US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1924

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001924 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS AND DS/IP/SA 
NSC FOR DORMANDY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, PINS, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA:  VIOLENCE IN TRINCOMALEE ESCALATES 
 
REF: A. COLOMBO 1920 
     B. COLOMBO 1913 
     C. COLOMBO 1897 
 
Classified By: James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of Mission.  1.4 (b,d) 
 
1.  (C)  Summary.  In the wake of the Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam (LTTE)'s November 26-27 "Heroes' Day" 
celebrations, violence is escalating in Trincomalee. 
Tensions there are running high after two Sinhalese men were 
killed in a November 29 LTTE-called hartal (general 
shutdown), and numerous attacks on Sinhalese and Tamils. 
Security forces called a curfew November 29 and are expected 
to call another curfew November 30.  President Kumaratunga 
ordered defense chiefs to meet in Trincomalee to discuss the 
situation and contain its escalation.  Angered by the LTTE's 
Heroes' Day commemorations, many Sinhalese, fueled by the 
Marxist (and Sinhala Buddhist) Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna 
(JVP), are protesting the LTTE-- and the Sri Lanka Monitoring 
Mission (SLMM) ceasefire monitors, whom the JVP believe favor 
the Tigers.  The police and armed forces have done a great 
deal to contain the situation, but with two Sinhalese 
dead--and no Tamils--the upcoming funerals may well unleash 
continued unrest.  At issue is whether or not the security 
forces can contain the violence in an already polarized 
setting. The AID/OTI office in Trincomalee is closed; 
personnel are safe and accounted for.  End summary. 
 
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Heroes' Day Celebrations Anger Sinhalese 
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2.  (U)  While much of the violence in the week-long run-up 
to the LTTE Heroes' Day celebrations (see Reftels) was 
between the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the unrest in equally-populated Tamil, 
Muslim and Sinhalese Trincomalee was initially between the 
SLA and Sinhalese protesters angry about LTTE cease-fire 
agreement (CFA) violations.  From November 24-30, the unrest 
escalated and is now primarily between Sinhalese and Tamil 
civilians, while the police and armed forces are attempting 
to maintain control over the violent situation by dispersing 
protesters, implementing curfews and increasing patrols in 
Trincomalee District. 
 
3.  (C) The tension began to increase on November 24, when 
the Tamil Secretary to the North and East Governor was 
reportedly "detained" by the LTTE, and another Tamil member 
of the Governor's staff voluntarily turned himself over to 
the LTTE November 25.  Earlier in November, the LTTE had 
approached these two staff members to request the 
cancellation of a November 26-27 Governor's conference in 
Trincomalee, but the Governor refused.  After the staff 
members were "detained" in LTTE-controlled Sampur, across the 
harbor from Trincomalee town, the Governor canceled the 
conference.  The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission SLMM) has not 
been able to visit the staff members, who are still being 
"held" by the LTTE, but on November 30 SLMM spokesman Oskar 
Solnes told poloff that they had been able to speak with 
their families. 
 
4.  (C) On November 26, according to press reports and 
sources in Trincomalee, Sinhalese protesters, backed by the 
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), demonstrated outside of the 
SLMM office in Trincomalee.  Later that day, protesters 
raised the Sri Lankan flag to protest LTTE flag raisings 
(violations of the nearly three-year old CFA) and to honor a 
Sinhalese anti-colonial "hero."  On November 26 and again on 
November 27, according to the SLMM's Solnes and other 
sources, police and SLA personnel reportedly used tear gas 
and fired guns into the air to disperse the crowd. 
 
