US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO2058

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 002058 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, CASC, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT: LTTE STRIKES AGAIN IN THE NORTH, SITUATION TENSE 
AND CONFUSED IN THE EAST 
 
 
REF: A. COLOMBO 2040 
     B. USDAO COLOMBO IIR 6 816 0022 06 
 
Classified By: DCM James F. Entwistle.  Reasons 1.4 (B&D) 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Tensions remain high in the North and 
East of Sri Lanka following a second Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attack on December 6 that killed seven in 
Jaffna, and the murder of two Muslim fishermen in Ampara also 
blamed on the LTTE.  New Army Commander Fonseka told a press 
conference on December 6 that the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) will 
stand firm against terrorism without rising to the LTTE's 
bait.  The American demining contractor has suspended field 
operations in Jaffna, but continues to train the SLA. The 
LTTE claims to have killed a senior leader of the breakaway 
Karuna faction and blames the anti-LTTE para-militaries for 
the attacks on eastern Muslims, producing two putative Karuna 
prisoners to prove it.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (SBU) Just two days after a similar attack (Ref A), on 
December 6, the LTTE killed 7 soldiers in a second command 
detonated claymore attack in Irupalai, on the Jaffna - Point 
Pedro Road.  An SUV belonging to the Swiss Agency for 
Development and Cooperation (local press had incorrectly 
identified them as diplomats) had just passed when the bomb 
exploded, destroying the Army vehicle and lightly damaging 
the SUV.  Surviving soldiers ordered the Swiss aid workers 
out of the SUV and told the driver to transport two wounded 
soldiers to an Army aid center. 
 
3.  (SBU)  This claymore attack coincides with LTGEN Sarath 
Fonseka's assumption of duties as Army Commander on December 
6.  An experienced field and combat commander, Fonseka has 
many years of experience in Jaffna.  The new Army chief told 
the press that the LTTE cannot provoke the Army into starting 
a war, and has called for field level talks between the SLA 
and the LTTE to defuse the tense situation.  The SLA is 
responding to these attacks by increasing the number and 
frequency of patrols rather than staying in their fortified 
positions or taking their frustrations out on bystanders (Ref 
B). 
 
4.  (C)  Three AmCits from RONCO, part of the Department's 
Humanitarian Demining Program under PM/WRA, currently reside 
in Jaffna.  Although field demining operations have been 
suspended, training within the Palali high security zone 
(HSZ) continues. RONCO is coordinating closely with the SLA 
to asses the situation, and the civilian trainers can stay 
within the SLA HSZ if it is too dangerous to travel. 
 
5.  (SBU) The LTTE propaganda website Tamilnet reported that 
in Ampara district on December 6, LTTE cadres ambushed a 
patrol from the breakaway Karuna faction, killing four and 
capturing two.  The site also claimed that "Barathy", a key 
Karuna faction leader, was among the dead.  Furthermore, the 
site claimed that the captives confessed to the November 18 
grenade attack on the Akkaraipattu mosque and to other 
anti-Muslim killings in Ampara district (Ref A). (NOTE: These 
confessions were likely obtained by torture.  End note.) 
 
6.  (SBU) On December 6, the towns of Muttur in Trincomalee 
district and Kalmunai in Ampara District were under a hartal 
(general strike) after two Muslim fishermen were found 
machine gunned to death in Ampara district.  Members of the 
Muslim community, along with police, suspect the LTTE of 
killing the fishermen. Muslim crowds are reportedly enforcing 
the hartal by throwing stones at vehicles and pedestrians 
that dare to pass by. 
 
7.  (C)  COMMENT:  The death toll has climbed to 17 soldiers, 
the highest for the SLA since the cease-fire, in less than a 
week.  This increases pressure on the new government and the 
SLA commander.  LTGEN Fonseka has proven his cool under fire, 
but it is unclear if the foot soldiers will continue to 
remain equally disciplined. 
LUNSTEAD