US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO341

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000341 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, CE, JA 
SUBJECT: AKASHI SEES PROGRESS POSSIBLE BETWEEN LTTE AND 
GOVERNMENT 
 
REF: (A) BRUSSELS 478 (B) OSLO 186 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead for reason 1.5 (d). 
 
 This cable contains an action request: see para 
10. 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: Akashi found LTTE's Tamilchelvan 
less aggressive than expected, and believes 
negotiations on a joint mechanism for tsunami 
reconstruction can resume. President Kumaratunga 
said she was eager for an agreement. Each side 
blamed the other for delays. Akashi thinks a Co- 
Chair Ambassador statement urging quick 
conclusion of an agreement would be useful. END 
SUMMARY 
 
2. (U) Government of Japan Special Envoy Yasushi 
Akashi briefed other Co-Chairs February 13 at 
the conclusion of his visit to Sri Lanka.  He 
discussed in particular his meeting with the 
LTTE's Tamilchelvan and his dinner with 
President Kumaratunga. 
 
Tamilchelvan Calm 
----------------- 
 
3. (C) In a break from normal practice, Akashi 
met Tamilchelvan in an LTTE-controlled area near 
Batticaloa in the east rather than in the Tiger 
"capital" of Kilinocchi. Akashi said he was 
surprised at Tamilchelvan's calm demeanor. 
Tamilchelvan strongly condemned the recent 
killing of LTTE Batti political chief Kausalyan, 
and "strongly suggested" that the Government or 
associated parties (Tamil paramilitary groups) 
were involved. He did not say that the 
Government carried out the killing, but said 
that at least the Government should have known 
what was going on in its area. He cited 
paragraph 1.8 of the Ceasefire Agreement, which 
obligates the government to disarm 
paramilitaries. Nonetheless, Akashi said, 
Tamilchelvan did not raise his voice much and 
did not say that the Tigers would stop the 
negotiations with the Government on a mechanism 
for delivery of tsunami assistance in the North 
and East. Tamilchelvan accused the Government of 
procrastination on this process. 
 
4. (C) Akashi pressed Tamilchelvan several times 
on the importance of the negotiations on the 
mechanism. When he asked Tamilchelvan directly 
if he was hopeful, Tamilchelvan said "Yes." LTTE 
negotiator on this subject Pulidevan was 
slightly warmer, and said that he was planning 
to travel to Colombo on Feb 14. Akashi said that 
overall he was "cautiously optimistic" that 
agreement on the mechanism could be reached. 
Akashi noted that the LTTE was quite clear that 
the mechanism would only apply to the tsunami- 
affected areas -- perhaps some two kilometers in 
from the coast. Akashi felt this was so the 
Tigers would not appear to be giving up on their 
Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) 
proposal. 
 
President Says LTTE Delaying Agreement 
-------------------------------------- 
 
5. (C) Akashi had a three-hour meeting and 
dinner with President Kumaratunga, who was in a 
very good mood. She was accompanied by Foreign 
Minister Kadirgamar and Peace Secretariat 
head/mechanism negotiator Jayantha Dhanapala. 
Akashi pressed Kumaratunga to conclude the 
agreement on the mechanism, and she replied that 
the LTTE was procrastinating, noting that the 
Government had to wait 10 days for the Tiger 
Central Committee to meet and consider the 
proposal. Akashi continued to press for quick 
movement, telling Kumaratunga that the 
opportunity for cooperation and confidence 
building might not return, and the donor 
community was waiting. Dhanapala said that the 
Government also hoped for a quick agreement. He 
noted that the LTTE had for the first time sent 
in a written proposal, and that this took more 
time for the Government to evaluate. 
Norway Not Sure Who Killed Kausalyan 
------------------------------------ 
6.  (C) Ambassador Lunstead asked Norwegian DCM 
Langried (Ambassador Brattskar was not at 
meeting) whether the Norwegians and the Sri 
Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) had reached any 
conclusions about government involvement in 
Kausalyan's murder. Langried said that they had 
not, and added that the "likelihood is we will 
never find out." (Note: This contrasts with 
statements by Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister 
Helgesen in ref b.) 
 
Possible Co-Chair Statement? 
---------------------------- 
 
7. (C) Akashi asked Ambassador Lunstead to stay 
behind for a minute after the others left. 
Akashi said he wanted our opinion on whether a 
statement by the Co-Chair Chiefs of Mission 
urging quick agreement on a mechanism would be 
helpful. This would be intended to put pressure 
on both sides. This is, Akashi said, an 
"important juncture" in the peace process. 
Akashi envisioned a one paragraph statement 
along the following lines: 
 
"The Co-Chairs urge the Government and the LTTE 
to capitalize on the new atmosphere created by 
the tsunami and express their strong hope that 
ongoing negotiations to establish a joint 
mechanism for tsunami relief in the North and 
East will be successful to address the most 
urgent needs and allow an equitable and rapid 
distribution of assistance." 
 
8. (C) Ambassador Lunstead responded that this 
was certainly an idea we could consider. He said 
he imagined that the Norwegians would opt out on 
the grounds that they are facilitating the 
negotiations. Japanese Ambassador Suda was 
lukewarm about the idea, predicting that the EU 
would try to fill the statement up with 
additional material on reconstruction issues. 
Ambassador Lunstead said he would meet EU 
Delegation Chief Wilton and visiting EC Director 
for Asia Fotiadis the following day and would 
mention the idea. 
 
9. (C) COMMENT: If Akashi's reading of 
Tamilchelvan and the LTTE is correct, it is a 
hopeful sign. Ambassador will try to meet 
Dhanapala in the next few days to get his 
impressions on where mechanism negotiations are 
going. As noted above, it is striking to us that 
the Norwegians here seem much less certain than 
Helgesen about exactly what happened in the 
Kausalyan shooting. This reinforced our 
impression from the Brussels Co-Chairs meeting 
(ref a) of a somewhat discouraged Helgesen who 
seems prone right now to lay all problems at the 
feet of the Government. 
 
10. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: We are not sure 
Akashi's idea of a Co-Chair Ambassador's 
statement will move things forward 
significantly, but it probably would not hurt-- 
if it can be kept short and simple. Action 
Request: Department thoughts on this idea. 
 
LUNSTEAD