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LTTE Call a Hartal 
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5.  (C) On November 29, the LTTE called a hartal, or general 
shutdown, in Trincomalee to protest a reported attack on 
pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP R. Sampanthan's 
son; however, some shops and public buses functioned 
normally.  SLA spokesman Brigadier General Daya Ratnayake 
told poloff that Tamils attacked one such bus (carrying 
Sinhalese passengers), with a grenade.  One Sinhalese man was 
killed and three other Sinhalese men were injured.  The 
police declared a curfew in Trincomalee District, during 
which, Ratnayake reported, several other attacks occurred: 
Tamils burned a van owned by a Sinhalese man; Sinhalese and 
Muslims burned a private bus owned by a Tamil; and other 
smaller skirmishes erupted between Sinhalese and Tamils in 
the area.  Local media also reported that two houses were 
attacked by LTTE-backed groups.  According to  media reports 
and sources in Trincomalee, about 100 families were displaced 
from their homes because they did not feel safe.  Sources in 
Trincomalee told poloff that relatively few Muslims have been 
involved in the unrest. 
 
6.  (C) On the morning of November 30, police lifted the 
curfew.  SLA spokesman Ratnayake told poloff that the SLA was 
sending additional troops into the area from nearby Minneriya 
and noted that no security forces personnel had been injured 
in the unrest.  Other sources in Trincomalee told poloff that 
the JVP was planning a retaliatory hartal, but called it 
off--and that police dispersed renewed skirmishes in downtown 
Trincomalee, reportedly beating both Sinhalese and Tamils. 
The SLMM's Solnes and SLA's Ratnayake confirmed to poloff the 
killing of a second Sinhalese man near Trincomalee on the 
Colombo-Trincomalee Road. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
President Orders Defense Chiefs to Contain the Violence 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
7.  (C) Meanwhile, President Kumaratunga ordered Eastern 
Security Forces Commander Nanda Mallawarachchi, Chief of 
Defense Staff Daya Sandagiri, and Commander of the SLA Shanta 
Kottegoda to meet in Trincomalee to discuss the situation 
with local police and Trincomalee SLA Commander P. Kulatunga. 
 The SLA's Ratnayake told poloff that in the group's November 
30 meeting, they discussed measures to prevent escalation of 
the conflict, what to do if the unrest spills into other 
areas, and how to control the situation should it worsen. 
SLA and SLMM sources expect the security forces to call 
another curfew November 30. 
 
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Funerals Could Provoke Further Unrest 
------------------------------------- 
 
8.  (C)  Angered by the LTTE's Heroes' Day commemorations, 
many Sinhalese are protesting in Trincomalee.  The SLMM's 
Solnes noted that while it is impossible to know exactly  who 
the Sinhalese protesters are, followers of a local Buddhist 
monk known for his strong Sinhala nationalist views (whom 
Solnes described as "one of the SLMM's best customers in 
Trinco") and members of the North East Sinhala Organization, 
a JVP-backed group, are involved.  Trincomalee JVP MP 
Jayantha Wijesekara, in Colombo at Parliament, told political 
FSN that the LTTE was responsible for the violence in 
Trincomalee and that JVP protests were peaceful.  SLMM's 
Solnes speculated that there is a strong possibility of 
continued violence in Trincomalee on December 1, the day of 
the funeral of the Sinhalese man killed in the grenade attack 
on a passenger bus November 29.  He also noted that SLMM 
Chief General Trond Furuhovde may travel to Trincomalee to 
assess the situation. 
 
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Comment 
------- 
 
9. (C) The unrest in Trincomalee is not surprising, given the 
LTTE's intransigent insistence on marking its Heroes' Day in 
grand style, and the JVP-fueled Sinhalese community's 
opposition to LTTE celebrations.  JVP MP Wijesekara's 
disingenuous denials aside, much of the violence in 
Trincomalee stems from JVP hostility to the LTTE and to the 
SLMM, whom the JVP view as favoring the Tigers.  The police 
and armed forces have done a great deal to contain the 
situation, but with two Sinhalese dead--and no Tamils--the 
upcoming funerals may well unleash continued unrest.  At 
issue is whether or not the security forces can contain the 
violence in an already polarized setting.  The AID/OTI office 
in Trincomalee is closed; personnel are safe and accounted 
for. 
 
 
LUNSTEAD