US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1765

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 001765 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS 
NSC FOR E.MILLARD 
PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: SWISS NATIONAL KILLED IN GRENADE ATTACK 
NEAR BATTICALOA 
 
REF: COLOMBO 1726 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of Mission. 
1.4 (b,d) 
 
1. (U) On October 25, a Swiss national was killed in a 
grenade blast in Mamangam, near Batticaloa.  According to 
media reports, an unidentified person lobbed a grenade at 
61-year-old Ken Ulrich in his home.  Some media reports 
cited the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres as 
responsible, but local police are still investigating the 
incident. 
 
2.  (C)  According to a Swiss Embassy official and media 
contacts, Ulrich, who was not registered with the Swiss 
Embassy, had been living with a widowed Tamil woman and her 
three children for two to three years.   The Swiss Embassy 
official speculated that Ulrich was killed for non-payment 
of LTTE taxes.  He added that the Swiss Embassy is not 
considering issuing a travel warning. Other human rights 
contacts in Batticaloa, as well as pro-LTTE sources, were 
unsure why Ulrich was killed. 
 
3.  (C)  COMMENT:  If the LTTE did indeed kill Ulrich, it 
would mark the first time the LTTE has targeted a westerner 
in Sri Lanka.  A high-level LTTE delegation visited Geneva 
just a few weeks ago on a propaganda mission to persuade 
Swiss MFA officials that the LTTE is a legitimate political 
entity on a par with the Sri Lankan Government.  Therefore, 
it seems unlikely that the LTTE, which has studiously avoided 
targeting westerners for two decades, would target a Swiss 
national now.  While the facts of the case remain unclear, 
we believe the more likely motive may be a personal vendetta 
unrelated to the LTTE.  The killing may have been attributed 
to the LTTE simply because it took place in the east, a 
region where the LTTE has assassinated scores of political 
opponents this year. 
LUNSTEAD