US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1358

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001358 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT, INR/NESA 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  08-04-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PINR, CE, NO, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  Tiger official, in high profile trip to the 
east, sticks to hard-line stance regarding base 
 
Refs:  Colombo 1344, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Charge' d'Affaires. 
Reasons 1.5 (b, d). 
 
1.   (C) SUMMARY:  S.P. Thamilchelvam, political chief of 
the Tamil Tigers, has reiterated that the group has no 
plans to vacate an unauthorized base it has set up in 
Trincomalee and, indeed, there has been no change in the 
situation on the ground.  Thamilchelvam, who wrapped up 
a long visit to the east on August 4, appears to have 
used the trip to rally support from the important 
eastern Tiger faction on peace process matters.  His 
trip, which is virtually unprecedented for a high-level 
Tiger official, highlights his increasingly prominent 
role in the organization.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C) TIGERS STICK TO HARD-LINE:  S.P. Thamilchelvam, 
political chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 
(LTTE) organization and a close associate of LTTE leader 
V. Prabhakaran, has reiterated that the group has no 
plans to vacate an unauthorized base it has set up in 
Trincomalee District.  In comments posted on the pro- 
LTTE website "TamilNet" on August 1 and reported in the 
Sri Lankan press, Thamilchelvam was quoted as stating 
that the base was located well within a long-standing 
LTTE area of influence.  He added that, in any case, the 
base had been there for many years and was not worth 
bothering about.  These assertions contradict the 
findings of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, "SLMM," 
which has ruled that the base encroaches on government- 
controlled territory and was established only within the 
past year, thus violating the February 2002 ceasefire 
accord (See Reftels).  Poloff contacted the SLMM's 
Trincomalee office, which confirmed that as of early 
August 4 LTTE forces still occupied the site. 
 
3.  (C) Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar on August 4 
confirmed to Charge' and SFRC staffer Jonah Blank the 
lack of progress on the base.  He said the next step is 
a SLMM ultimatum to the LTTE.  If the LTTE does not 
respond to that ultimatum, the issue would pass into 
Brattskar's "facilitator" channel.  Brattskar noted that 
his only "weapon" in that event would be tough talk in 
Kilinochchi. 
 
4.  (C) VISIT TO THE EAST:  Thamilchelvam made the 
comments regarding the base in the midst of a week-long 
visit to eastern Sri Lanka (he returned to the Wanni on 
August 4).  Observers have commented that the trip is 
virtually unprecedented for a high-level Tiger official 
representing LTTE leader Prabhakaran and the Tigers' 
headquarters in the Wanni region in north-central Sri 
Lanka.  Jehan Perera, the head of the National Peace 
Council, a local think-tank, told us that to his 
knowledge there has never been such a public trip by a 
high-level Tiger official to the east, though there were 
almost certainly numerous clandestine visits during the 
war years.  Perera commented that based on what he had 
had heard and read on TamilNet it seemed that 
Thamilchelvam was using the trip to brief the important 
eastern faction of the LTTE on the status of the peace 
process.  (Note:  The LTTE is believed to have two major 
factions:  the most important one hails from Jaffna and 
includes much of the senior leadership, including 
Prabhakaran and Thamilchelvam; the other is from the 
east and supplies many recruits for the LTTE's military 
forces.)  Perera went on to remark that the briefings 
probably focused on the LTTE's next steps in regard to 
the government's recent proposal outlining possible 
modalities for forming an interim administration in the 
north/east (see Reftels). 
 
5.  (C) With respect to the specifics of his visit to 
the east, Thamilchelvam held a slew of rallies, in 
addition to holding meetings with top LTTE officials in 
the region.  According to press reporting, a sampling of 
Thamilchelvam's activities included: 
 
-- On July 27, shortly after arriving in the region, 
Thamilchelvam spoke to a rally attended by thousands of 
LTTE supporters at Meenaham, a LTTE military base 
located approximately 40 kilometers northwest of 
Batticaloa town.  (Note:  Meenaham is believed to be one 
of the Tigers' major bases in the jungle areas of 
Batticaloa.) 
 
-- On July 27-28, Thamilchelvam held meetings with the 
LTTE's eastern commander "Karuna" and other local LTTE 
commanders.  (Note:  There are no reports indicating 
that Thamilchelvam met with "Karikalan," who used to be 
considered a senior LTTE official in Batticaloa, but 
seems to have been sidelined by the LTTE leadership in 
recent months.) 
-- On July 29, Thamilchelvam and Karuna held a joint 
meeting with local NGO's working in the Batticaloa area. 
 
-- On August 1, Thamilchelvam traveled to Trincomalee 
District where he met with LTTE district commander 
"Colonel Pathuman" and district political chief 
"Thilak."  The meeting took place in Sampur, a LTTE- 
controlled coastal area located northeast of Mutur town 
and southeast of Trincomalee city. 
(Note:  Norwegian Ambassador Brattskar confirmed that 
Thamilchelvam apparently did not visit the controversial 
military base set up near Trincomalee city mentioned 
above.) 
 
-- On August 2, Thamilchelvam participated in the 
ceremonial opening of a computer training center 
established by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization 
(TRO), a LTTE-controlled NGO, in the Mutur area.  Later 
that day, Thamilchelvam addressed a large gathering of 
Trincomalee government officials. 
 
-- On August 4 (or thereabouts), Thamilchelvam was 
slated to return via helicopter to LTTE headquarters in 
the Wanni region. 
 
(Note:  In his comings and goings in the east, 
Thamilchelvam has been taken around by a GSL helicopter. 
This has proven controversial, with some strongly anti- 
LTTE elements in the south complaining that the Tigers 
do not warrant such treatment.) 
 
6.  (C) COMMENT:  Thamilchelvam's remarks on the base in 
Trincomalee indicate that there has been no change in 
the group's hard-line stance so far, despite some hopes 
that the LTTE might be reconsidering its position. 
After being very public in its complaints about the LTTE 
over the issue for a couple of weeks, the SLMM has been 
more low-key of late, perhaps hoping that quiet 
diplomacy might lead to a breakthrough. 
 
7.  (C) COMMENT (Continued):  Thamilchelvam's trip 
highlights his increasingly prominent role in the LTTE 
organization.  In fact, on political issues, 
Thamilchelvam seems almost as important within LTTE 
leadership ranks at this time as the seriously ill Anton 
Balasingham, the group's longtime spokesman and chief 
negotiator.  END COMMENT. 
 
8.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
ENTWISTLE