US embassy cable - 02COLOMBO2184

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 002184 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
OSLO PLS PASS TO AMBASSADOR WILLS 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL: 11/25/12 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, KPAO, PHUM, CE, NO, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  Meeting of Sri Lankan PM with LTTE nets heavy 
domestic press coverage; Annual LTTE address due 11/27 
 
Refs:  Colombo 2174, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Charge d'Affaires. 
Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY:  The meeting between Prime Minister 
Wickremesinghe and LTTE negotiator Balasingham in Oslo 
on November 24 has received extensive press coverage in 
Sri Lanka.  In other peace process developments, LTTE 
leader Prabhakaran is preparing to give his annual 
speech on November 27.  Mission has heard from Tamil 
contacts that the speech will be moderate in tone.  Amid 
this positive news, tensions are flaring between the 
LTTE and another Tamil party in the Jaffna area.  As 
with those given in 2000 and 2001, Prabhakaran's 
upcoming speech seems set to move the peace process 
forward.  END SUMMARY. 
 
======================= 
PM/LTTE Meeting in Oslo 
======================= 
 
2.  (SBU) The November 24 meeting in Oslo between Prime 
Minister Wickremesinghe and Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam (LTTE) senior negotiator Anton Balasingham has 
received extensive press coverage in Sri Lanka. 
(Note:  The PM and Balasingham are in Oslo for the 
November 25 "Peace Process Support Meeting.")  The 
meeting is said to mark the first time in over a decade 
that a Sri Lankan government leader has met with an LTTE 
official.  (Note:  In the late 1980's and early 1990's, 
then-President Premadasa met with LTTE officials, 
including Balasingham, on several occasions.)  Along 
with short, positive-themed articles about the meeting, 
several newspapers splashed photos of a smiling 
Wickremesinghe, Balasingham, and Norwegian government 
facilitator Erik Solheim on their front pages.  Because 
the meeting reportedly took place late November 24, 
there was no editorial comment.  The meeting also 
received extensive coverage on radio and TV. 
 
3.  (SBU) The pro-LTTE website, "TamilNet," also 
reported the meeting.  Along with a short story 
describing the meeting as "historic," TamilNet posted 
three color photos of the smiling participants. 
 
============================ 
LTTE Leader's Annual Address 
============================ 
 
4.  (SBU) Turning to other peace process developments, 
LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran is preparing to give his 
annual "Heroes' Day" speech on November 27.  Ahead of 
the speech, "Heroes' Day" commemorations have already 
begun, with pro-LTTE Tamils in the north and the east 
holding public meetings in honor of LTTE militants (and 
"Black Tiger" suicide bombers) who have died in the 
conflict with the GSL.  TamilNet, for example, reported 
that a ceremony was held in Mullaitivu, an important 
LTTE-controlled town in the Wanni region, on 
November 24.  Describing the event, TamilNet related 
that "Pottu Aman and other LTTE cadre spent time talking 
to the parents of the Martyrs."  (Note:  Pottu Aman, who 
is wanted by India for the 1991 killing of Rajiv Gandhi, 
is the LTTE's intelligence chief and is rarely seen in 
public.)  At the Mullaitivu event, a "ceremonial flame" 
was lit and "flower garlands" placed on the graves of 
"martyrs."  The "Tamil Eelam flag" was also hoisted. 
 
5.  (C) With respect to the November 27 address, Mission 
has heard that it is supposed to be moderate in tone. 
In representative comments from Tamil contacts, V. 
Krishnapillai, a Tamil National Alliance MP from the 
Batticaloa region, told us that he had heard that 
Prabhakaran would come out strongly in support of the 
peace process, and praise the GSL, as well as the 
Norwegian facilitation effort.  Krishnapillai said he 
did not expect any "surprises" in the speech, e.g., a 
renunciation of the use of terrorism by the LTTE or a 
complete abandonment of the idea of forming a separate 
state.  (Note:  Other contacts, providing no further 
information, have told us that there may be some sort of 
"surprise" that would please the international 
community.)  Daya Master, an official in the LTTE's 
media unit, has also given public indications that 
Prabhakaran's comments would be constructive in nature. 
(Note:  There are reports that Prabhakaran's speech will 
be aired on government-controlled radio in the south 
several hours after it is given.  In the past, the 
speech was only aired on "The Voice of the Tigers," the 
LTTE's radio service.) 
 
================== 
Tensions in Jaffna 
================== 
 
6.  (C) Amid the positive news, tensions are flaring 
between the LTTE and another Tamil party in the Jaffna 
area.  While it is unclear exactly what is happening, 
reports indicate that the LTTE is instigating small- 
scale attacks against the Eelam People's Democratic 
Party (EPDP) in Jaffna.  The epicenter of the LTTE/EPDP 
confrontation is the cluster of islands located between 
Jaffna Peninsula and the Indian coast.  According to 
contacts, the LTTE is trying to drive the EPDP from the 
islands.  (Note:  The EPDP, which has had close links 
with prior governments and is anti-LTTE, has long been 
politically strong in the islands, particularly Delft 
island.  Years after being driven off the islands by GSL 
forces, the LTTE has only recently begun to re-open 
offices.)  According to reports, LTTE cadre and 
supporters have reportedly beaten up EPDP supporters and 
burned down EPDP offices.  LTTE cadre reportedly even 
instigated an attack in the mainland Jaffna town of 
Chavakachcheri, where an EPDP office was torched late 
last week.  Taking note of the situation, President 
Kumaratunga reportedly demanded in a letter to the PM 
that the GSL team raise the matter with the LTTE while 
in Oslo. 
 
======= 
COMMENT 
======= 
 
7.  (C) Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's meeting with 
Balasingham seems to have struck a positive chord ahead 
of the international conference in Oslo on November 25. 
Just a year ago such a meeting was virtually 
unimaginable, given the chasm of distrust dividing the 
two sides.  In terms of context, the meeting is another 
in the series of benchmark peace process-building 
events, which include, inter alia, the December 2001 
unilateral ceasefire announcements, the February 
ceasefire accord, and the start of talks in September. 
In the meantime, Prabhakaran's annual speech seems set 
to move the peace process forward some more.  The last 
two iterations of the speech in 2000 and 2001 were vital 
in setting the stage for the current peace process.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
8.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
AMSELEM