US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO244

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000244 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958:   DECL: 02/12/13 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PHUM, CE, NO, JA, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  Tigers continue to formalize control in the 
Wanni region, and flex muscles in Jaffna and the east 
 
Refs:  (A) Colombo 229      (F) 02 Colombo 2238 
 
-      (B) Colombo 194      (G) 02 Colombo 2204 
-      (C) Colombo 172      (H) 02 Colombo 2133 
-      (D) Colombo 120      (I) 02 Colombo 1828 
-      (E) 02 Colombo 2319  (J) 02 Colombo 1299 
 
(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY:  The LTTE continues to formalize its 
control of the Wanni region in northern Sri Lanka by 
setting up quasi-government agencies focused on such 
areas as law enforcement, communications, and education. 
In the meantime, Tiger cadre in government-controlled 
areas of Jaffna and the east are employing strong-arm, 
mafia-type tactics as they extort money, attack other 
Tamil groups, and recruit personnel.  Although the 
Tigers are far from creating any sort of embryonic state 
structure (despite simplistic press reporting to the 
contrary), they are steadily expanding their influence 
in the north and east even as the peace process moves 
forward.  END SUMMARY. 
 
================================ 
Formalizing Control in the Wanni 
================================ 
 
2.  (C) In the past several months, the Liberation 
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have continued to formalize 
their control of the Wanni region, and flex their 
muscles in Jaffna and the east.  In the Wanni, the Tiger 
focus has been on putting in place quasi-government 
agencies, as it tries to "civilianize" its control of 
the region.  (Note:  Per Ref J, the Tigers have long had 
military control of most of the Wanni region, a lightly 
populated area located in northern Sri Lanka.  It was 
only with the advent of the peace process -- and the 
ceasefire -- that the group was able to take firm steps 
in the administrative sphere.)  Recent Tiger efforts to 
create a civilian administrative structure have 
included: 
 
-- Law Enforcement:  According to many reports, the 
Tigers have put in place "Tamil Eelam police" offices 
throughout the Wanni (also see Ref J).  A judicial 
system is also in place complete with "judges" and 
"courts."  There are also reports that there is a law 
school. 
 
-- Communications:  After years of underground activity, 
the "Voice of the Tigers" radio station has recently 
been legalized, per Sri Lankan government regulations. 
The radio station has also been upgraded in its 
capabilities, and now can be heard clearly throughout 
the Wanni and nearby regions.  (Note:  At the request of 
the GSL, the equipment for the upgrade was imported into 
Sri Lanka by the Norwegian Embassy.  Anti-peace process 
groups have harshly criticized the Norwegians for their 
involvement.) 
 
-- Education:  The LTTE is also working hard to expand 
its educational system.  It has, for example, opened a 
network of schools in the Wanni in past months. 
Although the GSL provides textbooks for all students in 
the country, the LTTE denies students in the areas it 
controls access to certain school texts because the 
content varies from the LTTE's views.  In place of the 
GSL's texts, the LTTE has provided its own curriculum. 
General Secretary of the "All-Island Tamil Teachers 
Union" T. Mahasivam has told us that children in the 
Wanni do not have access to proper educational material 
due in large part to the LTTE's strict limitations. 
(Note:  On the subject of education, the Tamil press has 
recently reported that the Tigers have even begun an "e- 
learning center" in the Wanni.) 
 
-- Banking/Customs:  As detailed in Ref C, in an attempt 
to increase its revenues, the LTTE is expanding its 
financial institutions in the Wanni by opening "Tamil 
Eelam Bank" branches and creating an "Eelam Customs" 
agency.  Although some media accounts claim the bank has 
existed in some form for approximately 10 years, it now 
has five branch offices and is reportedly catering to 
returning Internally Displaced Persons (IDP's).  The 
bank reportedly offers almost all of the standard 
financial services.  The LTTE also collects a 
predetermined "customs fee" on all items transported 
through the Wanni.  The LTTE has published the rate of 
its customs fees in Tamil-language newspapers. 
 
(Note:  While the LTTE's activities are most noticeable 
in the Wanni region, the group is also reportedly taking 
similar actions in those sections of the east under its 
control.  It is not clear, but perhaps something around 
a third or more of the land area of the Eastern Province 
is under LTTE control.  Overall, including the Wanni and 
the east, approximately 15 percent of the land area of 
Sri Lanka is believed to be under direct Tiger control, 
an area containing a population of about 500,000 
people.) 
 
=============================== 
Wanni Steps seen as Rudimentary 
=============================== 
 
3.  (C) Despite the Tigers' best efforts, the general 
feeling among most observers is that their attempts to 
create a civilian administrative structure have not been 
fully successful, thus far.  Making this point, Jehan 
Perera of the National Peace Council, a well-known local 
NGO, told us that he thought the Tiger effort was 
rudimentary and seriously retarded by lack of funds. 
Many of the so-called "Tamil Eelam" offices were "paper" 
creations, with little substance, other than the Tiger 
"wish" that the outside world perceive their moves as 
something important.  He added that he still did not 
consider the Tigers a "civilian political organization," 
but rather a military/insurgent grouping that remained 
ready for war, if necessary. 
 
