US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1339

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001339 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  07-31-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PINS, MOPS, CE, NO, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  As Tigers continue their review, government's 
proposal for north/east garners mixed reaction in south 
 
Refs:  Colombo 1330, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Charge'd'Affaires. 
Reasons 1.5 (b, d). 
 
SUMMARY 
======= 
1.  (C) The Tigers continue to study the GSL's proposal 
for establishing an interim structure in the north/east. 
In the south, however, the proposal has garnered a mixed 
reaction.  The president continues to review the 
proposal, for example, while the radical JVP party has 
harshly criticized it.  Muslims have also expressed 
concerns.  In other news, there are still no firm signs 
that the Tigers plan to vacate an unauthorized camp in 
the east.  While the government is taking some flak re 
its proposal, the situation seems politically manageable 
for now.  END SUMMARY. 
 
================================= 
Tigers continue to study proposal 
================================= 
 
2.  (SBU) The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) 
organization has announced that it continues to study 
the Sri Lankan government's proposal for establishing an 
interim administration in the north/east.  (Note:  For 
details of the government's proposal, which was provided 
to the LTTE two weeks ago by the Norwegian government 
facilitators, see Reftels.)  In July 25 remarks, S.P. 
Thamilchelvam, the LTTE's political chief, told a large 
crowd in the eastern district of Batticaloa that the 
Tigers had not yet formulated their response, but were 
still studying the government's proposal.  Quoted on the 
pro-LTTE website "TamilNet," Thamilchelvam said the 
proposal had "several shortcomings" and he noted that 
the LTTE was drawing up several counter-proposals for 
GSL review.  He added:  "We are prepared to recommence 
peace talks if the government accepts our counter- 
proposals."  (Note:  The LTTE pulled out of the talks in 
late April.) 
 
3.  (C) Queried about the LTTE's reaction, Joseph 
Pararajahsingham, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP 
with close Tiger links, told us that he understood that 
the group was carefully reviewing the GSL's proposal. 
He confirmed news reports that the LTTE had convoked a 
committee of cadre with legal experience to examine the 
proposal.  Pararajahsingham said he was not sure when 
the LTTE might come back with its counter-proposals, but 
he thought it would take some time. 
 
==================== 
President Mum so far 
==================== 
 
4.  (SBU) Turning to reaction in the south, President 
Kumaratunga, who shares a bitter cohabitation 
relationship with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, has not 
commented publicly on the proposal as of yet.  The 
president's office has announced, however, that she is 
setting up a committee made up trusted advisers to 
review it.  Former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar 
has been selected to head the committee.  (Note:  The 
Charge' meets with Kadirgamar on August 1 and will ask 
for his views on the government's proposal.) 
 
5.  (C) When asked about the president's views, Harim 
Peiris, one of her press spokesmen, told us that she had 
some specific concerns regarding the proposal, but 
needed to study it further.  Peiris was not clear as to 
what these concerns might be, but they are believed to 
revolve around the fact that the proposal would give the 
LTTE a dominant voice in a north/east interim governing 
council.  (Note:  In a hint that the president may be 
leaning against supporting the government's proposal, 
several outspoken members of the president's People's 
Alliance, "PA," party have already publicly made the 
charge that the GSL is being soft on the LTTE.) 
 
6.  (SBU) A public fracas has broken out concerning the 
status of the draft of the proposal received by the 
president from the GSL.  When pressed by the president's 
supporters, the government admitted that it had 
inadvertently provided the president a copy of the 
proposal that was an old draft and not the one the 
Tigers' received from the Norwegian facilitators.  The 
president's office only learned of this when the text of 
the actual proposal was published in local newspapers. 
While the differences in text were quite small, the 
government's apparent carelessness served to inflame 
cohabitation tensions. 
 
============== 
JVP Lashes Out 
============== 
 
7.  (SBU) In other reaction from the south, the radical 
Sinhalese chauvinist Janantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) 
party has come out hard against the government's 
proposal.  In public remarks made on July 29, Tilvin 
Silva, the JVP General Secretary, claimed that the 
creation of the proposed interim administration "would 
divide the country forever."  The proposal also showed 
that the government was unwilling to take a firm 
position against the LTTE, he said.  He added that his 
party would oppose the proposal via a wide-ranging 
mobilization of its supporters in rallies and marches, 
etc., beginning in August. 
 
=============== 
Muslim Concerns 
=============== 
 
8.  (C) Although at a much lower decibel level than the 
JVP, Muslims have also expressed concerns about the 
government's proposals.  At a July 30 dinner, for 
example, Rauf Hakeem, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress 
(SLMC) leader and Minister of Ports, emphasized to the 
Charge' the need for Muslims to have a role in running 
the east and not be dominated by the LTTE. Hakeem 
underscored the suffering of Muslims during the civil 
war and their need for security from LTTE intimidation 
and attack.  Hakeem also noted that he had discussed the 
interim administration issue with President Kumaratunga 
earlier that day, characterizing the meeting as 
"pleasant."  (Note:  Hakeem is a long-standing political 
opponent of the president.)  He also provided the 
Charge' a document detailing Muslim concerns and 
counter-proposals meant to safeguard their interests. 
(Note:  This text has been forwarded via e-mail to 
SA/INS.) 
 
============================== 
No sign of change re LTTE Base 
============================== 
 
9.  (C) In other peace process news, there are still no 
firm signs that the Tigers plan to vacate an 
unauthorized military base the group has set up in the 
east.  (Note:  Per Reftels, the Sri Lanka Monitoring 
Mission, "SLMM," has ruled that the establishment of the 
base violated the ceasefire accord.)  In a July 31 
conversation, Matti Kekki, an action officer in the 
Trincomalee office of the SLMM, confirmed that the camp 
was still there.  Despite some indications that the 
Tigers' hard-line stance re holding the camp might be 
thawing, Hagrup Haukland, the Colombo-based deputy SLMM 
head of mission, told us that the monitors still had not 
received any sort of message from the LTTE that it 
planned to vacate the site anytime soon.  (Note:  The 
Norwegian government facilitators are also looking into 
this situation.  The Charge is scheduled to meet with 
Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar on August 1 to 
review latest developments.) 
 
10.  (C/NF) Regarding the base, the Sri Lankan military 
publicly announced late July 30 that it had no plans to 
attack the LTTE base.  The announcement was made to 
rebut some recent press reports that claimed that a 
military attack was imminent.  In discussions with 
senior military officials, DATT was also told that the 
GSL has no plans to launch any sort of armed attack.  He 
was informed, however, that the military, at the 
direction of political leaders, had been instructed to 
look into ways to isolate the camp, so as to make it 
difficult for the Tigers to hold. 
 
======= 
COMMENT 
======= 
 
11.  (C) The government has received relatively positive 
soundings re its proposal from the LTTE so far.  It 
appears as if the Tigers are genuinely interested in 
following up on the matter.  Whether their initial 
indication of interest will lead to a new round of peace 
talks soon is still up in the air, however.  Regarding 
the south, while the government is taking some flak on 
its interim administration proposal, the situation seems 
politically manageable at this point.  This is 
especially the case when one compares what happened in 
the past when similar (if somewhat more fundamental) 
proposals were made.  In 1987, for example, the Indo-Sri 
Lankan accord sparked large-scale violent demonstrations 
in the south and President Kumaratunga's proposals for 
devolution in 2000 met so much resistance that they were 
never brought up for a vote.  In that vein, the JVP 
seems set on trying to stir things up against the GSL. 
The mood of the public, which is still largely pro- 
peace, does not seem to offer the JVP much hope that it 
can gain real traction, however.  END COMMENT. 
 
12.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
ENTWISTLE