COLOMBO - Sri Lankan war planes Tuesday ‘flattened’ the Tamil Tigers’ radio station, killing civilians, just moments before the broadcast of an annual speech by the rebels’ leader, the guerrillas said in a statement.‘The Voice of Tigers buildings... was bombed by Sri Lanka Air Force at 4.30pm, today, War Heroes’ Day in the Tamil homeland,’ the rebels said in a statement. ‘Many civilian employees present at the Voice of Tigers office to broadcast the War Heroes’ commemorations were killed by the bombing. The Voice of Tigers buildings were flattened,’ it said. The statement said government jets dropped a total of 12 bombs, which also killed several civilians.
The station in the north of the island had been due to start broadcasting an annual speech by the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Velupillai Prabhakaran, less than an hour after the raid. PrabhakaranÂ’s speeches are always pre-recorded.