PUBLIC BATTLE FOR THE HEARTS OF TAMILS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001243

SIPDIS

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

PLEASE PASS TOPEC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07-27-14
TAGS: PTER PREL CE LTTE
SUBJECT: PUBLIC BATTLE FOR THE HEARTS OF TAMILS
CONTINUES

Refs: (A) Colombo 1236 and previous

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


1. (U) SUMMARY: President Kumaratunga
apologized for the July 1983 riots in which
hundreds of Tamils were killed, but tempered
her apology with a call for the LTTE to
apologize for its actions as well. An LTTE
political official commented that
Kumaratunga's public apology was driven by
"political expediency rather than
principles." Meanwhile, hundreds of anti-
LTTE EPDP supporters carried the body of a
slain EPDP politician from the east to the
Norwegian Embassy to protest LTTE killings
of EPDP cadre. Raising his voice against
pro-LTTE TNA MPs, TULF leader V.
Anandasangaree issued a statement condemning
violence in the east and offered regret that
the TNA MPs were silent about the killings.
The LTTE needs to consolidate support in the
east, and as the near-continuous stream of
killings there suggest, the Tigers are
willing to do whatever it takes to gain that
support. END SUMMARY.

The President's Attempt to Win Over Tamils
--------------

2. (U) On July 24, President Kumaratunga
apologized for the July 1983 riots in which
hundreds of Tamils were killed, but tempered
her apology with a call for the LTTE to
apologize for its actions as well. At a
ceremony in Kandy marking the 21st
anniversary of the 1983 riots, President
Kumaratunga stated, "We cannot forget, we
cannot blind ourselves to the mistakes we
have made; we will have to accept collective
guilt for the wrongs, and then move forward.
When I say collective guilt, I mean first
the State of Sri Lanka for the horrors they
perpetrated on one section of our peoples,
21 years ago and at other lesser moments,
but I also mean all the others on the other
side of the divide who have also used young
children as suicide bombers, and killed
hundreds of people and caused much suffering
to other people." Kumaratunga also handed
over compensation to 30 of the 937 Tamils
her Presidential Truth Commission identified
as having suffered in the "pogrom."

LTTE Rebuttal
--------------


3. (U) Meanwhile, on July 26 pro-LTTE
website TamilNet reported LTTE Trincomalee
Political Leader S. Elilan comments, "We
regard... Kumaratunga's public apology for
the 1983 pogrom against the Tamils as a
deceptive attempt, driven by political
expediency rather than principles, to
placate the Tamils." He continued that the
"Sinhala political leadership should come
forward to agree to a permanent political
solution to the ethnic conflict with a self-
rule concept satisfying the legitimate
aspirations of Tamils of the Northeast
Province." Many Tamils in the north and
east observed July 25 as a "day of mourning"
to mark the anniversary of the riots. The
LTTE called on the public to observe a
hartal (general strike) in the north and
east, and a prominent English weekender
reported that the LTTE banned newspapers
reporting on the President's offer of
compensation to Tamils who suffered in the
riots.
EPDP Protests Against Norwegians (and LTTE)
--------------

4. (U) On July 23, hundreds of anti-LTTE Eelam People's
Democratic Party (EPDP) supporters carried the body of a
slain EPDP politician to the Norwegian Embassy to
protest LTTE killings of EPDP cadre. The protesters
briefly left the murdered man's coffin on the sidewalk
in front of the embassy. The EPDP politician, killed by
the LTTE on July 21, was the Pradeshiya Sabha (town
council) leader of a village near Akaraipattu (south of
Batticaloa). His predecessor (another EPDP politician)
was also killed by the LTTE. The EPDP has staged
similar demonstrations in the past at Sri Lankan
Monitoring Mission (SLMM) offices in the east. Douglas
Devananda, Minister of Agricultural Marketing
Development, Hindu Affairs, and Tamil Language Schools
and Vocational Training (North) and General Secretary of
the EPDP - who was the target of the July 7 LTTE suicide
bomber in Colombo - spoke at the slain politician's
funeral. Press reports quoted him, "We call upon the
international community, particularly the Government of
Norway...to do everything possible to put an end to the
endless violence of the LTTE." He also stated that the
LTTE has killed 115 EPDP members since the Cease-Fire
Agreement was signed in February, 2002.

TULF Leader Chimes In
--------------

5. (C) President of the Tamil United Liberation Front
(TULF),V. Anandasangaree issued a statement condemning
violence in the east and offered regret that the Tamil
National Alliance (TNA) MPs were silent about the
killings. (Anandasangaree was once the leader of the
TNA, but has been exiled from the party because he does
not accept the LTTE as the sole representative of the
Tamil people. Like EPDP leader Devananda, the GSL
provides protection for Anandasangaree because the LTTE
has threatened his life.) Anandasangaree called upon
the "parties to the peace process" to take immediate
steps to halt the killings before beginning peace talks.
He also stated, "As far as the Tamils are concerned, all
those who had sacrificed their lives should be treated
with utmost respect and not condemned as traitors merely
because they belong to a group that is opposed to
another."


6. (C) COMMENT: The LTTE needs to consolidate support
in the east, and as the near-continuous stream of
killings there suggest, the Tigers are willing to do
whatever it takes to gain that support. President
Kumaratunga's apology was not well-received by many
Tamils, despite the widely-disseminated GSL-owned
media's attempts to showcase it. The LTTE's negative
response to her apology was not surprising, given Black
July's important status in LTTE civil religion. The
President has mentioned to the Ambassador several times
her horror at what happened in 1983and also made clear
that it was the fault of the UNP and President
Jayawardene who was in power at that time. Meanwhile,
statements from anti-LTTE EPDP and TULF politicos are
likely to be seen by the LTTE as challenges. END
COMMENT.

LUNSTEAD