US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1896

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001896 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS AND DS/IP/SA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, KCRM, SNAR, PHUM, ASEC, CE, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA:  PRESIDENT THREATENS RETURN TO DEATH 
PENALTY AFTER JUDGE'S ASSASSINATION 
 
 
Classified By: DCM JAMES F. ENTWISTLE.  REASON:  1.4 (B,D). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  The Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) announced 
that President Chandrika Kumaratunga has decided to 
reactivate the death penalty following the November 19 
assassinations of a High Court judge and his bodyguard in 
Colombo.  The killings were likely prompted by the judge's 
involvement in several high-profile narcotics cases, and  are 
the latest in a recent wave of murders in the capital and its 
environs.  Since the death penalty remains technically legal 
in Sri Lanka (although it has not been invoked since 1976), 
the GSL announcement seems intended more to reassure a 
frightened and demoralized public than to effect an actual 
change in sentencing guidelines.  End summary. 
 
2.  (U)  On November 20 the Ministry of Public Security, Law 
and Order announced that President Chandrika Kumaratunga had 
decided to make the death penalty "effective" following the 
assassinations of High Court judge Sarath Ambepitiya and his 
bodyguard in Colombo the previous afternoon.  (Note: 
Although Article 296 of the Penal Code, which allows for the 
death penalty for murder convictions, has never been formally 
revoked, it has not been applied since Sri Lanka's last 
execution in 1976.  A bipartisan Parliamentary debate in 
mid-2003 on re-instituting capital punishment to curb crime 
encountered bitter and passionate opposition from both sides 
of the aisle.  End note.)  The President also reportedly 
directed the Ministry to set up a special police unit to 
protect judges. 
 
3. (SBU)  Judge Ambepitiya was killed as he alighted from his 
car in front of his home in an upscale Colombo neighborhood 
(where numerous Embassy personnel also live) at 3:15 p.m. 
November 19.  According to eyewitness accounts, he was 
targeted by four assailants, who were waiting outside his 
home in a rented van, upon his return from court.  The judge, 
who had earned a reputation for courage by sentencing 
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Prabhakaran to 
a 200-year sentence in absentia, had just sentenced a woman 
for heroin possession in a high-profile narcotics trafficking 
case earlier that day.  He was also slated to hear at least 
one more narcotics case in the near future.  The bold 
day-light assassination elicited a storm of condemnation in 
the local media and public soul-searching on the rising crime 
rate, as well as a decision by the Bar Association of Sri 
Lanka and judges across Sri Lanka not to attend court on 
November 22--the day of Ambepitiya's funeral--as a sign of 
respect.  Police patrols were visibly beefed up across 
Colombo on November 19 and 20 (and somewhat less visibly on 
succeeding days).  Casinos and some bars were closed over the 
weekend.  Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando told 
the Ambassador and RSO on November 22 that the assassination 
will spur more aggressive police pressure on organized crime 
in Colombo, with particular focus on narcotics trafficking. 
 
4.  (U)  Ambepitiya's killing is just the latest in a recent 
rash of brazen killings in Colombo and its environs.  On 
November 8 unidentified assailants killed a garment company 
executive as he got out of his car in front of his mother's 
home in a Colombo suburb.  In October unknown perpetrators 
shot and killed Provincial Council Member Nimal Gunawardena 
on a Colombo street.  On September 12 a suspected underworld 
operative was killed in broad daylight at a gas station 
located on the same street as the Ambassador's residence. 
 
5.  (C)  Comment:  Ambepitiya's assassination follows closely 
upon a highly publicized speech by the President, before the 
National Council on Crime Prevention on November 9, 
castigating the police and judiciary for corruption.  The 
ruthless killing of a well-known senior judge who had managed 
to maintain an unblemished record puts obvious pressure on 
the President for a commensurate response.  Since the death 
penalty has never been repealed, it is difficult to determine 
what, in practical terms, her decision to "reactivate" 
capital punishment means--other than the emotional 
satisfaction and psychological reassurance such an 
annoucement may offer a frightened public.  While it remains 
unclear who killed Ambepitiya, popular speculation is 
pointing toward organized crime operatives, who appear to be 
flourishing in an environment that includes readily available 
firearms, a relatively relaxed security posture under the 
ceasefire, and somewhat permissive--if not complicit--local 
law enforcement. 
 
LUNSTEAD