Cablegate: Sri Lanka: Update On Jordanian Ship Grounded Off

VZCZCXRO6244
PP RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHLM #2139 3630659
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 290659Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5041
INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 9740
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 6678
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 4744
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3418
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0426
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 3510
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2592
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 7242
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 0306
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 5011
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1654
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

UNCLAS COLOMBO 002139

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: UPDATE ON JORDANIAN SHIP GROUNDED OFF
NORTHERN COAST

REF: COLOMBO 2126

1. (U) December 28-29 saw a barrage of media articles on the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) boarding a Jordanian
vessel and forcing the crew to raise anchor, causing the ship
to be grounded off the coast of Mullaitivu in the north
(ref). Papers reported that the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
(SLMM) ruled the act a violation of the 2002 Cease-Fire
Agreement and reiterated the Tigers have no rights to Sri
Lankan territorial waters. The media also quoted government
officials condemning the LTTE act of piracy.

2. (U) According to press reports, the Sea Tigers who boarded
the ship December 23 initially tried to explode the anchor
with dynamite, but when that attempt failed, armed Sea Tigers
forced the crew to pull up anchor. The LTTE then made the
crew members get into waiting motor boats, injuring several
of them in the process. As reported reftel, the LTTE
released the crew members to the Red Cross and they were
brought to Colombo. Government papers called the incident "a
blatant act of piracy" because the Tigers forcibly entered
the ship, stole equipment, and evacuated the crew. A
December 29 Daily News article said that when a Chinese ship
was similarly attacked in the Mullaitivu area in 2003 and 23
people were killed, the SLMM laid the blame on independent
"criminal elements" though most people assumed the Sea Tigers
were the guilty party. In this case, several news articles
noted, the ship's captain clearly said the Tigers are
responsible, leaving no doubt the LTTE has committed piracy.

3. (SBU) The grounded vessel remains off the coast of
Mullaitivu with its cargo intact. Major Rajapaksa of the
National Security Media Center told emboff in a December 27
phone conversation that the Sri Lankan Air Force and Sri
Lankan Navy (SLN) have the ship under constant surveillance,
but the SLN cannot approach it because the LTTE have
shore-based guns in the vicinity. According to DAO's
sources, the ship may be stuck until the weather changes in
May.
BLAKE

© Scoop Media