US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO470

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000470 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, INR/NESA 
 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  03/17/14 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PTER, SOCI, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  Sri Lanka:  Background on long-standing 
tensions between eastern and northern Tamils 
 
Refs:  Colombo 465, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Since his split with the LTTE, rebel 
commander Karuna has made a big pitch that eastern 
Tamils have been mistreated by the main LTTE 
organization in the north.  In wider societal terms, it 
is true that there have been long-standing tensions 
between eastern and northern Tamils.  Often from a 
higher Hindu caste, northern Tamils are likely to be 
more educated and urbanized, whereas eastern Tamils are 
often poorer and more rural.  Although Karuna seems to 
have exaggerated the depth of the divide in order to 
generate the maximum political impact, his comments have 
highlighted -- and helped widen -- a breach in Tamil 
society that could have important ramifications, pro and 
con, for the peace process.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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Karuna highlights East vs. North divide 
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2.  (SBU) Since his March 3 split with the mainstream 
leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 
(LTTE) organization (see Reftels), rebel eastern 
commander Karuna has justified his actions in two major 
ways.  First, he has said that he believes that the LTTE 
was preparing to end the peace process and start a 
military offensive -- a policy that he said he opposed. 
Second, he has vigorously asserted that eastern Tamils 
have been systematically mistreated by northern Tamils. 
 
3.  (U) In making this latter point, Karuna -- and his 
oft-quoted assistant Varathan -- have variously made the 
following specific claims: 
-- That there are no eastern Tamils among the LTTE's top 
30 officials. 
-- That members of the LTTE from the east have borne the 
brunt of the group's casualties. 
-- That income from LTTE "taxation" and other funds has 
not been spread equally between northern and eastern 
Tamils.  (On this point, for example, Karuna has stated 
that LTTE leaders in the north ride around in "luxury 
vehicles" while people in the east "are undergoing much 
hardship.") 
 
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Northern Tamils:  A proud group 
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4.  (C) In wider societal terms, it is true that there 
have been long-standing tensions between eastern and 
northern Tamils.  Often from a higher Hindu caste, 
northern Tamils are likely to be more educated and 
urbanized, whereas eastern Tamils are often poorer and 
more rural.  Northern Tamils, often called "Jaffna" 
Tamils due to that city's traditional status as the 
center of Tamil cultural identity in Sri Lanka, are a 
proud group.  They pride themselves on their relatively 
high degree of education, as there are numerous schools 
in Jaffna District, many established by U.S. 
missionaries in the nineteenth century.  Due to their 
educational standards, many northern Tamils also 
benefited during British rule, serving as clerks and 
entering the professions.  Northern Tamils, in general, 
also tend to belong to higher Hindu castes than Tamils 
from other regions, with a higher percentage of the 
population hailing from the prestigious "Vellala" caste. 
(The Vellala caste is the highest among Sri Lankan 
Hindus.  There are very few indigenous Brahmins in Sri 
Lanka.)  Also strengthening the societal position of 
northerners is the fact that there are many "Jaffna" 
Tamils in Colombo, who are wealthy and own businesses. 
Many of the most prominent and wealthy Sri Lankan Tamils 
who live overseas are also from Jaffna.  (FYI.  About 23 
percent of Sri Lanka's 20 million people are Tamil.  Of 
this, 18 percent of the total population is considered 
"Sri Lankan" Tamil and 5 percent is "tea estate" Tamil. 
Of the "Sri Lankan" Tamils, about two-thirds are 
northerners.) 
 
5.  (C) In discussions, northern Tamils will often 
freely admit to the superior self-image that many 
members of their community hold.  During a March 14 
conversation with poloff, Jaffna's Roman Catholic Vicar- 
General Father Nicholas, lamenting the situation, 
stated:  "When Jaffna people go somewhere, they buy up 
property and act like little lords, so these feelings of 
resentment are understandable."  In addition, Suresh 
Premachandran, a Jaffna candidate for the Tamil National 
Alliance, told polchief on March 15 that "northern 
Tamils have a sense of entitlement, almost a feeling of 
birthright, that they should lead Sri Lanka's Tamil 
community." 
 
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Eastern Tamils:  Largely rural 
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6.  (C) On the flip side, eastern "Batticaloa" Tamils 
tend to be more rural and largely poorer than Tamils who 
are from the north.  (Batticaloa town is the major 
center of Tamil culture in the east.)  In eastern Sri 
Lanka, there are very few institutions of higher 
learning and Tamil society is mainly a rural one that 
has been largely isolated from mainstream Sri Lankan 
society until relatively recently.  Eastern Tamils tend 
to be fishermen or subsistence farmers.  Tamils from the 
east also tend to be from lower castes.  A high 
percentage, for example, are from one of the lowest 
castes, called "Dhobys," who traditionally wash clothes. 
Moreover, few of the Tamils living in Colombo or 
overseas are from the east.  All of these factors work 
to make eastern Tamils feel that they have been 
disadvantaged compared to their Tamil brethren from the 
north. 
 
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Tensions are there, but has Karuna Exaggerated them? 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
7.  (C) Given the disparity in their relative 
situations, it is understandable that there would be 
some tension between eastern and northern Tamil 
societies.  That tension has simmered over the course of 
generations at a very low level, however.  There are no 
recorded instances of fighting between the two groups, 
for example.  While there have been political disputes 
that touched on the societal tensions over the years, 
these disputes have never been that serious. 
 
8.  (C) In that sense, Karuna seems to have exaggerated 
the depth of the divide in order to generate the maximum 
political effect.  While not denying the validity of his 
specific claims regarding discrimination within LTTE 
ranks, observers have accused Karuna of working hard to 
incite eastern Tamils against northerners, so as to 
buttress his political position in the east vis-a-vis 
the LTTE.  Roman Catholic Bishop of Batticaloa Kingsley 
Swampillai, for example, told poloff that he felt that 
Karuna had acted sheerly out of self-interest.  He 
accused Karuna of breaking with the Tigers not out of 
genuine concern for eastern Tamils, but rather because 
he (Karuna) wished to be seen as an equal to 
Prabhakaran. 
 
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COMMENT 
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9.  (C) Although Karuna seems to have exaggerated the 
depth of the divide for his own reasons, his comments 
have highlighted -- and helped widen -- the breach in 
Tamil society.  Even if Karuna is eventually undermined 
by the main LTTE organization, which is a real 
possibility, his effort to harness eastern resentment 
against the north will have had an impact.  While "Tamil 
unity" could be restored in a fashion down the road, for 
example, it is likely that easterners and northerners 
may never quite fit together again the same way as they 
did before the split.  In the short term, this societal 
divide could come to complicate the peace process, as 
eastern Tamils could demand separate representation in 
peace talks.  At the same time, however, if the 
eastern/northern divide becomes even sharper, "Tamil 
nationalism" -- the ideology that has fueled the LTTE -- 
could become a diminished force.  This potentially might 
work to make a settlement of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict 
easier down the line.  END COMMENT. 
 
10. (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD