THEroadfrom Nedunkeni,a small townin Vavuniya
in the NorthernProvince,to Mullaitivu,by the Bayof
Bengal,is barely 30 km.Google Mapssaysthedis-
tancecanbe coveredin justoverhalfan hour.Butit
takesmorethanonehourbecauseof thesecurity
screeningsalongthe way.
Thefirst checkpointwherethe overbearingsecur-
ity personnelcheckIDs, vehicles, bagsandalmost
anything is where the roadforksto Oddusuddanand
Thanniyuttu. A uniformedofficerexaminedthiscor-
respondent’s passport,thenationalID of thedriver,
conducteda shortinterview,searched bags,andthen
allowed the car to proceed. At Thanduvan, the
headquartersof the Gajabaregiment, it wasthe turn
of a highwaypatrolto stopandaskquestions;later
camea checkpointnearthe 592 Brigadeheadquar-
ters;thenanother neartheSri Lanka lightinfantry
FirstBattalionheadquarters. As thevehiclemoves
around Mullaitivu,whichwasthe siteof the laststand
of the TamilTigersin 2009,moremandatory check-
ingfollows: neartheSecurityForcesheadquarters,
the 591Brigadecampusjustoutsidetown,the SLNS
Gotabaya naval base, and the 681 Brigade
headquarters.
At Nandikadal lagoon,theentireareawhere the
lastof theTamilTigerswere killedin 2009,is a
military area, withSLNSGotabayaoccupyinga vast
partof it; the 681 Brigadeheadquartersis in Vella
Mullivaikkal. Large swathes of landin Mullaitivure-
mainfencedoff by onearmof thesecurityforcesor
another.
As onetravelssouthtowardsTrincomallee,there
area clutchof defenceestablishmentstoo:SLNS
Ranweli; Basehospital, Pulmoddai;headquarters of
the 12thBattalion light infantry;headquartersof the
59 Division; 593Brigade;1st Battalionof the Gemunu
Watch;anda SpecialForcestrainingschool.The
checkingis sometimeselaborate.On the Mullaitivu-
Trincomalleeroad,aheadof crossing the Pulmoddai
bridge,the vehicleis searchedin greatdetail.Thisis
the AOR(Areaof Responsibility)of the 593Brigade.
Furtherdownthe roadis the 6th BattalionVijayabahu
Regimentandthe SLNSWalagamba.
Trincomallee is home to a servicesgolf links
(Eagles Gold), SLNS Mahaweli, the Air Force
Academy, the 4 ArmouredRegiment, theArmy
Schoolof Logistics,the15thBattalionSL Lightin-
fantry on the Trincomallee-Battiroadandthe SLNS
Gokanna. Thelist of institutions of the armedforces
providedhereis notan exhaustiveone.
In short,morethana decadeafterthe war,north-
eastern Sri Lankaandmuchof the NorthernProvince
is undertheintrusivewatch of theArmedForces.
Therehavebeenno seriousuprisings or instancesof
violence,but the governmentfeelsthatthe forcesneed
to remain in a stateof perpetualalertin the north.A
variety of establishments, including Buddhist
temples, army-runshopsandgardens, havecomeup
all overthe north.Thereare manysimilaritiesin the
army’s presencein thenorthwiththatof theIndian
Army’s presencein Kashmir.
Afterthe bombings, the EasternProvince,particu-
larlythe Muslim-majority towns,are facingthe same
kindof intrusivescrutiny andsearches.Kattankudy,a
Muslim-majoritytownjustsouthof Batticaloa,has
comeintosharpfocussincetheApril21 blasts. The
mastermindof the blasts,ZahranHashim,is fromthis
townandmanyMuslimsacrossSri Lankahaveroots
in andaround thissmalltown.Almostall security
agenciesin Sri Lankaandthe regionhavebeenin the
towntryingtofigureout howextremistthoughtsand
preachingwentbeyondmerelypickingup a gun.
Kattankudy, in fact, is the new Kilinochchi.
Kilinochchi, a nothing-townin the NorthernProvince
alongtheColombo-Jaffna A-9highway,wasthead-
ministrative capitalof theTamilTigers andwasthe
onetowntheSri Lankanforcesweredesperateto
overrun in the Eelamwar.
Newcheckpointsare coming up all alongthe East-
ern Province as the Sri Lankan stateseeksto replicate
thefail-safe NorthernProvinceformulain theeast.
TheTamil problemhada solutionbasedon intrusive
security. Thehopeof the Sinhalaestablishmentis that
the newterrorproblem,whichoriginatedin the east,
willalsoyieldto a similar solution.
R.K.Radhakrishnanin KattankudyIntrusive watch
AHOUSETHATWASDESTROYEDin thelast
stagesof thebattlein 2009in Vellamullivaikalalong
theParnthan-Mullaitivuhighway.
R.K.RADHAKRISHNAN