US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO687

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000687 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  04-21-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PHUM, PREF, CE, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  Muslim-Tamil Tiger violence flares anew in 
eastern Sri Lanka 
 
Ref:  (A) FBIS Reston VA DTG 201137Z APR 03 
-     (B) FBIS Reston VA DTG 190851Z APR 03 
-     (C) Colombo 658, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons:  1.5 (b, d) 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Muslim-Tamil Tiger violence erupted in 
eastern Sri Lanka, April 17-18.  Five people were 
reportedly killed, with many displaced.  Muslim 
politicians have threatened to boycott Parliament if the 
GSL does not address the situation.  After a lull in 
violence that lasted several months, Muslim-Tiger 
relations have nose-dived again.  END SUMMARY. 
 
==================== 
Violence in the East 
==================== 
 
2.  (SBU) Violence between Muslims and Liberation Tigers 
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) supporters erupted in the Mutur 
area of eastern Sri Lanka, April 17-18.  (Note:  Mutur 
is a Muslim-dominated town in Trincomalee District.  The 
population on the outskirts of the town is Tamil, with 
much of Mutur's hinterland controlled by the LTTE.)  As 
with most communal incidents of this sort, the origins 
of the flare-up are murky, but seem to involve the 
abduction of two Muslims by the LTTE on March 31.  After 
the mother of one of the men committed suicide in 
protest, tensions escalated into out-and-out fighting 
between Muslims and LTTE cadre.  In the fighting, at 
least three Muslims and two LTTE supporters were 
reportedly slain.  (Note:  The two men who were abducted 
are missing and believed dead.) 
 
3.  (C) In reaction to news of the fighting, the 
government dispatched police and army reinforcements to 
Mutur to put a lid on the situation.  Local curfews were 
imposed and the security situation had calmed down 
appreciably by April 19-20.  Based on what we are 
hearing from contacts, including Interior Secretary M.N. 
Junaid, however, tensions remain extremely high in Mutur 
and in the rest of the ethnically-fractured east.  In 
addition, the fighting left at least several hundred 
Muslims displaced, as many shops and homes were torched 
in the fighting.  The government is grappling with the 
humanitarian situation now. 
 
4.  (C) In the meantime, the Norwegian-run Sri Lanka 
Monitoring Mission (SLMM) is trying to cool the 
situation down, asking the LTTE and local Muslims to 
meet to discuss their differences.  The LTTE agreed to 
this, asking Muslims to come to meet them in LTTE- 
controlled territory.  Muslims, upset over the venue, 
turned down the LTTE offer.  The SLMM continues to try 
to arrange a meeting. 
 
================= 
Political Fallout 
================= 
 
5.  (C) The political fallout from the violence was 
immediate.  Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauf 
Hakeem traveled to the Mutur area and announced that he 
would boycott Parliament if the government did not step 
in to address the situation right away.  (Note:  The 
United National Front government is reliant on SLMC 
support in Parliament for its slim majority.)  Although 
he later backed off this threat, Hakeem's pointed 
comments were noticed and the government quickly sent a 
cabinet-level team to the east to look into the 
situation. 
 
6.  (C) (((Note:  Tensions between the SLMC and the 
government were already high before Mutur exploded into 
violence.  A public spat took place between pro- 
government Muslim and SLMC MPs early last week, with 
both sides slinging mud at the other.  The exact context 
of the verbal attacks was unclear, but Hakeem was 
clearly insulted and said so publicly.  End Note.))) 
======= 
COMMENT 
======= 
 
7.  (C) After a lull in violence between the two sides 
that lasted several months, Muslim-Tiger relations have 
nose-dived again.  Even beyond the local situation in 
Mutur, the ramifications of such violence are serious, 
as instability in the east serves to undermine the peace 
process in general.  Moreover, the latest violence is 
not a constructive prelude to the seventh round of peace 
talks slated to take place April 29 - May 2 in Thailand. 
(Note:  There have been some unconfirmed press reports 
that the Tigers may want to postpone this round of 
talks.)   END COMMENT. 
 
8.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
WILLS