce was reached in 2002, officials said.
The woman who had disguised herself as a civilian was escorted to a police station opposite the US and British diplomatic missions after guards prevented her from entering the Hindu Affairs Ministry here, defense officials said.
Officials said they believed the attack was the work of the Tamil Tigers and aimed against Hindu Affairs Minister Douglas Devananda, who has survived at least three previous attempts on his life.
“I was told that a woman wanted to see me, but she was refusing to be checked by the security staff,” Devananda told reporters. “Then I told my people to inform the police and that is how she was taken to the station.”
Devananda is a member of the minority Tamil community, which is predominantly Hindu, but opposes the Tigers whose three-decade armed campaign for a separate Tamil homeland has claimed more than 60,000 lives.
“She was being questioned and about to be searched by two women police constables when the blast occurred,” a military official told AFP. “It was a powerful explosion and rocked the adjoining buildings.” The government condemned the attack. “The perpetrators of this act show callous disregard for human lives and are reverting to violence as a means of settling disputes,” it said in a statement.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga said late yesterday that the Tamil Tigers had denied any hand in the suicide bombing. She told state television that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) made the denial through peace broker Norway and promised to uphold the cease-fire that is in place since February 2002.
“The LTTE has denied involvement in today’s attack,” Chandrika said. “We have to investigate the truth, but the LTTE said even after the incident today that they will abide by the cease-fire.” Chandrika said she would not allow the bombing to derail the Norwegian-backed peace process which remains on hold since April last year.
