Days before the military decided to destroy the bunker of LTTE Leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran security forces personnel repeatedly chased away Tamil residents arriving to see the site admonishing them for having voted for the Tamil National Alliance at the September 21 poll.

Commander Daya Ratnayake

“We have done so much for you people, still you went and voted for the TNA,” the soldiers told residents, chasing them away from the bunker.

The four storey bunker in Puthukuduirippu in the Wanni had become a major tourist spot in the four years after the war. The most frequent visitors to the bunker were Sinhalese war tourists from the South. It has long been considered to be the most sought after attraction on the LTTE tourism trail in the North.

Sources told Colombo Telegraph that the military had denied ‘tourists’ official permission to view the bunker over the past week.

Residents reported smoke rising from the bunker after they heard the sounds of a massive explosion at the site last evening.

Some sections of the TNA believe that the removal is related to the TNA victory at the provincial election which removes the military’s technical writ over the former LTTE strongholds of the Northern Province.

Military Spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya has said the bunker was destroyed because it was on the verge of collapse and said there was no reason for it to remain standing.