US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1243

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001243 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS; NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
PLEASE PASS TOPEC 
 
E.O. 12958:    DECL:  07-27-14 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, CE, Political Parties, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  PUBLIC BATTLE FOR THE HEARTS OF TAMILS 
CONTINUES 
 
Refs:  (A) Colombo 1236 and previous 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead. 
Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1.  (U)  SUMMARY: President Kumaratunga 
apologized for the July 1983 riots in which 
hundreds of Tamils were killed, but tempered 
her apology with a call for the LTTE to 
apologize for its actions as well.  An LTTE 
political official commented that 
Kumaratunga's public apology was driven by 
"political expediency rather than 
principles."  Meanwhile, hundreds of anti- 
LTTE EPDP supporters carried the body of a 
slain EPDP politician from the east to the 
Norwegian Embassy to protest LTTE killings 
of EPDP cadre. Raising his voice against 
pro-LTTE TNA MPs, TULF leader V. 
Anandasangaree issued a statement condemning 
violence in the east and offered regret that 
the TNA MPs were silent about the killings. 
The LTTE needs to consolidate support in the 
east, and as the near-continuous stream of 
killings there suggest, the Tigers are 
willing to do whatever it takes to gain that 
support.  END SUMMARY. 
 
The President's Attempt to Win Over Tamils 
------------------------------------------ 
2.  (U)  On July 24, President Kumaratunga 
apologized for the July 1983 riots in which 
hundreds of Tamils were killed, but tempered 
her apology with a call for the LTTE to 
apologize for its actions as well.  At a 
ceremony in Kandy marking the 21st 
anniversary of the 1983 riots, President 
Kumaratunga stated, "We cannot forget, we 
cannot blind ourselves to the mistakes we 
have made; we will have to accept collective 
guilt for the wrongs, and then move forward. 
When I say collective guilt, I mean first 
the State of Sri Lanka for the horrors they 
perpetrated on one section of our peoples, 
21 years ago and at other lesser moments, 
but I also mean all the others on the other 
side of the divide who have also used young 
children as suicide bombers, and killed 
hundreds of people and caused much suffering 
to other people."  Kumaratunga also handed 
over compensation to 30 of the 937 Tamils 
her Presidential Truth Commission identified 
as having suffered in the "pogrom." 
 
LTTE Rebuttal 
------------- 
 
3.  (U) Meanwhile, on July 26 pro-LTTE 
website TamilNet reported LTTE Trincomalee 
Political Leader S. Elilan comments, "We 
regard... Kumaratunga's public apology for 
the 1983 pogrom against the Tamils as a 
deceptive attempt, driven by political 
expediency rather than principles, to 
placate the Tamils."  He continued that the 
"Sinhala political leadership should come 
forward to agree to a permanent political 
solution to the ethnic conflict with a self- 
rule concept satisfying the legitimate 
aspirations of Tamils of the Northeast 
Province."  Many Tamils in the north and 
east observed July 25 as a "day of mourning" 
to mark the anniversary of the riots.  The 
LTTE called on the public to observe a 
hartal (general strike) in the north and 
east, and a prominent English weekender 
reported that the LTTE banned newspapers 
reporting on the President's offer of 
compensation to Tamils who suffered in the 
riots. 
EPDP Protests Against Norwegians (and LTTE) 
------------------------------------------- 
4. (U) On July 23, hundreds of anti-LTTE Eelam People's 
Democratic Party (EPDP) supporters carried the body of a 
slain EPDP politician to the Norwegian Embassy to 
protest LTTE killings of EPDP cadre.  The protesters 
briefly left the murdered man's coffin on the sidewalk 
in front of the embassy.  The EPDP politician, killed by 
the LTTE on July 21, was the Pradeshiya Sabha (town 
council) leader of a village near Akaraipattu (south of 
Batticaloa).  His predecessor (another EPDP politician) 
was also killed by the LTTE.  The EPDP has staged 
similar demonstrations in the past at Sri Lankan 
Monitoring Mission (SLMM) offices in the east.  Douglas 
Devananda, Minister of Agricultural Marketing 
Development, Hindu Affairs, and Tamil Language Schools 
and Vocational Training (North) and General Secretary of 
the EPDP - who was the target of the July 7 LTTE suicide 
bomber in Colombo - spoke at the slain politician's 
funeral.  Press reports quoted him, "We call upon the 
international community, particularly the Government of 
Norway...to do everything possible to put an end to the 
endless violence of the LTTE."  He also stated that the 
LTTE has killed 115 EPDP members since the Cease-Fire 
Agreement was signed in February, 2002. 
 
TULF Leader Chimes In 
------------------------ 
5. (C) President of the Tamil United Liberation Front 
(TULF), V. Anandasangaree issued a statement condemning 
violence in the east and offered regret that the Tamil 
National Alliance (TNA) MPs were silent about the 
killings. (Anandasangaree was once the leader of the 
TNA, but has been exiled from the party because he does 
not accept the LTTE as the sole representative of the 
Tamil people.  Like EPDP leader Devananda, the GSL 
provides protection for Anandasangaree because the LTTE 
has threatened his life.)  Anandasangaree called upon 
the "parties to the peace process" to take immediate 
steps to halt the killings before beginning peace talks. 
He also stated, "As far as the Tamils are concerned, all 
those who had sacrificed their lives should be treated 
with utmost respect and not condemned as traitors merely 
because they belong to a group that is opposed to 
another." 
 
6. (C) COMMENT:  The LTTE needs to consolidate support 
in the east, and as the near-continuous stream of 
killings there suggest, the Tigers are willing to do 
whatever it takes to gain that support.  President 
Kumaratunga's apology was not well-received by many 
Tamils, despite the widely-disseminated GSL-owned 
media's attempts to showcase it. The LTTE's negative 
response to her apology was not surprising, given Black 
July's important status in LTTE civil religion.  The 
President has mentioned to the Ambassador several times 
her horror at what happened in 1983and also made clear 
that it was the fault of the UNP and President 
Jayawardene who was in power at that time.  Meanwhile, 
statements from anti-LTTE EPDP and TULF politicos are 
likely to be seen by the LTTE as challenges.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
LUNSTEAD