US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO738

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000738 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR 
E. MILLARD 
 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958:   DECL:  05-02-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PINS, CE, NO, JA, KWMM 
SUBJECT:  In possible sign of a thaw, Tigers meet with 
Norwegian facilitators carrying messages from GSL 
 
Refs:  (A) Colombo-SA/INS 05/02/03 fax 
 
-      (B) Colombo-SA/INS 04/30/03 class e-mail 
-      (C) FBIS Reston Va DTG 301441Z Apr 03 
-      (D) Colombo 728, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons 1.5 (b,d) 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Norwegian facilitators met with the 
Tigers on April 30.  The Norwegians were carrying 
letters from the GSL in response to the Tigers' recent 
withdrawal from the peace talks and a key assistance 
committee.  In other news, the peace track gets even 
busier next week as top LTTE, Norwegian, and Japanese 
officials visit Sri Lanka.  The fact that the April 30 
meeting took place is an indication that peace process 
tensions may be receding a bit.  END SUMMARY 
 
 
2.  (SBU) MEETING IN THE WANNI:  In the first meeting of 
its kind in some time, Norwegian Ambassador Hans 
Brattskar and MFA envoy Jon Westborg met with Liberation 
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Political Chief S.P. 
Thamilchelvam on April 30.  (Note:  Westborg was 
Norway's ambassador to Sri Lanka before Brattskar 
recently took up the post.)  The meeting took place in 
the LTTE-controlled Wanni region in northern Sri Lanka. 
 
3.  (C) Tomas Stangeland, polchief at the Norwegian 
embassy, told us that the meeting was held in a cordial 
atmosphere.  He added that it was also "constructive." 
He confirmed that the main purpose of the meeting was 
for the Norwegians to provide the LTTE two letters from 
the GSL (see Para 4-5 for more details re the letters). 
Stangeland, who attended the meeting, added that the 
Norwegian side had also discussed several problems 
relating to the implementation of the February 2002 
ceasefire agreement.  (Note:  In addition to the meeting 
in the Wanni, we have heard reports that Norwegian 
special envoy Erik Solheim was planning to meet LTTE 
chief spokesman Anton Balasingham in London soon.) 
 
4.  (U) GSL LETTERS TO THE LTTE:  The first letter 
provided by the Norwegian facilitators contained a 
response by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to the LTTE's 
April 21 pullout from the peace talks.  (Note:  The text 
of the PM's letter was sent to SA/INS in Ref B.)  The 
PM's letter was conciliatory in tone, making several 
specific points in response to Balasingham's earlier 
letter pulling out of the negotiations.  The PM's main 
points were:  that there had been substantial progress 
in reducing tensions throughout the country with the 
ceasefire holding for over a year; the LTTE's inability 
to attend the Washington conference was due to U.S. law 
and was not the fault of the GSL; and that there was no 
intention to exclude the LTTE from future negotiations 
concerning humanitarian and economic topics.  The PM 
wound up his letter by urging Balasingham to "review 
your present stance" and return to the peace 
negotiations as soon as possible. 
 
5.  (U) The second letter provided by the Norwegians to 
the LTTE was from GSL Peace Secretariat chief Bernard 
Goonetilleke and focused on the LTTE's pullout from an 
important humanitarian committee last week.  (Note: 
Goonetilleke has been selected to be Sri Lanka's next 
foreign secretary.)  Goonetilleke's letter, the text of 
which is contained in ref A, took a bit of a firmer tack 
than the PM's in that it warned the group that further 
postponement of peace negotiations could lead to a delay 
in the disbursement of assistance-related funds. 
Goonetilleke added that Subcommittee on Immediate 
Humanitarian and Rehabilitation Needs (SIHRN) -- the 
joint committee the LTTE had recently pulled out of -- 
had actually done a lot of good work.  The GSL urged the 
LTTE to make use of the committee if the group truly 
wanted to provide assistance to displaced persons, and 
create better economic conditions in the north and east. 
 
6.  (SBU) UPCOMING VISITS:  In other peace-related news, 
the peace track heats up in the next week.  The 
Norwegian embassy has confirmed that Balasingham will 
arrive in country on May 5 and immediately transit to 
the Wanni.  It is not clear how long Balasingham will 
stay on this visit.  In the meantime, Norwegian Deputy 
Foreign Minister Helgesen and Japanese Special Envoy 
Akashi are also due to arrive in Sri Lanka for visits 
focused on the peace process next week. 
 
7.  (C) COMMENT:  The fact that the April 30 meeting 
took place is an indication that recent peace process 
tensions may be receding a bit.  In past weeks, the 
Tigers had issued a number of hard-line messages while 
refusing to meet and discuss what was on their minds. 
In light of that, the fact that the group is back 
meeting with the Norwegians is constructive, perhaps 
heralding new thinking on the group's part re their 
decisions to pull out of the peace talks and the June 
donors conference in Tokyo.  It is clear, however, that 
getting the process back on track involves a delicate 
tango, and, per the Tigers' mood, there could easily be 
setbacks.  END COMMENT. 
 
7.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
WILLS