US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO1224

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001224 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT: LTTE CLOSES FIELD OFFICES AMID CEASE FIRE 
VIOLATIONS 
 
REF: A. COLOMBO 1217 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have 
ordered all political cadres to close field offices in the 
Trincomalee and Batticaloa districts of the Eastern Province 
and return to LTTE headquarters in Kilinochi, Northern 
Province.  The LTTE has also ordered all 22 Tamil National 
Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians to Kilinochi for 
consultations.  Following the July 10 murders of two senior 
political cadres, suspected LTTE members have carried out six 
grenade attacks against police and the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) 
targets of opportunity.  Today July 14 the Ambassador hosted 
a lunch with the co-chairs of the Sri Lankan peace process. 
Information shared included that the Government of Sri Lanka 
(GSL) had nominated it's representative to the P-TOMS high 
level committee and the LTTE had selected, but not named all 
it's members for the high level and regional committees. 
Norwegians may host talks on strengthening the cease-fire, 
but the LTTE has not yet agreed.  It was agreed that P-TOMS 
could not be implemented in the current environment of Cease 
Fire Agreement (CFA) violations.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE 
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2. (C) This is the third closure of LTTE field offices since 
the CFA.  The LTTE told the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission 
(SLMM) that the closure was temporary, but didn't indicate 
for how long.  It is unclear if this because of the 
deteriorating situation on the ground or as a harbinger of a 
broader response by the LTTE. A POL FSN contact with access 
to the LTTE reported that LTTE Eastern military commander COL 
Bhanu intends to continue his strategy of "filtering out", 
meaning assassinate, rebels from the Karuna faction and 
informants for the intelligence services.  This campaign will 
also be carried out in the Colombo district. 
 
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HAVE GRENADE, WILL TRAVEL 
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3.  (C) Since the July 10 murder of the high level LTTE 
cadres, there have been ten grenade or shooting attacks on 
GSL security forces.  The attacks are uncoordinated and have 
resulted in no deaths.  Contrary to reports in the western 
press, there have been NO/NO attacks on tsunami refugee 
camps.  The attack on a military guard post outside of a 
refugee camp on July 13 did result in one civilian being 
slightly injured. 
 
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POW WOW OR WAR COUNCIL 
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4.  (C) The TNA MPs will receive instructions from LTTE 
political head S. P. Thamilchelvan on July 17 in Kilinochi. 
It is expected to include talking points regarding the GSL 
refusal of the LTTE ultimatum to increase security for 
unarmed transiting LTTE cadres. Although not expected to 
break the CFA, LTTE press officer Dayan Master told the 
vernacular press that the LTTE will use the June 30 date of 
their ultimatum as their notification date for stepping away 
from the CFA. (NOTE: Everyone is expecting a "Big" 
announcement. END NOTE)  According to the Norwegians, SLMM 
head Haukland feels the transportation issue can be solved. 
 
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NORWEGIANS MULLING CEASE FIRE TALKS 
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5.  (C) Norwegian Charge d' Affaires Oddvar Laegreid told 
co-chairs on July 13 they are considering hosting a round of 
talks on strengthening the CFA.  The GSL has agreed but the 
LTTE so far has been negative, citing the CFA violations. 
The talks would be held in Sri Lanka in,  yet to be 
determined, neutral territory.  The Ambassador pressed 
Laegried for early action if possible, and Laegreid said he 
would discuss it in a phone call with Solhiem later that 
afternoon.  Co-chair representatives agreed there was little 
chance of movement on P-TOMS implementation until the cease 
fire issue was addressed. 
 
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P-TOMS CLUB 
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6.  (SBU) The GSL announced Thursday morning the selection of 
Constitutional Affairs Minister D.E.W. Gunasekera to be their 
representative on the P-TOMS High level committee.  The World 
Bank is the GSL choice to administer the P-TOMS trust fund. 
According to the Norwegians the LTTE have selected all 
members for both the High and Regional level committees.  All 
guests at the Ambassador's lunch agreed that Muslim leaders 
are acting out of wounded pride more that a discernible 
mandate from the Muslim street.  A P-TOMS project office in 
the east could assuage Muslim concerns and is permissible 
under the P-TOMS.  The Sri Lanka Supreme Court is expected to 
announce July 15 whether it will grant interim relief to the 
plaintiffs in the case challenging the constitutionality of 
the P-TOMS agreement.  A negative ruling on P-TOMS would be a 
severe blow for the President.  All parties agreed that 
P-TOMS implementation will be impossible under the current 
level of CFA violations. 
 
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COMMENT 
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7.  (SBU) The violence in the Trincomalee area is at a high 
level but does not yet, we believe, indicate a wider 
breakdown.  The Supreme Court decision and expected LTTE 
pronouncement will indicate where things may be going.  We 
believe Norwegian efforts to get the cease fire back on track 
are imperative. 
LUNSTEAD