US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO1656

UNCLAS COLOMBO 001656 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE SA/INS AND G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PTER, KWMN, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA:  TIGERS DETAIN GSL CHILD PROTECTION 
POLICE; FUMBLE LAW ENFORCEMENT OPPORTUNITY 
 
REF: COLOMBO 1610 
 
 1. (U) SUMMARY:  Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) 
police force detained three special policemen from the 
Government of Sri Lanka's (GSL) National Child Protection 
Authority (NCPA) on September 13 after the GSL officers 
crossed into LTTE-controlled territory in the north while 
pursuing a suspected foreign sex offender.  Although the Sri 
Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and UNICEF have intervened to 
push for the policemen's release, the LTTE maintains the 
three must remain in custody until a September 27 "trial" at 
LTTE headquarters in Kilinochchi.  While there have been rare 
instances of the LTTE cooperating with GSL police in other 
criminal cases in the past, this recent debacle reflects the 
overall deterioration of GSL/LTTE relations, a breakdown 
exacerbated by the September 8 closure of LTTE political 
offices in GSL territory. END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), UNICEF, the 
Roman Catholic Church and the GSL are urging the Liberation 
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to release three National Child 
Protection Authority (NCPA) officers detained on September 13 
after they crossed into LTTE-controlled territory in the 
northern district of Mannar while pursuing a convicted UK sex 
offender. Unarmed and in civilian clothes, the officers, who 
were accompanied by two local Catholic priests and two female 
NCPA officers, were stopped at an LTTE checkpoint near a 
Tiger camp. (NOTE: Unlike the demilitarized zone of the 
Omantai crossing, Mannar district does not have a 
clearly-defined border between the GSL and LTTE lines.  This 
"western front" has traditionally been less volatile than the 
north and east. END NOTE)  While the priests were able to 
negotiate the release of the two female officers, their male 
colleagues were arrested and transferred to LTTE headquarters 
in Kilinochchi for "trial".  The suspected sex offender, 
meanwhile, turned himself in to GSL authorities in Colombo on 
September 14 and faces arraignment on September 30. 
 
3. (SBU) The LTTE has come under unaccustomed fire for the 
detentions from the SLMM, which has pressed LTTE political 
leader S. P. Tamilchelvan for the immediate release of the 
policemen.  So far the LTTE has resisted such pressure, 
although it allowed SLMM officers to visit the three 
policemen in Kilinochchi to verify their well-being.  SLMM 
spokesperson Helen Olafsdottir and UNICEF child protection 
officer Victor Nylund told poloff they believe the 
LTTE--which had coincidentally announced the formation of its 
own version of a child protection unit in its "police force" 
on September 7--realizes now it made a mistake in 
apprehending the policemen but can find no face-saving way to 
extricate itself.  Olafsdottir and Nylund expect the LTTE 
will have a "show trial" on September 27 and release the 
officers thereafter. 
 
4.  (SBU) COMMENT: The GSL police and the LTTE have 
historically used the LTTE political offices as conduits for 
occasional, if infrequent, working level cooperation in 
handing over suspects fleeing GSL authorities.  The September 
8 closure of these offices (Reftel), however, has lessened 
the effectiveness of  this potentially useful line of 
communications. The inability of the LTTE to work with the 
GSL to curb a suspected foreign pedophile is a reflection of 
just how far GSL-LTTE relations have deteriorated over the 
past few months. 
LUNSTEAD