US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO764

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000764 
 
SIPDIS 
 
ISLAMABAD FOR SA A/S ROCCA 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR 
E. MILLARD 
 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958:   DECL:  05-07-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PINS, MOPS, CE, IN, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  Retired Indian general in Sri Lanka to discuss 
controversial Jaffna security zones issue 
 
Refs:  (A) FBIS Reston Va DTG 030259z May 03 
-      (B) Colombo 730, and previous (Notal) 
 
(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons 1.5 (b,d) 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  A retired Indian general has arrived 
in Sri Lanka to discuss his report on ways to resolve 
the controversial Jaffna security zones issue.  Even as 
he stepped off the plane, there has been another dustup 
over the matter, with the Tigers criticizing a 
government plan to relocate military forces in Jaffna 
town.  While there is some hope that the report can 
bridge differences, there is also a feeling that the 
Tigers do not want this issue to go away soon.  END 
SUMMARY 
 
2. (C) RETIRED INDIAN GENERAL ARRIVES:  Retired Indian 
General Satish Nambiar arrived in Sri Lanka on May 6 to 
officially present his report on the controversial 
military "high security zones" located in Jaffna 
District.  (Note:  The security zones in Jaffna cover 
roughly 18 percent of the land area.  The Tamil Tigers 
have argued that the zones should be sharply reduced in 
size and cited the matter as one of the major reasons 
behind their recent decision to pull out from the peace 
talks.  End Note.)  During his latest visit, Nambiar is 
scheduled to brief GSL officials on his report.  A copy 
of the report is also slated to be passed to the 
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for comment. 
Joseph Pararajahsingham, a pro-LTTE MP for the Tamil 
National Alliance, told us that he did not believe that 
Nambiar would actually meet with the LTTE during this 
visit.  He said he thought the Norwegian government 
facilitators would provide the document to the Tigers. 
 
3.  (C) (((Note:  Per Ref B, Mission received an advance 
copy of the report from GSL Minister Milinda Moragoda in 
early April.  The text of the report was passed to 
SA/INS via class e-mail on 04-08-03.  The complex report 
advocates that the GSL and the LTTE agree to mutual 
drawdowns of their military positions.  In doing this, 
both sides would engage in confidence-building measures 
facilitated by increased monitoring.))) 
 
4.  (U) (((Note:  In addition to Nambiar, retired Indian 
Vice Admiral P.J. Jacob is also now in Sri Lanka.  The 
objective of Jacob's visit is to advise the GSL 
regarding ways to monitor LTTE sea movements in order to 
avoid armed confrontations.))) 
 
5. (C) ARGUMENT OVER JAFFNA TOWN PROPOSAL:  Even as 
Nambiar stepped off the plane, there has been another 
dustup over the security zones issue.  The latest fracas 
between the government and the LTTE involved a report 
prepared by the Defense Ministry which provided that a 
large chunk of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) troops based in 
Jaffna town would relocate to a nearby fort.  The idea 
behind the shift would be to free up space in Jaffna 
town for civilian use (including in hotels where troops 
have been bivouacked) while lessening the footprint of 
the SLA in the area.  (Note:  Jaffna fort, where the 
troops would move per the GSL proposal, is located just 
to the west of the town in a less populated area.) 
 
6.  (C) Although the GSL seemed to be trying to go some 
way toward meeting their demands, the Tigers sharply 
criticized the government's proposal shortly after 
receiving it from the Norwegian facilitators last week. 
In a statement posted on May 1 by the pro-LTTE website 
"TamilNet," LTTE political chief S.P. Thamilchelvam 
rejected the proposed move, asserting that it was 
woefully inadequate and counter to the February 2002 
ceasefire accord's aim of restoring "normalcy" for 
Jaffna civilians.  Explaining his point, Thamilchelvam 
argued that moving the troops to Jaffna fort was not 
enough.  Rather, all the troops should be withdrawn from 
Jaffna town and other urban areas as soon as possible. 
Thamilchelvam demanded that the GSL revisit the issue 
and come back to the LTTE with another proposal. 
 
7.  (C) COMMENT:  There is some hope that Nambiar's 
report can help bridge differences, perhaps allowing the 
Tigers a public way to back down and return to the 
negotiating table.  That said, there is also a feeling 
that the Tigers do not want this issue to go away soon 
because they see it as a useful tool to deploy in 
hitting out at the government.  Thamilchelvam's 
seemingly hasty and unreasonable rejection of the GSL's 
proposal re the Jaffna town troop relocations appears to 
back up this point.  Via his sharp critique, 
Thamilchelvam also embarrassed the GSL, which had 
absorbed sharp criticism from peace process skeptics in 
the south in making the proposal to begin with.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
8.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
WILLS