SRI LANKA: SPASM OF VIOLENCE IN NORTH AND EAST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001897

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2014
TAGS: PTER PINS CE LTTE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: SPASM OF VIOLENCE IN NORTH AND EAST

REF: COLOMBO 1856

Classified By: James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of Mission. 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) Summary. On the eve of the LTTE's emotional Hero's
Day ceremonies November 26-27, violent incidents, including
LTTE killings of an army soldier and informants in the east,
grenade attacks on the LTTE's political offices in
Batticaloa, and an LTTE-enforced strike in Jaffna, have
created a tense atmosphere in the north and east. The LTTE
is taking advantage of its strength in Jaffna to put on a
tougher show of Tiger power than usual this year, in the
run-up to the annual celebration of Hero's Day. Meanwhile,
LTTE posturing in Batticaloa seems to be failing, as
pro-Karuna support weakens the LTTE's base. End Summary.

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Jaffna Hartal Leading Up to Hero's Day
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2. (C) On November 19, according to media and other sources,
two people were killed and one person was injured in a pistol
attack in Velvitithurai, Jaffna District. (Velvettithurai is
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader Velupillai
Prabhakaran's hometown.) The victims had been playing soccer
on the grounds where one of Jaffna's larger Hero's Day (the
emotional November 26-27 LTTE commemoration of its "martyrs"
who have died for the cause,) ceremonies is scheduled to take
place. In response to the incident, the LTTE called a
hartal, or general strike, on the Jaffna Peninsula on
November 20, closing shops and halting public transit. The
motive for the attack and the identities of the gunmen are
unknown, but Jaffna sources speculated that the perpetrators
were anti-LTTE Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP)
cadres--possibly with backing from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA).

S. Paramaeswaran, a journalist in Jaffna, told poloff that he
believed the SLA was using the EPDP to upset harmony in
Jaffna.


3. (U) An SLA press release disputed this version of events
and asserted that the LTTE fired on the crowd to harm EPDP
supporters watching the soccer match. The SLA statement also
noted that the LTTE was trying to provoke the SLA and disrupt
normalcy in Jaffna. According to other media reports, the
injured man, who is an EPDP activist, was originally taken to
Velvettithurai Hospital, but the SLA later moved him to the
Palaly Military Hospital for his protection. The pro-LTTE
website TamilNet posted LTTE Jaffna Political Leader C.
Ilamparithi's comments that the SLA should take
responsibility for the killings because "this dastardly
crime" took place in an area near SLA sentries and
"mini-camps," and continued, "...the current peace environ is
threatened by such killings."

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Killings of SLA Informants Continue in East
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4. (C) Deputy Inspector of Police for the Eastern Province
Neville Wijesinghe told poloff November 22 that the LTTE is
continuing to target intelligence operatives, as evidenced by
killings in the east in the past week. On November 18, near
Batticaloa District, an SLA soldier attached to military
intelligence was killed while riding his motorcycle, along
with his passenger, a Tamil SLA informant. On November 20,
according to Wijesinghe, the LTTE killed a former LTTE
cadre-turned SLA informant in Trincomalee District.

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Batticaloa Still Disputed
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5. (C) An LTTE political worker was killed in Valaichenai,
north of Batticaloa on November 17. Pro-LTTE website
TamilNet charged that paramilitary operatives working with
the SLA were responsible. In the early hours of November 21,
LTTE political offices that were recently reopened in
Batticaloa were attacked. Wijesinghe told poloff that
supporters of breakaway eastern LTTE leader Karuna were
responsible for the attacks. Police in Batticaloa conducted
"cordon and search" operations November 22, after an SLA tip
that there were weapons in the town. Wijesinghe reported
that pro-Karuna cadre do not want the LTTE to celebrate
Hero's Day in Karuna-sympathetic Batticaloa, but will not
able to do much more themselves to prevent LTTE activity.
(Note: He did not think the LTTE killings of an SLA soldier
and informants were related to Hero's Day celebrations and
did not foresee further problems in Batticaloa.) Other
sources told poloff that decorations and preparation for
Hero's Day in Batticaloa were significantly more understated
than in previous years.

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Trinco Prepares for Hero's Day
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6. (C) In Trincomalee, meanwhile, sources told poloff that
Hero's Day preparations were much more intense than in
previous years. Busloads of Tamils from around Trincomalee
District are expected to arrive there to take part in the
LTTE ceremonies. Major General Asoka Jayawardhana, Governor
of the Northern and Eastern Provinces, told poloff November
22 that a scheduled November 26-17 conference of provincial
governors would "not interfere" with the LTTE commemorations,
nor would the Hero's Day activities interfere with the
conference. He noted that the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
(SLMM) would be present at the conference, to be held at a
hotel near Trincomalee Town. Other sources told poloff that
the LTTE had pressured the hotel manager to cancel the event,
but was unsuccessful. Wijesinghe noted that he expects the
major LTTE ceremonies to be in LTTE-controlled Sampur, across
the harbor from Trincomalee town, and does not expect the
LTTE's activities to disturb the governors' conference.
Wijesinghe noted that the police and the SLMM will increase
monitoring in Trincomalee, and that checkpoints on the main
road to Trincomalee will be increased.

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Comment
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7. (C) Some interlocutors in the government and diplomatic
community had hoped that the tough message the Tiger
delegation heard during its recent European trip would be
reflected in Prabhakaran's annual Hero's Day policy speech.
If recent events in Jaffna and the east are any indication,
it seems unlikely that the LTTE leader will adopt the more
conciliatory tone hoped for. While the LTTE typically uses
the run-up to Hero's Day to reinforce public support, this
year's violence--following so closely on Norwegian Foreign
Minister Petersen's meeting with Prabhakaran (Reftel)-- flies
in the face of international calls for LTTE flexibility and
renunciation of violence. While the truth about the November
19 killings in Jaffna is still hazy, Tiger allegations of
Army involvement are clearly meant to discredit the military
and the Government in the Tiger heartland. The LTTE is
taking advantage of its strength in Jaffna to put on a
tougher show of Tiger power than usual this year. In more
demographically diverse Trincomalee, meanwhile, LTTE efforts
to mobilize a public show of support could provoke even
greater friction between Muslims, Sinhalese and Tamils. LTTE
posturing in Batticaloa, on the other hand, seems to be
failing, as pro-Karuna support weakens the LTTE's base there.


LUNSTEAD