Cablegate: Sri Lanka: Isolated Violent Incidents in North And

VZCZCXRO3278
PP RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHLM #1184/01 2001131
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191131Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3874
INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 9323
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 6219
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 4254
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3094
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 9802
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 3183
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM PRIORITY 0288
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2260
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA PRIORITY 0214
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 6769
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 4640
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001184

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: ISOLATED VIOLENT INCIDENTS IN NORTH AND
EAST CONTINUE

1. (SBU) Summary: A July 12 gun battle between the Sri
Lankan Army (SLA) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) in the eastern region of Batticaloa left
12 SLA troops and reportedly 4 LTTE cadres dead and
marked the beginning of several small violent incidents
in Sri Lanka's north and east, including 2 claymore mine
attacks that killed a total of 5 civilians. Against
this backdrop, the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL)
recently made a generous gesture of good faith by
permitting LTTE spokesman Daya Master to come to Colombo
for medical treatment. The LTTE did not reciprocate with
any such confidence-building measure. Persistent
low-level violence is now the norm, with violations of
the Cease-Fire Agreement on either side but no return to
full-scale hostilities. End summary.

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ISOLATED INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE CONTINUE;
DEATH TOLL AT 75 SINCE JULY 1
----------------------------------------

2. (U) According to press reports, a July 12 gun battle
in Welikanda, in the eastern region of Batticaloa,
between the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), left 12 SLA troops and
possibly 4 LTTE cadres dead. Several SLA soldiers
were reported missing after the battle. On July 17,
the LTTE said it had detained one soldier and gave the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
permission to visit the detainee.

3. (SBU) Although the first week of July was relatively
peaceful, a total of 75 people have died in violent
incidents since July 1, including 29 Sri Lankan
security forces, 4 paramilitary troops, 12 LTTE
cadres, and 30 civilians-- 25 Tamils, 4 Muslims, and 1
Sinhalese. Low-level violence continued after
the July 12 skirmish. The morning of July 16, the
LTTE launched an attack against the Selvanagar Army
Camp in Trincomalee District. One soldier was killed
and one civilian was injured. The Sri Lankan Army's
website reported that Sri Lankan troops returned fire
on the Tigers, but the number of LTTE casualties was
unknown.

4. (U) The press also reported that on July 16 in
Jaffna, two Tamil civilians were shot and killed by
unidentified assailants alleged to be LTTE cadres.
That same day in Batticaloa, 4 Tamil civilians were
abducted, one of whom was later found shot dead. An
Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) press release
accused the LTTE of the abductions. The Media Center
for National Security also blamed the LTTE, positing
that the deceased victim was a former LTTE cadre and
citing villagers saying the 3 surviving abductees left
the area to join the LTTE.

5. (U) A remotely detonated claymore mine, presumably
placed by the LTTE, killed one Sri Lankan Army (SLA)
soldier, wounded 2, and injured 4 civilians near the
Sivam Kovil (a Hindu temple) in the Jaffna Area on
July 17. Later that same day, another claymore mine
injured an SLA soldier on foot patrol near Mannar on
the west coast.

6. (U) In Ampara July 17, Special Task Force (STF)
personnel arrested an armed LTTE suspect at a
roadblock. Just after midnight that night, LTTE
cadres fired on a police patrol in Ampara, injuring a
constable. Another claymore mine blast in Jaffna July
18 killed one and injured 6 civilians and 4 soldiers.
The same day, a claymore mine was discovered and
defused near a dormitory at Batticaloa's Eastern
University. On July 19, a claymore mine in Jaffna
killed 1 SLA officer and 1 civilian and injured 10

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others.

7. (SBU) In a July 19 phone conversation with poloff,
a spokesman for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
(SLMM) said he was "90 percent sure" the LTTE was
behind "most" of the claymore attacks. The spokesman
noted that the current situation is so fragile that
any small act of violence leads to escalation,
although he was not sure the responses on either side
were pre-meditated.

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"HUMANITARIAN GESTURE"
-----------------------

8. (U) On July 13, the GSL permitted LTTE spokesman
Daya Master to come to Colombo for medical treatment.
In press reports, GSL Defense Spokesman Keheliya
Rambukwella called the action a "humanitarian gesture
that might resuscitate the peace process." The
Buddhist monk-based Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU)
registered vociferous objections. A JHU-affiliated group
called the National Movement Against Terror (NMAT) staged
a protest outside Master's hospital, demanding that he
be arrested. Master reportedly underwent an angiogram
and was then released and returned to LTTE
headquarters in Kilinochchi.

9. (U) July 16, papers prominently featured an appeal
from the mother of a Sri Lankan police officer being
held by the LTTE. The officer was taken into custody
10 months ago when he pursued a suspected foreign
pedophile into LTTE-controlled territory. A newspaper
quoted the policeman's mother asking for her son's
release as an equivalent "humanitarian gesture" to
match the GSL's assistance to Daya Master. July 18
press reports said the LTTE is willing to negotiate
the policeman's release only if 5 LTTE cadres held by
the GSL are released.

10. (SBU) In a July 19 phone conversation, a pro-LTTE
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian told
emboff "A humanitarian gesture is expected to come
naturally. It cannot be used as a bargaining point."
Jayadeva Uyangoda, a Colombo University professor,
echoed those sentiments in another July 19 phone
conversation with poloff. The professor said the
government media exacerbated the situation by trying
to portray the action as both humanitarian and as a
quid pro quo negotiation effort.

11. (SBU) Uyangoda noted that the last week has seen a
drop-off in the number of civilians targeted, perhaps
due to international pressure. He said that the
current violence is qualitatively different from the
1995-2000 era, when large-scale military engagement
was the norm. He assessed that low to mid-level
violence would continue in a "managed war," with both
sides denying responsibility.

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COMMENT
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12. (SBU) Comment: The steady drumbeat of low-level
violence over the past few weeks is now sadly routine.
The GSL's decision to permit Daya Master access to
medical care in Colombo surprised many and alienated
Sinhalese hard-liners. With the LTTE's intransigence
about releasing the GSL policeman, the government also
faces criticism for not having gained anything in
return for the humanitarian gesture to the LTTE. In
addition, the attempt to portray the action as both
humanitarian and self-interested seems to have back-fired.
End comment.

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