Colombo, (IANS): The toll in a massacre by suspected Tamil Tigers cadres in a predominantly Sinhalese village in eastern Sri Lanka Saturday has risen to 21 with over 20 more wounded, the defence ministry said Sunday.

by Ru Freeman

Published on Saturday, February 21, 2009 by CommonDreams.org

A few hours ago, two aircraft flown by a terrorist group, LTTE, recognized as such by the US, were foiled in their attempt to attack the Sri Lankan capitol of Colombo. Though both planes were shot down, two civilians were killed and forty-six others injured.

The air raid by the LTTE that took place on Friday evening was an extraordinary event, with an added human interest inasmuch as it happened while the Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights was entertaining Sir John Holmes to dinner. Sir John, like Colonel Fazackerley in the poem of that name, was magnificently calm throughout the episode, while SMS alerts proliferated around the table.

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In a revealing interview tracing the origins of Tamil nationalism and militancy, Ahilan Kadirgamar speaks to C Rajeshkumar alias Ragavan — a founder member of the LTTE — about the early years. Ragavan left the Tigers in 1984 and has since lived in exile in London. Ahilan, a contributor to Lakbimanews, offered this interview originally published on the web, for publication in this newspaper. Excerpts: