C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 002184

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR E. MILLARD

OSLO PLS PASS TO AMBASSADOR WILLS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/12
TAGS: PGOV PTER KPAO PHUM CE NO LTTE
SUBJECT: Meeting of Sri Lankan PM with LTTE nets heavy
domestic press coverage; Annual LTTE address due 11/27

Refs: Colombo 2174, and previous

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: The meeting between Prime Minister
Wickremesinghe and LTTE negotiator Balasingham in Oslo
on November 24 has received extensive press coverage in
Sri Lanka. In other peace process developments, LTTE
leader Prabhakaran is preparing to give his annual
speech on November 27. Mission has heard from Tamil
contacts that the speech will be moderate in tone. Amid
this positive news, tensions are flaring between the
LTTE and another Tamil party in the Jaffna area. As
with those given in 2000 and 2001, Prabhakaran's
upcoming speech seems set to move the peace process
forward. END SUMMARY.

=======================
PM/LTTE Meeting in Oslo
=======================


2. (SBU) The November 24 meeting in Oslo between Prime
Minister Wickremesinghe and Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) senior negotiator Anton Balasingham has
received extensive press coverage in Sri Lanka.
(Note: The PM and Balasingham are in Oslo for the
November 25 "Peace Process Support Meeting.") The
meeting is said to mark the first time in over a decade
that a Sri Lankan government leader has met with an LTTE
official. (Note: In the late 1980's and early 1990's,
then-President Premadasa met with LTTE officials,
including Balasingham, on several occasions.) Along
with short, positive-themed articles about the meeting,
several newspapers splashed photos of a smiling
Wickremesinghe, Balasingham, and Norwegian government
facilitator Erik Solheim on their front pages. Because
the meeting reportedly took place late November 24,
there was no editorial comment. The meeting also
received extensive coverage on radio and TV.


3. (SBU) The pro-LTTE website, "TamilNet," also

reported the meeting. Along with a short story
describing the meeting as "historic," TamilNet posted
three color photos of the smiling participants.

============================
LTTE Leader's Annual Address
============================


4. (SBU) Turning to other peace process developments,
LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran is preparing to give his
annual "Heroes' Day" speech on November 27. Ahead of
the speech, "Heroes' Day" commemorations have already
begun, with pro-LTTE Tamils in the north and the east
holding public meetings in honor of LTTE militants (and
"Black Tiger" suicide bombers) who have died in the
conflict with the GSL. TamilNet, for example, reported
that a ceremony was held in Mullaitivu, an important
LTTE-controlled town in the Wanni region, on
November 24. Describing the event, TamilNet related
that "Pottu Aman and other LTTE cadre spent time talking
to the parents of the Martyrs." (Note: Pottu Aman, who
is wanted by India for the 1991 killing of Rajiv Gandhi,
is the LTTE's intelligence chief and is rarely seen in
public.) At the Mullaitivu event, a "ceremonial flame"
was lit and "flower garlands" placed on the graves of
"martyrs." The "Tamil Eelam flag" was also hoisted.


5. (C) With respect to the November 27 address, Mission
has heard that it is supposed to be moderate in tone.
In representative comments from Tamil contacts, V.
Krishnapillai, a Tamil National Alliance MP from the
Batticaloa region, told us that he had heard that
Prabhakaran would come out strongly in support of the
peace process, and praise the GSL, as well as the
Norwegian facilitation effort. Krishnapillai said he
did not expect any "surprises" in the speech, e.g., a
renunciation of the use of terrorism by the LTTE or a
complete abandonment of the idea of forming a separate
state. (Note: Other contacts, providing no further
information, have told us that there may be some sort of
"surprise" that would please the international
community.) Daya Master, an official in the LTTE's
media unit, has also given public indications that
Prabhakaran's comments would be constructive in nature.
(Note: There are reports that Prabhakaran's speech will
be aired on government-controlled radio in the south
several hours after it is given. In the past, the
speech was only aired on "The Voice of the Tigers," the
LTTE's radio service.)

==================
Tensions in Jaffna
==================


6. (C) Amid the positive news, tensions are flaring
between the LTTE and another Tamil party in the Jaffna
area. While it is unclear exactly what is happening,
reports indicate that the LTTE is instigating small-
scale attacks against the Eelam People's Democratic
Party (EPDP) in Jaffna. The epicenter of the LTTE/EPDP
confrontation is the cluster of islands located between
Jaffna Peninsula and the Indian coast. According to
contacts, the LTTE is trying to drive the EPDP from the
islands. (Note: The EPDP, which has had close links
with prior governments and is anti-LTTE, has long been
politically strong in the islands, particularly Delft
island. Years after being driven off the islands by GSL
forces, the LTTE has only recently begun to re-open
offices.) According to reports, LTTE cadre and
supporters have reportedly beaten up EPDP supporters and
burned down EPDP offices. LTTE cadre reportedly even
instigated an attack in the mainland Jaffna town of
Chavakachcheri, where an EPDP office was torched late
last week. Taking note of the situation, President
Kumaratunga reportedly demanded in a letter to the PM
that the GSL team raise the matter with the LTTE while
in Oslo.

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COMMENT
=======


7. (C) Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's meeting with
Balasingham seems to have struck a positive chord ahead
of the international conference in Oslo on November 25.
Just a year ago such a meeting was virtually
unimaginable, given the chasm of distrust dividing the
two sides. In terms of context, the meeting is another
in the series of benchmark peace process-building
events, which include, inter alia, the December 2001
unilateral ceasefire announcements, the February
ceasefire accord, and the start of talks in September.
In the meantime, Prabhakaran's annual speech seems set
to move the peace process forward some more. The last
two iterations of the speech in 2000 and 2001 were vital
in setting the stage for the current peace process. END
COMMENT.


8. (U) Minimize considered.

AMSELEM