US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO669

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000669 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2015 
TAGS: PTER, MOPS, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA:  NAVAL VESSEL FIRED ON BY SUSPECTED 
LTTE 
 
Classified By: DCM JAMES F. ENTWISTLE.  REASON:  1.4 (B,D). 
 
1.  (SBU)  Just before 10:00 a.m. local time on April 5, a 
Sri Lankan naval inshore patrol craft was fired upon as it 
patrolled coastal waters about 700 meters from shore in the 
eastern district of Trincomalee.  A monitor from the Sri 
Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM) was on board the vessel 
(which was flying an SLMM flag in addition to a Sri Lankan 
Navy flag) at the time of the incident.  No one was injured, 
and the vessel, which sustained some damage, returned to the 
Sri Lankan Navy base without returning fire.  (Note: 
Additional details in septel IIR.) 
 
2.  (C)  According to SLMM Spokeswoman Helen Olafsdottir, the 
vessel was hit by about 30-35 rounds of automatic machine gun 
fire (possibly from an AK-47) off the coast of Muttur in 
Trincomalee.  The Sri Lankan Navy is examining ammunition 
recovered from the vessel to determine the exact kind of 
weapon used, she indicated.  The SLMM is in contact with the 
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), both locally in 
Trincomalee and at LTTE headquarters in Kilinochchi. 
Although the LTTE has yet to acknowledge responsibility--and 
the possibility of a rogue "agent provacateur" from the rival 
Karuna faction cannot be completely ruled out--Olafsdottir 
suggested that the incident could be attributed to "a 
trigger-happy" individual within the local LTTE.  It appears 
clear, however, that Kilinochchi "doesn't seem to know 
anything" about the incident, Olafsdottir said.  (She was 
significantly less categorical in denying LTTE knowledge at 
the local level in Trincomalee.) 
 
3.  (C)  A similar incident had occurred in Trincomalee in 
January, Olafsdottir reported, although only about four or 
five shots were fired at that time.  The official explanation 
from the LTTE for that incident was that the vessel had 
strayed too close to an LTTE firing range.  She acknowledged 
that the firing of 30-35 rounds puts this latest incident on 
a different order of magnitude.  The SLMM is "taking the 
matter very seriously," she concluded, especially since one 
of its monitors was on board the vessel, but does not 
consider it a threat to the Ceasefire Agreement. 
 
4.  (C)  Comment:  Although similar incidents may have 
occurred in the past, 30-35 rounds of sustained automatic 
machine gunfire (naval sources have estimated that as many as 
100 rounds may have been fired) cannot be explained away as 
warning shots or accidents.  The SLMM has long warned 
privately that it considers Trincomalee the most dangerous 
area in Sri Lanka.  That Kilinochchi seemed unaware of the 
incident we find little cause for consolation.  Whatever 
further details may emerge, it seems clear that SLMM's 
assessment of Trincomalee as a potential flashpoint is well 
founded. 
LUNSTEAD