US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO868

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000868 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  05-25-14 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PINS, PHUM, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  Spate of killings in eastern Sri Lanka as 
Tigers publicly state support for peace process 
 
Refs:  Colombo 827, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons 1.5 (b, d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  A spate of killings has taken place 
recently in eastern Sri Lanka, amid public statements by 
the Tigers indicating their support for the peace track 
moving forward.  The killings in the east, which are 
almost certainly connected to the LTTE, seem to stem 
from leftover factional fighting between the Tigers and 
the remaining supporters of breakaway eastern LTTE 
commander Karuna.  Despite the Tigers' public 
pronouncements supporting the peace process, a 
continuation of this pattern of killings might adversely 
affect peace moves.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C) Several recent killings have taken place in 
Batticaloa province in the east and are almost certainly 
connected to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 
(LTTE).  Reimposing their control in the east, the 
Tigers appear to be targeting, and assassinating, LTTE 
cadre and civilians who supported breakaway eastern 
commander Karuna. (Karuna's whereabouts are unknown.) 
In the most recent incident on May 24, K. Thambaiah, a 
senior lecturer at Eastern University in Batticaloa town 
was shot and killed in his home.  Thambaiah was rumored 
to have been a public Karuna supporter and contacts 
report that he may also have had financial connections 
to the rebel leader. 
 
3. (C) In addition, one LTTE cadre was killed near 
Aalankulam, 42 kilometers north of Batticaloa town on 
May 21, reportedly as the result of fighting between 
Karuna supporters and the main LTTE organization. 
Reports differ as to how the LTTE cadre was killed, with 
some indicating that the cadre was killed in an 
explosion and others indicating he was shot.  Agnes 
Bragadottir, spokeswoman for the Sri Lanka Monitoring 
Mission (SLMM) confirmed to poloff on May 24 that while 
investigating the incident, the SLMM had found one dead 
LTTE cadre who had been shot.  Bragadottir noted, 
however, that the SLMM was still continuing its 
investigation of the case and had not yet made a final 
determination. 
 
4.  (C) Separately, the Tigers are also implicated in the 
latest deaths of GSL military and police operatives, in 
apparent retaliation for what the Tigers believe to be 
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) aid to Karuna.  On May 19 S. 
Dassanayake, a member of a Sri Lankan police 
intelligence organization, was shot and killed in broad 
daylight in central Batticaloa outside a post office. 
Police spokesman Rienzie Perera told poloff on May 25 
that while the police had made no arrests in the case 
and were not sure who had perpetrated the killing, it 
"bore all the marks of an LTTE assassination."  In a 
report on pro-Tiger website "TamilNet" on May 19, E. 
Kausalyan, the Tiger political head Batticaloa district 
denied any involvement in the case, stating "this 
killing was done by agent provocateurs who do not want 
the peace environment to continue."  As previously 
reported, on May 9, an SLA intelligence operative was 
shot and killed while traveling to Batticaloa on a 
civilian bus.  Military spokesman Col. Sumeda Perera 
told poloff on May 25 that while investigations 
continued in the case, the killing was "almost 
certainly" the work of the LTTE. 
 
5.  (C) In addition to these killings, there are other 
signs that the Tigers continue to use intimidation in 
the east.  Several contacts in the east have told 
Mission recently that Tiger recruitment in the east 
continues.  This recruitment, especially of children, is 
reportedly of an increasingly violent nature.  UNICEF 
tells us the trendline on child recruitment is again 
discouraging.  Another tack that the Tigers have taken 
of late is to insinuate that the Sri Lanka Army may have 
been involved in killings of LTTE cadre.  Reacting to 
the current security situation, the GSL has appointed a 
high-ranking military officer, Major General S.Kottegoda 
as overall operations commander in Batticaloa. 
 
6.  (C) COMMENT:  Amid some hopeful signs that peace 
negotiations, stalled since April 2003, may get back on 
track soon, these killings are a troubling development, 
but not entirely unprecedented. (A spate of killings of 
military informants and police took place in the summer 
of 2003.)  It remains to be seen how much these 
assassinations will damage the LTTE's credibility at the 
negotiating table, but this behavior by the Tigers, 
coming at a time when the LTTE is publicly calling for a 
return to talks, is clearly not winning them any points. 
END COMMENT. 
 
7.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD