US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1781

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001781 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT, EUR/UBI, EUR/NB; NSC 
FOR E. MILLARD 
 
PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  10-14-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, CE, NO, EI, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  Tiger delegation wraps up meeting in Ireland 
and proceeds on to Norway 
 
Refs:  (A) Dublin 1369 (Notal) 
-      (B) Colombo 1778, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  The Tamil Tigers have wrapped up their 
meeting at the Glencree Center for Reconciliation 
located south of Dublin.  The Glencree meeting appears 
to have helped the group further polish its response to 
the GSL's north/east interim administration proposal. 
The Tiger delegation is now on its way to Oslo for 
discussions with the Norwegian facilitators.  If all 
goes smoothly, the Tigers and the GSL seem on target to 
restart direct negotiations by next month.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (U) GLENCREE MEETING:  The Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have wrapped up their internal 
October 6-10 meeting at the Glencree Center for 
Reconciliation located south of Dublin.  Political Wing 
Chief S.P. Thamilchelvam and Eastern Province military 
commander Karuna led the LTTE team attending the 
discussions.  A number of pro-LTTE Tamils from outside 
of Sri Lanka also attended the meeting.  Several 
international legal experts also participated, including 
Professor Anthony Regan of the Australian National 
University and Professor Christine Bell of Ulster 
University.  As it did during a similar LTTE meeting in 
Paris last month (see Ref B), the Canadian NGO, the 
"Forum of Federations," also briefed the group on 
federalist constitutional options.  Norwegian government 
Special Envoy on Sri Lankan peace facilitation issues 
Erik Solheim also participated in some of the 
discussions (see below).  While in Ireland, the LTTE 
team also reportedly visited the Irish Parliament at the 
invitation of Sinn Fein parliamentarians. 
 
3.  (C) LITTLE INFORMATION ON SUBSTANCE:  As with Paris, 
the Glencree meeting appears to have helped the group 
further polish its response to the Sri Lankan 
government's interim administrative arrangement proposal 
for the north/east (see Ref B).  The Tigers have 
revealed little of substance about the nature of their 
Glencree discussions, with the pro-LTTE website 
"TamilNet" providing only sketchy coverage, for example. 
S.P. Thamilchelvam was quoted in the local press in Sri 
Lanka, however, as stating that the meeting was 
"constructive" and that he thought the Tigers' 
counterproposals would be welcomed in a positive manner 
by the GSL. 
 
4.  (C) Local Tamil politicians also did not have much 
information regarding the exact nature of the Glencree 
discussions.  After noting that he had not received a 
full briefing regarding Glencree as of yet, however, R. 
Sampanthan, a senior MP for the Tamil National Alliance, 
told poloff October 14 that he was encouraged by the 
"depth" of the Tigers' discussions about the GSL's 
interim administration proposal.  Echoing Thamilchelvam, 
Sampathan added that he thought the group would come up 
with "positive" counterproposals, which the government 
would be wise to take seriously if it wanted the peace 
process to move forward. 
 
5.  (C) ON TO NORWAY:  The Tigers' tour of Europe 
continues.  After a brief stop in Denmark, Thamilchelvam 
and Karuna are scheduled to hold meetings October 14-17 
in Oslo with Norwegian government officials, including 
Foreign Minister Jan Petersen.  During the visit, the 
LTTE team will also meet with representatives of the 
local Tamil community in Oslo and make a stop in Bergen. 
Asked about the visit, Kjersti Tromsdahl, a Norwegian 
Embassy poloff, told us that the GoN wanted to review a 
number of issues related to the peace process with the 
LTTE leaders while they were in Europe.  Tromsdahl noted 
that Solheim thought that Glencree had gone well, with 
the Tigers taking the discussions very seriously. 
 
6.  (C) COMMENT:  The plan for some time now has been 
for the Tigers to provide their counterproposals to the 
Norwegians in October and for the GoN to convey them 
onwards to the GSL (lead government negotiator G.L. 
Peiris told DUSTR Shiner October 14 that he expects the 
government to receive the LTTE counterproposals on or 
about October 26).  The idea is that these 
counterproposals would form the basis for a new set of 
face-to-face talks involving the GSL and the LTTE 
beginning in the November timeframe.  At this point, the 
positive news is that this schedule seems to be holding. 
There remain some concerns in Colombo circles, however, 
that the Tigers may try to drive a hard bargain with 
their counterproposals, thus complicating any talks that 
do take place.  END COMMENT. 
 
7.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD