US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO2040

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 002040 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, PINS, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: BODY COUNT MOUNTS IN NORTH AND EAST 
 
REF: COLOMBO 2000 
 
Classified By: AMB Jeffrey Lunstead.  Reason: 1.4 (B,D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C)   Violence intensified in the north and east over the 
past week, culminating in a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 
(LTTE) attack December 4 on a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) vehicle in 
Jaffna that resulted in the highest number of Army casualties 
in a single incident since the beginning of the Ceasefire in 
2002.  Through this nagging pattern of small-scale--but no 
less persistent--attacks, the LTTE appears to be trying to 
provoke an over-reaction by the SLA.  The continuing violence 
on both sides poses an obvious threat to an increasingly 
fragile Ceasefire Agreement (CFA).  We recommend that the 
Department issue a statement condemning ongoing violations of 
the CFA, citing the December 4 attack on the SLA vehicle. The 
proposed draft text follows at Para 8 below. 
 
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PRESSURE INTENSIFIES ON TROOPS IN JAFFNA 
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2.  (SBU) On December 4 seven Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers 
were killed after a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) 
command detonated mine exploded under their truck in 
Jaffna--the highest number of SLA fatalities in a single 
incident since the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) was signed in 
2002.  The explosion occurred near the same location as the 
attack on a truck attached to the U.S.-funded humanitarian 
demining program on November 24 in which one soldier was 
killed (Reftel).  One more soldier died after a separate LTTE 
attack on an SLA camp in another location in Jaffna on 
December 4.  The December 4 incidents followed the killings 
in Jaffna of two Tamil civilians on December 1 who were shot 
by unknown assailants after removing decorations marking the 
November 27 celebration of the LTTE's Heroes' Day.  The next 
day suspected LTTE militants threw hand grenades and fired at 
SLA checkpoints in nine separate incidents, and Jaffna 
residents reported that a previously unknown LTTE front 
called "The Roaring People's Force" had been distributing 
handbills warning of further reprisals if the SLA and 
anti-LTTE Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) did not 
cease attacking Tamil civilians. 
 
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COMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN EAST 
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3.  (SBU) Communal violence erupted on the weekend of 
December 2 in Sri Lanka's volatile eastern province with 
Muslim and Tamil killings and counter killings in 
Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara districts.  On December 2, 
a Muslim mob attacked and burned a Tamil trishaw driver and 
his two passengers, leaving two dead and one seriously 
wounded in the town of Muttur, Trincomalee district. This 
attack followed the shooting of a Muslim man by unknown 
gunmen earlier that day.  The bodies of three Muslims who had 
been abducted after crossing into LTTE-controlled territory 
the morning of December 2, were found dead, execution style, 
on December 3.  A fourth member of the group was hospitalized 
with severe stab wounds. 
 
4.  (C) Unknown assailants abducted two Tamil men the night 
of December 2 and they remain missing.  On the evening of 
December 4 the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) met with 
Muslim and Tamil leaders to calm the situation as the GSL 
sent army and police to reinforce the government-controlled 
areas of the town. Arthur Tviten, district head of the SLMM, 
said he believes the violence was the spontaneous result of 
long-standing tensions between the two communities rather 
than a planned campaign of violence. 
 
5.  (C) In Batticaloa district on December 2, unidentified 
gunmen shot Kattankudy Divisional Secretary A.L.M. Falleel 
in his office with 9 mm pistols.  The critically injured 
Falleel (a Muslim) died two days later.  International NGOs 
operating in Batticaloa reported hearing that Falleel had 
troubled relations with the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization 
(TRO), a charity with strong links to the LTTE.  The 
predominantly Muslim coast line of Ampara district, south of 
Batticaloa, observed a three-day hartal (general strike) 
following the murder of Falleel, an Ampara native.  Communal 
tensions in the district remain high following the November 
18 grenade attack on a mosque in Akkaraipattu that killed six 
and wounded 15. While the attack has been widely attributed 
to the LTTE, the Tigers have denied responsibility.  The SLMM 
district office told us that it lacks sufficient evidence to 
determine whether the LTTE was behind the attack or whether 
political rivalries within the fractured Muslim community are 
the cause.  He added that he believes either scenario is 
plausible. 
 
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SLMM APPEALS FOR CALM 
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6.  (C) On December 4, SLMM chief Hagrup Haukland issued a 
statement calling on all leaders to show restraint and appeal 
for calm in their communities.  On December 5 Norwegian 
Ambassador Hans Brattskar told the Ambassador that he plans 
to travel to Jaffna and Kilinochchi on December 8-9, in what 
he described a very tense situation. 
 
 
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COMMENT 
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7.  (C) It is unclear to what degree, if any, the LTTE may be 
behind the violence in the east, where local ethnic tensions 
often run rampant.  LTTE involvement in the Jaffna attacks is 
pretty obvious, however.  This violence may be motivated by 
either an LTTE desire to put pressure on the new government 
or it may be an LTTE signal that it wants to end the CFA. 
Whatever the motivation, the violence runs the risk of 
further imperiling the CFA. 
 
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DRAFT TEXT OF STATEMENT 
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8.  (SBU)  Begin text: 
 
The U.S. remains gravely concerned about persistent 
violations of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), particularly 
over the past few weeks.  We condemn the December 4 LTTE 
attack on a Sri Lanka Army vehicle in Jaffna that caused the 
deaths of seven soldiers.  Such violence is inconsistent with 
LTTE claims to be committed to the peace process.  We call on 
both the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to take 
immediate action to prevent killings and to uphold the terms 
of the Ceasefire Agreement. 
 
End text. 
LUNSTEAD