========================================== 
Mafia-type Behavior in Jaffna and the East 
========================================== 
 
4.  (C) In the meantime, Tiger cadre are increasingly 
employing strong-arm, mafia-type tactics in government- 
controlled areas of Jaffna and the east.  The Tigers' 
objective in employing such tactics seems to be to 
marginalize the GSL's governing apparatus (including the 
military), and other Tamil groups, so as to allow the 
LTTE to emerge as the preeminent force in Jaffna and the 
east, as it is in the Wanni.  Mafia-type Tiger 
activities in Jaffna and the east include: 
 
-- Extorting Money:  There are continuing reports that 
the Tigers are engaged in widespread extortion in Jaffna 
and the east.  The victims of the extortion effort are 
primarily Tamil businessmen working in those areas. 
Mission has heard reports that if Tamils do not comply 
by saying they do not have the money the Tigers find 
ways to access bank accounts and threaten them. 
(Note:  Although they were targets last year, Muslims 
living in the east no longer seem to be a major class of 
victims.) 
 
-- Seizing Properties:  Mission has heard many reports 
that the LTTE has seized numerous properties in Jaffna 
and the east.  During a visit to Batticaloa town in 
November, for example, Mission heard that numerous homes 
had been taken over by the LTTE as offices for its cadre 
(see Ref H).  (Note:  The LTTE has opened up dozens of 
political and other party offices in the north and the 
east in recent months, as allowed by the ceasefire 
accord.)  In comments confirmed by Tamil contacts, Sri 
Lankan military officials have also recently told us 
that the same practice is increasingly widespread in 
Jaffna. 
 
-- Intimidating other Tamil groups:  Mission continues 
to hear credible reports that the LTTE is intimidating 
Tamil groups and individuals that disagree with Tiger 
views (Ref E).  The Eelam People's Democratic Party 
(EPDP) has been a regular target of the LTTE, for 
example.  According to reliable reports, LTTE cadres 
have attacked at least four EPDP offices in the Jaffna 
region in recent months.  In addition to the EPDP, 
another group called the Eelam People's Revolutionary 
Liberation Front (EPRLF) also accuses the LTTE of 
preventing EPRLF cadre from performing political work in 
Jaffna and the east. 
 
-- Recruitment Drives:  As reported in Ref D, the LTTE 
has actively recruited children in recent months despite 
past pledges to stop such efforts.  Through dragoon-like 
efforts, the LTTE is also actively recruiting young men 
and women.  The reports tend to indicate that these 
recruitment efforts have been successful and that the 
number of LTTE cadre continues to spike up, although the 
exact number of recruits is not clear.  All the recruits 
are Tamil, with most recruitment taking place in the 
east. 
 
============================================ 
Despite Efforts, Strong Nexus of GSL Control 
============================================ 
 
5.  (C) Again, despite the LTTE's best efforts, the 
government and its security forces still maintain a 
strong nexus of control in Jaffna and the east.  The 
GSL, for example has effectively deflected the LTTE's 
demand that it reduce its "high security zones" in 
Jaffna, which account for about 18 percent of the land 
area there.  Operating from these positions of strength, 
the Sri Lankan military continues to maintain over 
30,000 troops in the Jaffna Peninsula.  In addition, the 
government's position in the east is still formidable, 
with around 20,000 troops and several thousand highly- 
trained Special Task Force police deployed throughout 
the region.  Moreover, although the government's 
civilian government apparatus is believed to have been 
heavily penetrated by LTTE informers, there is no doubt 
that the GSL is still in administrative control of 
Jaffna and the east. 
 
======= 
COMMENT 
======= 
 
6.  (C) Recent press reporting in the "New York Times" 
and the "Washington Post" painted a dire picture in 
which the Tigers had already created a de facto "Tamil 
Eelam" in the north and east.  If one was only to look 
at the "Tamil Eelam" signboards in the Wanni or other 
parts of the north and east without digging much deeper, 
that may seem to be the case.  In actuality, the 
situation is much more complicated, with the Tigers far 
from creating any sort of embryonic state structure. 
First, as noted, their efforts in the Wanni are 
tentative and hindered by resources.  In addition, the 
Wanni is an exposed region, surrounded by government 
forces, factors that tend to hinder complete LTTE 
freedom of maneuver.  Second, while of serious human 
rights concern, the LTTE's mafia-like activities in 
Jaffna and the east have only served to diminish 
governmental control, not marginalize it entirely. 
Taking all of these caveats into account, however, it is 
safe to say that the LTTE is steadily expanding its 
sphere of influence in the north and east even as the 
peace process moves forward.  END COMMENT. 
 
7. (U) Minimize considered. 
WILLS