Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04COLOMBO1190
2004-07-19 09:19:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:  

PEACE PROCESS READ-OUT FROM NORWEGIAN

Tags:  PREL PTER PGOV CE NO LTTE 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001190 

SIPDIS

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

PLEASE PASS TOPEC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07-19-14
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV CE NO LTTE
SUBJECT: PEACE PROCESS READ-OUT FROM NORWEGIAN
AMBASSADOR


(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead.
Reasons 1.5 (b,d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001190

SIPDIS

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

PLEASE PASS TOPEC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07-19-14
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV CE NO LTTE
SUBJECT: PEACE PROCESS READ-OUT FROM NORWEGIAN
AMBASSADOR


(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead.
Reasons 1.5 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Norwegian Ambassador Brattskar was
blunt in telling the LTTE suicide bombings had to stop.
The LTTE neither confirmed nor denied its
responsibility. The LTTE complained about alleged
government support for Karuna. President Kumaratunga
told Brattskar she knew nothing about military support
for Karuna, and that if it existed, it should stop.
Peace Secretariat Head Dhanapala said President had
given clear orders not to support Karuna. As the UPFA
faces internal dissent on peace process policy, it makes
an effort to reach out to the opposition--which is wary.
END SUMMARY


Norwegian in Kilinochchi
--------------


2. (C) Ambassador met with Norwegian Ambassador Hans
Brattskar on July 15 to discuss Brattskar 's visit to
Kilinochchi on July 13 and meeting with President
Kumaratunga on July 14. Brattskar said the meeting with
the LTTE leadership (Tamilchelvan, Kausalyan and Ramesh)
was tough and business-like, but not unfriendly.
Brattskar spent lots of time discussing the recent
suicide bombing in Colombo. He emphasized that this
type of act was morally wrong, and noted the political
context of a post-9/11 world and current Middle East
developments. He also discussed the upsurge of political
violence in the East.


3. (C) Tamilchelvan in response made several comments.
He said that of the several statements on the suicide
bombing issued by other countries--EU, Japan, Canada,
US--only the US statement pointed to the LTTE as the
perpetrator. Interestingly, Brattskar said, Tamilchelvan
did not deny responsibility for the bombing, although he
did not take responsibility, either. Tamilchelvan
continued that "no one" makes statements about the
terrorist events in the East, which he claimed are the
result of cooperation between break-away LTTE leader
Karuna and Sri Lankan Military Intelligence. (In fact,
all of the statements referred to the violence in the
East and called on both sides to take steps to end it.)

He said that he understood the political connotation of
suicide bombings, and would pass these views on to "the
leadership," i.e., Prabhakaran.


4. (C) Brattskar said he would meet with new Sri Lankan
Army Chief General Kottegoda shortly, and would tell him
directly that the violence in the East needed to stop.
Noting that word had just come in of the killing in a
Batticaloa prison that day of a Karuna supporter,
Brattskar said that academics and professionals were
leaving the East because of threats from Karuna's
people.

President "Knew Nothing" About Support for Karuna
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Brattskar said that in this meeting with
President Kumaratunga, he had been "frank and blunt"
about the situation in the East. Kumaratunga told him
that she "knew nothing" about alleged military support
for Karuna; if it had happened, she said, it should not
continue.

Movement on Agenda for Talks?
--------------


6. (C) Brattskar said that Norway is ready to present a
new proposal on the agenda for the talks, but can only
do that after things quiet down in the East. The
President is interested in Norway doing so, but,
Brattskar said, she needs to decide the timing. She has
problems controlling her own coalition, and the radical
Sinhalese JVP continues to make public statements which
undermine her position on the peace talks. Brattskar
said that the LTTE also complained about statements by
Tamil leader and Minister in the current government
Douglas Devananda. The President said that Douglas was
"in the government but not in the coalition."

Helgessen to Visit
--------------


7. (C) Brattskar concluded that Norwegian Deputy Foreign
Minister Vidar Helgessen would come to Sri Lanka around
July 25. In the meantime, Brattskar said, he was
concerned that the Cease Fire Agreement was "fraying
around the edges."
Dhanapala: President Gave Clear Orders
--------------


8. (C) Ambassador met later on July 15 with Peace
Secretariat Head Jayantha Dhanapala. Concerning the

SIPDIS
situation in the East and allegations that the Sri
Lankan military was assisting Karuna, he said that the
President had given "clear orders" that this was not to
happen. Batticaloa in particular was always unsettled,
he said. At any rate, the government had to protect
Karuna if he requested it. Dhanapala said that he would
travel to Batti the next day to assess the situation on
the ground. Regarding the suicide bombing, he said that
the Government greatly appreciated the US statement (in
contrast to the statements by Japan, the EU and Canada,
which did not mention the LTTE.)

Political Party Differences
--------------


9. (C) Dhanapala said the government was now waiting on
the Norwegians on the agenda issue. Queried about the
JVP's recent negative comments on the peace process,
Dhanapala said that he had attended the governing UPFA
coalition's meeting of party leaders to discuss the
peace process on July 13. At that meeting, the JVP had
maintained that its views on the issue as a party were
distinct from its official position of the alliance.
Dhanapala said that at this meeting the UPFA had decided
to invite the other political parties to participate in
the new "National Peace Council." In particular, they
wanted the UNP to participate. He noted also that
Parliament would debate the Interim Self Governing
Authority (ISGA) proposal when it reconvened the
following week. Ambassador said that attempts to gain
UNP cooperation might have a greater chance of success
if the UPFA ceased harassing UNP leaders as in the
recent attempt to harass former Trade and Commerce
Minister Karunanayake. Dhanapala verbally shrugged as
if to say: "That's politics."

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


10. (C) All protestations to the contrary, we believe
that the Sri Lankan military was assisting Karuna and
his followers. We cannot assess whether they are still
doing so. We discussed the proposed National Peace
Council and the debate on the ISGA with several UNP
leaders over the weekend, urging them to take a
constructive approach. They remain wary. One version
is that UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe will agree to
participate in the NPC only after the entire UPFA
government has made a clear and unified statement of its
own position on the issues. That may be a while in
coming.

LUNSTEAD

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