US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1826

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001826 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  10-21-13 
TAGS: PGOV, MOPS, PTER, PHSA, KPAO, CE, NO 
SUBJECT:  In meeting with the Ambassador, Defense 
Minister reviews recent controversy involving monitors 
 
Refs:  (A) Colombo 1808, and previous 
 
-      (B) USDAO Colombo Ce IIR 6 816 0010 04 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead. 
Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  In an October 20 meeting with the 
Ambassador, Defense Minister Marapana related that based 
on what he understood the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission 
(SLMM) had inadvertently  thwarted a recent attempt by 
the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) to intercept a suspected Tiger 
arms ship.  In light of the incident, Marapana said new 
operating procedures had to be developed with the SLMM. 
Marapana's calm reaction was worlds away from that of 
the press which accused the monitors of "tipping off" 
the Tigers.  This latest incident comes at a time of 
increasing discontent within the military over the 
SLMM's inability to resolve Tiger ceasefire violations. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C) DEFENSE MINISTER CONFIRMS INCIDENT:  The 
Ambassador met with Defense Minister Tilak Marapana on 
October 20.  During the discussion, Marapana confirmed 
the broad contours (with one key distinction) of press 
reports about an incident that took place off the 
northeast coast on October 16.  According to Marapana, 
early on October 16 the SLN had received what appears to 
have been reliable reports that a Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) arms resupply boat was in 
international waters off the northeastern coastal town 
of Mullaitivu, a well-known LTTE base of operations. 
Prior to searching for the Tiger ship and per 
established procedure, the SLN contacted the SLMM to 
arrange for one of the group's monitors to be present on 
board the naval vessels sent out for the search. 
(Note:  The inclusion of an SLMM member by the SLN 
during such searches was agreed to after the sinking of 
an alleged LTTE ship in June where no monitoring 
personnel were present.)  Marapana said the GSL had 
reason to believe that on receiving this information 
someone in the SLMM telephoned the LTTE and asked 
whether there was an LTTE boat in the area.  Perhaps 
acting on this information, the LTTE boat escaped the 
SLN's reconnaissance net (see Para 6 for further 
information regarding the reported boat).  Contrary to 
the press reports (see below), Marapana said he believed 
that the SLMM's efforts were not an atempt to help the 
Tigers escape detection. 
 
3.  (C) While agreeing that the exclusion of the SLMM 
from SLN operations was not an option, Marapana admitted 
that different operating procedures needed to be 
developed to ensure that such incidents did not happen 
in the future. Marapana noted that the Defense Ministry 
and the SLMM were working to improve coordination. 
 
4.  (SBU) THE PRESS REPORTS:  As mentioned above, 
various press reports about the incident in English- and 
Sinhalese language media vilified the SLMM over the 
incident.  The reports, which were probably generated by 
leaks from the military, essentially accused the SLMM of 
warning the Tigers, so that its boat was able to get 
away. 
 
5.  (C) When contacted on October 21 by poloff, Agnes 
Bragadottir, the SLMM spokesperson, was chagrined about 
the press reports.  While admitting that the SLMM had 
contacted the LTTE about its boat's location, she 
commented that the SLMM had no intention whatsoever of 
"tipping off" the Tigers.  She confirmed that the SLMM 
was committed to working with the Defense Ministry to 
improve coordination. 
 
6.  (C) COMMENT:  As reviewed in Ref B, this latest 
incident comes at a time of increasing discontent within 
the military over the SLMM's inability to resolve Tiger 
ceasefire violations.  In particular, the military is 
furious that the SLMM has been unable to resolve the 
LTTE's unauthorized occupation of the small "Wan Ela" 
camp near Trincomalee.  Interestingly, in analyzing the 
October 16 incident, the navy is apparently now unsure 
whether there was a LTTE resupply boat to begin with. 
END COMMENT. 
 
7.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD