Reports steadily mount that Tigers are

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000735

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT, DRL
NSC FOR E. MILLARD
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04-30-13
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINS PHUM CE LTTE
SUBJECT: Reports steadily mount that Tigers are
assassinating Tamil opponents

Refs: Colombo 728, and previous

(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Deputy Chief of
Mission. Reasons 1.5 (b, d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Reports are steadily mounting that the
Tigers are assassinating Tamil opponents, especially
military informants and those in anti-Tiger political
parties. The government has been slow in investigating
the cases, but has recently formed a commission to look
into the matter. While the Tigers have killed many
opponents in the past, the latest attacks seem to have
shattered a peace process-induced lull. END SUMMARY.

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Alleged Killings by Tigers
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2. (C) Reports are steadily mounting that the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are assassinating Tamil
opponents. The slayings seem to break down distinctly
into two sorts of victims: Tamil informants working for
the military and Tamils working for anti-LTTE political
parties.


3. (C) With respect to the informants, there have been
two particularly high-profile incidents that have
recently taken place in the greater Colombo area. In
the latest, a Tamil informant working for the Sri Lanka
Army (SLA) was gunned down in the greater Colombo area
city of Dehiwala on April 26. The victim was killed
just after meeting with his SLA handlers. Witnesses
recall seeing a three-wheel taxi roar away right after
the shots were fired. A Tamil informant was also killed
on March 18 in Mount Lavinia, another city located
immediately south of Colombo. No one has been arrested
in either of these killings (see below). Aside from
these headline-grabbing incidents, there have been a
handful of other cases in recent months of Tamil
military informants (some former, some current) being
killed in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.


4. (C) In terms of Tamil political opponents, the LTTE
is apparently targeting members of the Eelam People's
Democratic Party (EPDP) and the Tamil Eelam Liberation
Organization (TELO),two pro-government, anti-LTTE
former paramilitary groups. Two prominent EPDP figures,
for example, were killed in April in the east by pistol
shots fired at close range. One of the EPDP members
killed was an elected official, a councilman for a local
body in Batticaloa District. TELO members have also
been victims of armed attacks, with at least three to
four slain in the north and east in past weeks.

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GSL Slow on the Uptake
--------------


5. (C) In investigating what has happened, the
government has been slow on the uptake, and, as far as
Mission is aware, only three people have been arrested
in connection with all the killings, and they were soon
released. In explaining the GSL's apparent inaction re
the killings, contacts have told us that it is very
difficult to probe killings in the Tamil community.
Many Tamils, fearing LTTE retribution, simply refuse to
speak to the police, for example. Following the most
recent incident in the Colombo area, however, the Prime
Minister -- reacting to a firestorm of public protest
over the attack -- announced that a commission was being
set up to investigate the killings of SLA informants.
The commission is tasked with reporting on what is
transpiring and who might be to blame in short order.


6. (C) (((Note: Not surprisingly, the LTTE is not
admitting to the killings. Pro-LTTE Tamils, in fact,
have told us that they believe the killings could well
be a "conspiracy" by the GSL and anti-LTTE Tamils to
discredit the LTTE. All that said, however, contacts
have pointed out that a LTTE official reportedly made a
statement recently to the effect that "traitors must
die." This statement reportedly has acted a spur to
LTTE cadre to perform such killings. End Note.)))


7. (C) (((Note: One question that has deeply disturbed
the government and military is how the LTTE might be
learning the identities of GSL informants in the Tamil
community. In answering this question, observers are
placing the spotlight on a raid by the police on a SLA
safehouse near Colombo in December 2001. At the time,
the raid, which pitted the police versus the army, was a
cause celebre example of two parts of government failing
to liaison and work together. Only later did it turn
out that information on SLA informants found in the raid
had apparently fallen into the hands of the LTTE, which
has allegedly been using the information to bump off
opponents. Even more remarkably, some of this
information reportedly had to do with the super-
sensitive "deep reconnaissance patrols" that were
developed to target LTTE leaders. End Note.)))

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COMMENT
--------------


8. (C) While the Tigers have killed many opponents in
the past, the latest killings seem to have shattered a
peace process-induced lull. Given the lack of clear
evidence and the lack of arrests, however, it is
difficult to prove Tiger involvement, but all signs
point in that direction. After weeks of seemingly
ignoring the growing problem, it is illustrative of the
importance of proximity that it was only the killings
that occurred near the capital of Colombo that stirred
the government to look at the matter further. END
COMMENT.


9. (U) Minimize considered.

WILLS