US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO755

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000755 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT 
 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  05-06-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PINS, CE, NO, JA, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  Norwegians, Japanese press Tigers to return to 
talks and to attend donors conference 
 
Refs:  (A) Colombo-SA/INS 05/06/03 fax 
 
-      (B) FBIS Reston Va DTG 050411Z May 03 
-      (C) Colombo 750, and previous (Notal) 
 
(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons:  1.5 (b, d) 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Norwegian and Japanese representatives 
are urgently trying to convince the Tigers to get back 
to the peace table and to attend the June donors 
conference.  So far, the Tigers are not playing ball. 
The next best chance to change their minds seems to be 
GoJ envoy Akashi's May 7 meeting with Tiger leader 
Prabakharan.  In other peace-related news, the PM was 
conciliatory toward the Tigers in an address to 
Parliament on May 6.  At this point, it seems a fifty- 
fifty wager as to whether the Tigers will climb down 
from their hard-line stance.  END SUMMARY 
 
2.  (C) NORWEGIANS MEET TIGERS:  Norwegian and Japanese 
facilitators are urgently trying to convince the Tigers 
to get back to the peace table and to attend the June 
donors conference.  In the latest of an increasingly 
tangled skein of tag team-type meetings, Norwegian 
facilitators met with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 
(LTTE) chief negotiator Anton Balasingham upon the 
latter's arrival at Colombo's international airport on 
May 5.  (Note:  The London-based Balasingham has 
returned to Sri Lanka for talks with his leadership in 
the LTTE-controlled Wanni region of northern Sri Lanka. 
Norwegian facilitators had met with LTTE Political Chief 
Thamilchelvam in the Wanni on April 30 -- see Ref C.) 
 
3.  (SBU) Commenting to the press about the May 5 
meeting, GoN Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen, who 
is now in India, stated that "I feel we have a good 
dialogue with the parties and we will work on that over 
the next week."  When pressed, Helgesen went on to admit 
that the Tigers had not committed to return to the peace 
table with the GSL, and had not agreed to come to the 
June donors conference.  The Norwegians' next meeting 
with the LTTE is planned for May 8 when special envoy 
Erik Solheim is slated to meet Balasingham in the Wanni. 
 
4.  (SBU) JAPANESE EFFORTS:  In the meantime, a high- 
level Japanese envoy is also in country with the aim of 
pressing the LTTE to get back to the talks and to change 
its mind re the donors conference.  The envoy, Yasushi 
Akashi, will be in Sri Lanka from May 3-9 on a wide- 
ranging visit, which will include talks with government 
and Opposition figures.  Akashi is also expected to 
travel to eastern Sri Lanka, where communal tensions are 
high due to friction between the LTTE and the local 
Muslim community.  (Note:  These tensions intermittently 
flare into violence and did so most recently in the 
Trincomalee town of Mutur in mid-April.  Akashi's 
itinerary includes a stop in this town.) 
 
5.  (C) In a May 5 meeting with Ambassador Wills, Akashi 
confirmed that he planned to meet with LTTE leader V. 
Prabhakaran on May 7 in the Wanni.  Akashi said he hoped 
to use this meeting to press Prabhakaran hard to change 
his mind re the peace talks and the Tokyo conference. 
He allowed that he was not sure how much he could move 
Prabhakaran on these issues, but he said he would do his 
best. 
 
6.  (SBU) PM SPEAKS TO PARLIAMENT:  In other peace- 
related news, the PM was conciliatory toward the Tigers 
in an address to Parliament on May 6.  (Note:  See Ref A 
for the text of his remarks.)  The PM's statement is 
expected to be the opening salvo of a debate in 
Parliament on the government's handling of the peace 
process. 
 
7.  (SBU) In his long statement, the PM confirmed the 
government's stance that it wanted the Tigers to return 
to the peace talks as soon as possible.  Reacting to 
LTTE claims that the GSL was not doing enough in this 
key area, the PM added that the government was committed 
to taking steps to improve the humanitarian situation in 
the north and east.  The PM went on to stress that the 
government was willing to examine the issue of how to 
handle the military security zones in Jaffna, which the 
Tigers want to see sharply reduced.  One way to do this, 
he emphasized, was for the government and the LTTE to 
work closely with retired Indian general Satish Nambiar, 
who recently prepared a report with recommendations on 
how to handle the security zones issue (see Ref C for an 
analysis of this report). 
 
8.  (C) COMMENT:  At this point based on our soundings, 
it seems a fifty-fifty wager as to whether the Tigers 
will climb down from their hard-line stance.  Although 
they deal with the Tigers more than anyone else, the 
Norwegians, while not flummoxed per se, do not seem to 
have a solid grasp of where the Tigers are leaning at 
this time -- and nor does anyone else.  In this regard, 
Akashi's scheduled meeting with Prabhakaran could be 
very important.  Akashi, who dealt with the remnants of 
the Khmer Rouge during his UN days in Cambodia, would 
seem well-positioned to size up Prabhakaran.  In the 
process, hopefully, he will gain some insights into 
whether the Tigers want to stabilize the process or 
create more turbulence.  END COMMENT. 
 
9.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
WILLS