GSL/LTTE prisoner exchange seems set; Both

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001787

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, DRL; NSC FOR E. MILLARD

NEW DELHI PLS PASS TO AMBASSADOR WILLS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09-25-12
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINS PHUM CE LTTE
SUBJECT: GSL/LTTE prisoner exchange seems set; Both
sides begin to grapple with complex MIA issues

Refs: Colombo 1778, and previous

(U) Classified by W. Lewis Amselem, Charge d'Affaires.
Reasons 1.5 (b, d).


1. (C) Summary: The GSL and the Tamil Tigers seem set
to conduct a prisoner exchange soon. In a related
development, MIA issues were discussed during the recent
talks in Thailand, with the two sides agreeing to review
the issue again. Newly on the radar screen is
discussion of a possible general amnesty for conflict-
related crimes or even formation of a "truth and
reconciliation" process down the road. The fact that
these sensitive issues are even under discussion
highlights just how far the peace process has moved the
debate. End Summary.

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Prisoner Exchange seems set
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2. (SBU) The Sri Lankan government and the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) seem set to conduct a
prisoner exchange soon. The GSL has publicly indicated
that it plans to release 13 LTTE operatives in exchange
for seven military personnel held by the LTTE. Defense
Secretary Austin Fernando has publicly said the exchange

SIPDIS
appears ready to go forward on September 28. If the
prisoner exchange takes place, it would the first
release orchestrated between the two sides since
January 2002 when the LTTE released 10 prisoners (seven
civilians and three soldiers) as a confidence-building
gesture.


3. (C) The prisoner exchange has been under discussion
for months, and has involved the Norwegian government
facilitation channel and ICRC. The LTTE originally
requested the release of over 20 of its cadre from
government jails. The government balked at this number,
after discovering that several of those mentioned on the
LTTE's list had been involved in serious terrorist
offenses, including one individual who was directly
linked with the attempted assassination of President
Kumaratunga in December 1999. The GSL whittled the
number to be released down to 13, one of them being a
LTTE cadre named "Kennedy," who was allegedly the leader
of a suicide attack on a government base in Jaffna in

1994. On the LTTE's part, the group claimed that it
only had seven GSL prisoners in custody total and was
willing to release all of them.


4. (SBU) (((Note: Even with the prospective release of
the 13 LTTE operatives, an estimated 800 or so Tamils
still remain incarcerated under provisions of the
Prevention of Terrorism Act -- PTA. These Tamils are
accused of LTTE terrorist-related activities. Tamil
politicians ritually demand that these suspects be
released and that the PTA be revoked.)))

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MIA issues to the fore
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5. (C) In a related development, Missing in Action
(MIA) issues were also discussed during the recent talks
in Thailand. Rauf Hakeem, the Muslim leader who was a
member of the GSL's team at the talks, told Charge
during their September 24 meeting that the GSL side had
queried the LTTE side about working together on MIA
issues (see Reftel for more on the Hakeem meeting).
(Note: Groups in the south claim that there are
hundreds of GSL soldiers and some Sri Lankan civilians
unaccounted for.) According to Hakeem, Anton
Balasingham, the LTTE's chief negotiator, used the
occasion to assert that the LTTE had offered the GSL the
opportunity to check out battlefields for bodies right
after military engagements. He asserted, however, that
the government, then-controlled by President
Kumaratunga, had peremptorily refused these offers
because of its "war-like nature." Given Balasingham's
testy response, the GSL agreed to discuss the issue in
the future, after Balasingham had met with his
leadership.


6. (C) The MIA issue is an emotive one in the south.
Jehan Perera, the head of a pro-peace process think-
tank, told polchief on September 25 that the relatives
of the MIAs "are well organized and politically
engaged." Pressure on politicians to obtain answers on
MIA issues is "immense," he noted. In a recent
conversation with Charge, Milinda Moragoda, a minister
and key member of the GSL's peace process team, remarked
that the MIA issue was important to many of his
constituents.

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Possible Amnesty, "Truth Commission"?
--------------


7. (C) Newly on the radar screen is discussion of a
possible general amnesty for conflict-related crimes or
even formation of a "truth and reconciliation" process
down the road. Charge discussed the emergence of such
issues with Norwegian Ambassador Jon Westborg, who was
present at the Thai talks. Westborg observed that the
discussion of MIA issues in Thailand (reviewed above)
became somewhat stilted when the LTTE began to realize
that the MIA issue was more complex than it originally
appeared. Balasingham, for one, quickly became
cognizant that the whole question of MIA issues had
ramifications for the LTTE in that the group could open
itself up to a process it had little control of if it
was not careful. Given these complexities and potential
ramifications, Westborg noted that the two sides would
have to carefully mull over their views on the MIA issue
and its potential linkages to other complex issues, such
as a possible general amnesty.


8. (C) Sri Lankans, in general, do not appear to have
given much thought to the amnesty/"truth" commission
issue. Jehan Perera told polchief that Sri Lankans have
been so busy just enmeshing themselves in a peace
process that they have not really focused on such
issues. He noted that the whole issue is bound to be
controversial because it involves "some sort of
forgiveness for the other sides' crimes." Perera said
he and other civil society advocates would favor
formation of a South Africa-style "truth and
reconciliation" commission in which human rights
offenders had to admit their guilt or face punishment.
Ambassador Westborg told Charge, however, that he
thought Sri Lankan culture was more suited to something
a bit less confrontational. A process in which families
simply found out information on what happened to their
loved ones might be more acceptable, he speculated.

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Comment
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9. (C) The fact that all of these issues are even under
discussion highlights just how far the peace process has
moved the debate. As Jehan Perera noted above, Sri
Lankans have been so busy just trying to survive the
conflict that they have not had the time to really
consider the potential ramifications of MIA or amnesty-
related issues. With the peace process making fast
progress, however, the short-term blinders are now being
taken off and the realization is settling in that
complex matters of this sort need to be grappled with if
the process is to move forward. Based on our soundings,
the GSL will probably pick up on these issues quickly.
The LTTE, however, is notoriously slow on the uptake,
which might make progress difficult. The LTTE would
almost certainly have problems confronting its bloody
past, for example, as the group has shown little
capacity for self-reflection. End Comment.


10. (U) Minimize considered.

AMSELEM