US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1086

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001086 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:    DECL:  06-28-14 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, MOPS, PGOV, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  Karuna Affair Continues to Plague Government 
 
Refs:  (A) Colombo 1074, and previous 
 
-      (B) DAO Colombo CE IIR 6 816 0071 04 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead. 
Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Rumors and stories continue to swirl 
around the events associated with rebel Tiger leader 
Karuna and his whereabouts.  Government officials are 
engaged in fingerpointing about who knew what and when 
they knew it about Karuna.  The GSL has not done a good 
job of managing the media well.  At present, it is 
probable that Karuna is in the custody of the Sri Lankan 
military, despite continuing denial by the military.  It 
is not the end of the story with Karuna and, given the 
recent reports, the GSL faces a huge challenge to manage 
the situation adroitly in the face of increasing 
suspicion by the LTTE.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C) THE REALITY:  Since June 21-22 when the media 
reported that breakaway rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam (LTTE) leader Karuna was in the control of the Sri 
Lanka military, it has been difficult to separate facts 
from speculation regarding what transpired.  Ali Zahir 
Moulana, a United National Party (UNP) Muslim MP from 
the eastern town of Batticaloa, arranged for Karuna to 
come to Colombo in mid-April.  Detailed accounts in June 
27 local newspapers, consistent with Opposition Leader 
(and former PM) Ranil Wickremesinghe's June 23 
conversation with the Ambassador (Ref A), report that 
Karuna arrived in Colombo on April 13 and stayed several 
days at the Hilton Colombo Residence.  After several 
days, according to some of Karuna's companions who 
redefected to the LTTE, the Sri Lankan military assumed 
custody of Karuna and transferred him to another 
Colombo-area location. 
 
3.  (C) QUESTIONS ON THE DETAILS:  Beyond the basic 
facts, details of the events are still speculative.  In 
his June 23 public statement in which he resigned from 
Parliament, Moulana said he helped facilitate Karuna's 
transfer to Colombo "on humanitarian grounds."  (The 
LTTE leadership was actively looking for Karuna and 
would have killed the rebel leader if they had caught 
him.)  While "humanitarian grounds" would seem to be a 
legitimate excuse for sheltering Karuna, high level 
officials and political figures continue, with 
decreasing plausibility, to deny knowledge and 
involvement in the situation.  The GSL, according to 
government spokesman Mangala Samaraweera, had no 
knowledge of the events involving Karuna, but admitted 
elements of the military might be acting on their own. 
Defense Ministry officials, however, deny any Karuna 
connection.  Wickremesinghe said he did not know about 
the actions of Moulana prior to the MP's June 22 
admission.  The only mission contact to admit a 
connection to Karuna is Douglas Devananda, Minister of 
Hindu Affairs and Agricultural Marketing Development and 
leader of the anti-LTTE Eelam People's Democratic Party 
(EPDP).  In a June 4 meeting, Devananda said he was in 
contact with Karuna and offered to put the Ambassador in 
touch with Karuna as well; the Ambassador politely 
declined.  Press pieces over the weekend quoted 
Devananda as saying he was encouraging Karuna to enter 
politics. 
 
4.  (C) THE MILITARY'S INVOLVEMENT:  Despite 
overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the Sri Lankan 
military continues to deny any involvement with Karuna. 
It is not certain if the military facilitated Karuna's 
transfer to Colombo or became involved only after his 
arrival in the capital.  The Sri Lanka Army's (SLA) 
ongoing denial on the subject has served only to further 
rumors about its activities.  Since Karuna made the 
public move in March to break with the LTTE leadership 
in the Vanni, there have been reports that periodic 
skirmishes and attacks on LTTE cadre in the east were 
carried out by cadre loyal to Karuna with the backing of 
the SLA.  The LTTE has publicly accused the SLA of 
supporting Karuna in these low-level attacks in the 
east.  (As far back as April, when Prabhakaran's forces 
attacked Karuna's forces and regained control of the 
east, the Sri Lankan military was already in denial mode 
-- see DATT report on the issue in Ref B).  The four 
female cadre, who reportedly came to Colombo with Karuna 
and subsequently "escaped" from the SLA's control and 
returned to the LTTE, have reported on time spent in SLA 
safehouses in Colombo following their mid-April trip 
from the east. 
 
5.  (C) COMMENT:  It now seems almost certain that 
Karuna is in Colombo and in the control of the Sri 
Lankan military, which will not surprise many. 
Nonetheless, the public revelations place the GSL in a 
remarkably uncomfortable position.  Presumed Karuna 
loyalists continue to attack Prabhakaran cadre in the 
East.  The press this morning, for example, reported a 
grenade attack on several Prabhakaran cadre near 
Batticaloa.  Security forces in the Batticaloa area have 
intensified security and now operate checkpoints within 
the city, exacerbating tension there.  What we don't 
know is if the security forces are actively using Karuna 
and his forces to attack the LTTE, or if they are simply 
letting these attacks happen, or if they are unable to 
stop them.  The Tigers, of course, assume the worst -- 
that the GSL is using Karuna against them.  This has led 
the Tigers to question the GSL's sincerity in the peace 
process and threaten a return to fighting if the attacks 
don't cease.  With credible public revelations of links 
to Karuna, the GSL has lost plausible deniability.  The 
result is a shakier peace process in an increasingly 
unstable East, and with little or no gain for the 
government.  END COMMENT. 
 
 
LUNSTEAD