US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO2022

UNCLAS  COLOMBO 002022 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT FOR REAP 
 
PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS:  PTER, PGOV, PINS, CE, MV 
SUBJECT:  Annual Terrorism Report for 2003:  Submissions 
for Sri Lanka and the Maldives 
 
Ref:  State 301352 
 
1.  Mission's response to Reftel requesting input for 
the Department's 2003 Annual Terrorism Report follows. 
Data on Sri Lanka is contained in Para Two and data on 
the Maldives in Para Three.  Para Two is keyed to 
questions A through I in Reftel.  Para Three contains an 
overview of the situation in the Maldives. 
 
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SRI LANKA 
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2.  Response for Sri Lanka: 
 
A -- The Sri Lankan government continues to support the 
international war on terrorism and displays a strong 
willingness to undertake efforts to combat terrorism. 
Sri Lanka has acceded to 10 of the 12 international 
conventions (see Section F for more details) that deal 
with combating terrorism and took steps to implement 
UNSCRs 1333 and 1373 which seek to block the assets of 
terrorist entities.  The government has been responsive 
to U.S. requests to block the assets of certain 
terrorist individuals, but no assets have been found in 
Sri Lanka, to date. 
 
B -- There have been no cases of international terrorism 
in Sri Lanka during the past year and no U.S. citizens 
have been affected by terrorism in Sri Lanka in this 
time period.  There is every indication that the 
government would react quickly to any such incident by 
seeking -- in cooperation with the U.S. and the 
international community as necessary -- to apprehend and 
prosecute the perpetrators of any attack.  The Sri 
Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam (LTTE), a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) 
since 1997 (its FTO status was renewed in 2003), 
continue to engage in a peace process and to observe a 
ceasefire accord signed in February 2002.  The GSL 
decriminalized membership in the LTTE organization in 
September 2002 as part of that peace process. 
 
The LTTE continued to be implicated in acts of domestic 
terrorism, particularly the murder of over forty 
opponents during the year.  The LTTE has also never 
renounced terrorism and has not disbanded its "Black 
Tiger" suicide squads.  After years of multiple bombings 
at sites throughout Sri Lanka, however, there have been 
no LTTE suicide bomb attacks since late 2001 and the 
group continues to actively explore ways to advance the 
peace process.  The Sri Lankan government continues to 
prosecute LTTE cadre accused of terrorist offenses.  In 
October 2003, for example, a provincial high court found 
three alleged LTTE members guilty of the 1998 terrorist 
bombing of Sri Lanka's most sacred Buddhist temple. 
 
C -- The issue of extradition in relation to terrorist 
acts did not arise in Sri Lanka.  We believe that the 
Sri Lankan government would be fully responsive to any 
such request. 
 
D -- Mission has no knowledge of significant impediments 
to GSL prosecution and/or extradition of suspected 
terrorists.  In fact, the September 1999 signing of a 
general extradition treaty between the U.S. and Sri 
Lanka (ratified by the U.S. Senate in October 1999 and 
signed by the President in November 1999) facilitated 
extradition between the two countries.  Sri Lanka has 
also signed the 1988 SAARC Regional Convention on the 
Suppression of Terrorism, which designates certain acts 
specifically as terrorist acts and not as political 
acts, thereby nullifying attempts by terrorist 
organizations to claim political motivations for 
violence.  The Sri Lankan government is also working 
with the U.S. Department of Justice to draft a Mutual 
Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). 
 
 
E -- Sri Lankan government representatives have made 
numerous public statements in support of the 
international war on terrorism.  They have also 
forcefully condemned terrorist incidents elsewhere.  In 
a speech made to the United Nations General Assembly in 
September 2003, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Wickremesinghe 
expressed his support for the U.S.-led coalition and its 
actions in Iraq. 
 
F -- Sri Lanka is party to 10 of the 12 international 
conventions that focus on combating terrorism, including 
the Tokyo, Hague and Montreal Conventions Against 
Terrorism.  The GSL remains actively engaged in 
committees and panels set up by international and 
regional organizations (UN, OIC, SAARC) that examine 
ways to counter terrorism.  Sri Lanka has also actively 
participated in counterterrorism legislation seminars 
organized by the United States government. 
 
G -- The GSL has not taken any actions that support 
international terrorism. 
 
H - The GSL has not offered public support for any 
terrorist-supporting country on a terrorism issue. 
 
I -- There was no discernible change in the government's 
strong anti-terrorism position in 2003.  Domestically, 
the government continued its peace process efforts with 
the LTTE, which the United States redesignated as a FTO 
in October 2003.  The two sides also continued to 
observe the February 2002 ceasefire accord.  The Sri 
Lankan government continues to view the USG's 
designation of the LTTE as a terrorist organization as a 
positive measure and welcomed the U.S. redesignation in 
October.  It cites the FTO designation, as well as 
similar actions by other countries against the LTTE, 
along with the post-September 11, 2001, global war on 
terrorism, as one of the reasons the LTTE has continued 
to engage in the peace process. 
 
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MALDIVES 
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3.  Consisting of almost 1,200 islands stretched 
over approximately 500 miles north to south in the 
Indian Ocean with a population of approximately 270,000, 
the Republic of Maldives has no known indigenous 
terrorism problem.  The Maldivian government, however, 
remains alert to the possible transit of terrorists 
through the country and the activities of some alleged 
hard-line, anti-government elements in the country. 
Some of these alleged hard-liners have been detained and 
convicted of various charges.  Although the government 
did not support the Iraq conflict, it did not come out 
strongly in public against the U.S.-led effort. 
Domestically, Maldivians also remain focused on 
preventing a repeat of the events of 1988 when a former 
Maldivian government official launched a coup attempt 
with the help of Sri Lankan terrorist elements.  The 
coup failed due to the intervention of the Indian armed 
forces.  Despite these concerns, the Maldives has 
expressed confidence that it can deal with potential 
problems.  In terms of laws and regulations, the 
Maldives has taken steps to implement UNSCRs 1333 and 
1337, which block the assets of terrorist entities.  The 
Maldives has also become a party to the majority of the 
12 international counterterrorism conventions.  At the 
United Nations General Assembly in September 2003, the 
Maldivian Foreign Minister underscored the country's 
strong support for the international war against 
terrorism. 
 
4.  Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD