US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO2045

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 002045 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT 
DEPARTMENT ALSO PLEASE PASS TOPEC 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  11-28-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PINS, CE, NO, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  In annual address, LTTE leader supports peace 
process, but criticizes political situation in south 
 
Refs:  (A) Colombo-SA/INS 11/28/03 class e-mail 
 
-      (B) FBIS Reston Va DTG 272324Z Nov 03 
-      (C) Colombo 2010, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead. 
Reasons 1.5 (b, d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Tamil Tiger leader V. Prabhakaran's 
annual "heroes' day" address on November 27 stressed his 
group's ongoing support for the peace process.  The LTTE 
leader, however, lashed out at the confused political 
situation in the south, asserting that it was holding up 
the process.  He warned that the Tigers would seek a 
separate state if the situation was not cleared up. 
Contacts reacted to the speech in a mostly positive 
manner.  In a related development, Prabhakaran 
reiterated Tiger support for the peace process in his 
November 26 meeting with EU External Relations Chief 
Chris Patten.  Prabhakaran's speech was strident and 
combative, but was constructive to the extent that he 
made clear that the LTTE remains committed to the peace 
track.  END SUMMARY. 
 
=========================== 
Prabhakaran' Annual Address 
=========================== 
 
2.  (U) On November 27, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 
(LTTE) leader V. Prabhakaran delivered his annual 
"heroes' day" address.  The speech, which has been 
delivered every year since 1989 (see Ref C), was 
broadcast live over the LTTE's "Voice of the Tigers" 
radio station.  A videotape was also made and circulated 
to the media.  In the videotape, Prabhakaran is clad in 
a camouflage uniform complete with pillbox hat with a 
cyanide capsule tucked into his breast pocket.  He 
delivered the short speech in Tamil standing at a 
lectern in front of a map of the sections of Sri Lanka 
that the Tigers want to control in the north and east. 
 
3.  (U) In the speech (text sent to SA/INS in Ref A), 
Prabhakaran emphasized the LTTE's ongoing support for 
the peace process.  He also used the occasion to lash 
out at the confused political situation in the south, 
asserting that the process was being delayed by 
disagreements between President Kumaratunga and Prime 
Minister Wickremesinghe.  In a somewhat ominous note, 
Prabhakaran commented that there would be no alternative 
other than for the LTTE to form an independent state if 
the current situation in the south did not clear up. 
Highlights of the speech follow: 
 
-- On the LTTE's support for the peace process:  "Our 
organization, as well as our people do not want war.  We 
want peace and we want to resolve our problems through 
peaceful means.  We are deeply committed to the peace 
process.  It is because of our sincere commitment to 
peace that we are firmly and rigidly observing the 
ceasefire.  It is our organization that took the 
initiative of declaring the cessation of hostilities 
unilaterally and observing peace for the last two years, 
tolerating the provocative actions of the state's armed 
forces." 
 
-- On accusations that the Tigers are preparing for war: 
"There is absolutely no truth in President Kumaratunga's 
accusation that we are preparing for war by procuring 
weapons, recruiting on a large scale and strengthening 
our military machine.  We are engaged in the task of 
maintaining peace but certainly not preparing for war. 
It is true that we have been recruiting on a small scale 
since we needed manpower for our administrative 
structures.  The President has distorted and exaggerated 
this matter and is trying to create fear among the 
Sinhala people that we are preparing for war." 
 
-- On the confusing political situation in the south: 
"There is no coherent structure in the form of a 
government in the Sinhala nation.  The power of the 
state is torn between the heads of the two most powerful 
Sinhala political parties.  The Presidency and the 
Parliament are in conflict with each other.  Ranil 
Wickremesinghe's administration is severely weakened and 
paralyzed following the President's take-over of the 
ministries of defense, interior and media.  The power 
struggle between the two leaders has resulted in the de- 
stabilization of the state and the peace process has 
come to a standstill." 
 
-- On the LTTE's proposals for an interim administration 
in the north/east:  "The allegations leveled against our 
draft proposals that they aim to create an independent 
Tamil state or that they contain stepping stones for 
separation are not true.  Our proposals do not 
constitute a framework for a permanent, final solution. 
Our draft proposals deal with an interim arrangement. 
...Some countries welcomed our attempt, for the first 
time, to put forward our ideas in writing in a clear and 
comprehensive form.  Ranil's administration did not 
reject our proposals, but rather agreed to resume talks 
on that basis.  But at the same time, the Sinhala racist 
forces are vehemently opposed to our draft proposals." 
 
-- On the international community's involvement in the 
peace process:  "The government has also been engaged in 
a plan to set up an international safety net with the 
assistance of certain countries...Some countries have 
even stipulated parameters within which the Tamil 
national question has to be resolved.  It is because of 
these international interventions that the peace 
negotiations became more complex.  It was during these 
circumstances that a crucial meeting of donor countries 
took place in Washington in April this year 
marginalizing our organization.  As the main party in 
conflict enjoying equal status in the peace process, we 
were disappointed and saddened by such humiliation.  It 
is because of these factors that we decided to suspend 
our participation in the talks and to review the 
multiple dimensions of the entire peace process." 
 
-- On possible "secession":  "We cannot allow the life 
and potential of our people to be systematically 
destroyed in the spider web of Sinhala chauvinism...if 
the Sinhala chauvinistic ruling elites continue to deny 
the rights of our people we have no alternative other 
than to secede and form an independent state invoking 
the right to self-determination of our people." 
 
==================================== 
Mostly a Positive Reaction to Speech 
==================================== 
 
4.  (C) Contacts have reacted in a mostly positive 
manner to the speech.  Kethesh Loganathan, an analyst at 
the Center for Policy Alternatives, a local think-tank, 
told us that he thought the speech was basically 
constructive.  Loganathan noted that the speech "was 
strident, but the main point was that it supported the 
peace process and gave no indication that the Tigers 
were planning a return to war."  Joseph Pararajasingham, 
a pro-LTTE MP for the Tamil National Alliance, 
acknowledged to polchief that the speech had a very hard 
edge to it.  He thought, however, that the major message 
the international community should take from the speech 
was that "the Tigers support peace."  Pararajasingham 
remarked that he thought that in continuing to support 
the peace process "Prabhakaran was showing real 
patience" given the infighting between President 
Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.  (Note: 
The speech was made late November 27 and there has not 
been much editorial or op-ed commentary on its substance 
as of yet in local newspapers.) 
 
============================= 
EU's Patten meets LTTE Leader 
============================= 
 
5.  (C) In a related development, Chris Patten, the 
European Union External Relations Commissioner, met with 
Prabhakaran in the LTTE-controlled town of Kilinochchi 
on November 26.  In a meeting later that day with EU 
countries plus the four co-chairs of the Tokyo process 
(Ambassador Lunstead, and the local envoys of Norway, 
Japan and the EU), Patten discussed his meeting with 
Prabhakaran, who he described as "uncharismatic." 
Patten commented that he was struck by the poverty and 
war damage in the LTTE-held Wanni region located in 
north-central Sri Lanka.  He added that despite the 
criticism by Sinhalese extremists to his meeting with 
the LTTE leader, there were no efforts on the part of 
the Tigers to embarrass him via presentations of "Tamil 
Eelam" (separatist) flags, maps or other symbols. 
(Note:  Patten did a good job of defusing some of the 
tension regarding his meeting with Prabhakaran, stating 
to the press that he was grateful that a large effigy of 
him that was burned by Sinhalese extremists made him 
look "young and slim.")  Regarding the substance of his 
meeting, Patten said he bluntly laid out the EU's 
position on Sri Lankan issues in four major points to 
Prabhakaran, who was joined by political leader S.P. 
Thamilchelvam and development expert J. Maheswaran: 
 
-- The international community looked to the Tigers to 
turn their backs fully on violence and make a permanent 
commitment to peace. 
 
-- The continued reports of LTTE child recruitment, 
assassinations, extortion and the import of weapons 
called into question the group's good faith. 
 
-- The Tiger's counterproposals regarding the formation 
of an interim administration in the north/east stretched 
the limits of federalism as agreed to in the GSL's 
meeting with the LTTE in Oslo in late 2002.  The LTTE's 
counterproposals, as they now stood, in effect called 
into question Sri Lanka's sovereignty and territorial 
integrity. 
 
-- It was important for the Tigers to involve Muslims 
and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) in the peace 
process. 
 
6.  (C) In his response to Patten's points, Prabhakaran 
reiterated his commitment to peace "six times." 
Prabhakaran went on to assert that the LTTE would return 
to war only if it was forced upon them, that the Tigers 
were abiding by the ceasefire, and they were working 
with UNICEF to address the problem of child soldiers. 
Prabhakaran called into question, however, actions by 
the GSL including its military training with the U.S. 
and defense discussions with India.  He stated that the 
peace dividend had not yet come to the north, as Jaffna 
streets were not free like those in Colombo.  Regarding 
the LTTE's counterproposals and the need to "sell" any 
deal to the south, Patten said Prabhakaran cited the 
difficulty of "racist" attitudes in the south, but 
seemed out of his depth when discussing devolution 
ideas.  Patten also said he told Prabhakaran that there 
comes a point when the leader of an armed struggle must 
become a peacemaker, and while that is often difficult, 
success in Sri Lanka's peace negotiations is the trigger 
for the flow of international funds to rehabilitate the 
north/east. 
 
7.  (C) During his November 24-26 visit, Patten also 
held discussions with President Kumaratunga, Prime 
Minister Wickremesinghe, other key government ministers, 
and members of the SLMC.  Patten received a briefing 
from Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar regarding 
Norway's facilitation efforts, as well as from 
representatives of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission 
(SLMM) on ceasefire compliance.  He also gave a speech 
on EU experiences with conflict resolution at the Sri 
Lanka Institute of International Relations. 
 
======= 
COMMENT 
======= 
 
8.  (C) The tone of Prabhakaran's speech was definitely 
strident and combative.  While unwelcome, that is not 
surprising.  His annual speech is usually crafted for a 
Tamil audience and Prabhakaran always casts the speech 
in ways meant to rally the faithful to the Tiger cause. 
In fact, his mention of possible secession -- while 
extreme, and a setback for the view that the Tigers are 
becoming more moderate and politically responsible -- is 
almost routine in that it has been made in most "heroes' 
day" addresses.  Overall, despite its excesses, the 
speech was constructive to the extent that Prabhakaran 
made clear that the Tigers want to remain on the peace 
track despite the confusing political situation in the 
south.  This is positive news, and coupled with his 
reiteration of support for the peace process in his 
meeting with Patten, lends hope that the process can get 
back on track once things settle down in the south.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
9.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD