Tensions continue to percolate between LTTE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000607

SIPDIS

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 04-07-14
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINS PINR PHUM MOPS CE LTTE
SUBJECT: Tensions continue to percolate between LTTE
and rebel commander; Signs of split in major Tamil party

Refs: Colombo 601, and previous

(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of
Mission. Reasons 1.5 (b, d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Tensions continue to percolate between
the main LTTE organization and rebel eastern commander
Karuna. The Tigers recently warned Karuna that they
plan to "get rid" of him. In the meantime, there are
continuing reports of LTTE hit squads roaming the east
and of LTTE and Karuna forces eyeballing each other
along the Trincomalee-Batticaloa border. The stresses
are having their impact on the TNA, Sri Lanka's major
Tamil party, which did well in the recent election, but
now appears to be effectively divided into two camps,
one pro-LTTE, one pro-Karuna. In its lone statement re
the election, the Tigers underscored their support for
the peace process, but warned that they were prepared to
fight for "Tamil sovereignty" if necessary. The LTTE's
timeline in trying to knock out Karuna is not known, but
hostilities of some sort appear almost inevitable down
the road. END SUMMARY.

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The LTTE warns Karuna
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2. (U) In a recent public statement, the main
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organization
lashed out at dissident eastern commander Karuna.
(Karuna broke from the LTTE in early March -- see
Reftels. Karuna's real name is V. Muralitharan.) In a
long statement posted on the pro-Tiger website
"TamilNet" on March 25, the LTTE stated, in part:

"Our cadres should comprehend Karuna's treachery and
keep away from him. Anybody who opposes disciplinary
action against Karuna will be considered a traitor to
the Tamil national cause. Based on the understanding
that all the cadres enrolled themselves in the movement
accepted the leadership of (LTTE leader) V. Prabhakaran,
we request that the cadres who are with Karuna now,
without knowing the truth, should abandon him."


3. (SBU) In an ominous note, the statement closed in
the following manner: "To safeguard our nation and our
people, it has been decided to get rid of Karuna from
our soil." By making this threat, the Tigers were
clearly reversing their previous position that Karuna
might be able to return to the organization if he made
amends for his actions. (Karuna and his advisers had,
in public comments, refused to do this.)


4. (SBU) Although TamilNet has not posted any
additional statements about Karuna in the past several
days, Mission continues to hear reports that the LTTE is
engaged in a comprehensive, door-to-door effort to
discredit Karuna among Tamils in the north and east.
For their part, Karuna and his advisers have kept
relatively quiet of late, especially in comparison to
the constant hum of public attacks they made on the main
LTTE organization (for being war-mongers, for being
prejudiced against eastern Tamils, etc.) in early March.

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Tensions high in East
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5. (C) In the meantime, tensions remain extremely high
in the east as LTTE and Karuna elements jostle and
monitor each other's moves. There are reports, for
example, that several LTTE hit squads, under the
direction of LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman, have
infiltrated Batticaloa and Ampara Districts. (Karuna
has influence in these two eastern districts.) The aim
of the hit squads is pretty clearly to knock off
supporters of Karuna. Compounding the tensions in the
east are reports of a buildup of heavily armed pro-
Karuna and pro-Prabhakaran forces in the area of
Verugal, which is located approximately 30 kilometers
south of the key eastern port city of Trincomalee.
Reports indicate that several hundred armed cadres from
both factions are continuing to monitor each other from
either side of a river in the Verugal area which
straddles the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa
districts. (Of the two factions, the main LTTE
organization remains by far the strongest in Trincomalee
District.) In another indication of the fierce jostling
now taking place between the two sides, Sri Lanka Army
sources report that troops loyal to Karuna are
attempting to infiltrate the Vanni, with the ostensible
purpose of attempting to kill Tiger leader V.
Prabhakaran. (The Vanni region in the north is the core
area controlled by the main LTTE organization in Sri
Lanka.)


6. (C) In a grisly example of apparent infighting
between the two camps, R. Sathiamoorthy, a Tamil
candidate for Parliament, was killed along with a
relative when armed men attacked his home in Batticaloa
town in the early morning hours of March 30.
Sathiamoorthy, who was close to Karuna, was an outspoken
opponent of the LTTE. Following the killing,
Sathiamoorthy's body was paraded around Batticaloa
District by Karuna supporters, who claimed that he had
been killed by the LTTE. After being buried on
March 31, Sathiamoorthy's body was exhumed in early
April and partially burnt. While no group has claimed
responsibility for Sathiamoorthy's killing and the
subsequent desecration of his corpse, contacts in
Batticaloa say that a LTTE hit squad from the north was
almost certainly to blame.

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Stresses in major Tamil party
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7. (C) The fierce tensions between the main LTTE
organization and Karuna have led to serious stresses in
Sri Lanka's major Tamil party, the Tamil National
Alliance (TNA). (The TNA is also known as the "ITAK"
party, the acronym for "Ilanki Tamil Arasu Katchchi" or
Federal Party.) The TNA did well in the election,
winning 22 seats (up from 15 seats) in Sri Lanka's
parliamentary election held on April 2 (see Reftels).
The party continues to be dominated by pro-LTTE elements
from Jaffna in the north and Trincomalee in the east.
It is estimated, however, that 4-5 TNA MPs from the
eastern districts of Batticaloa and Ampara are loyal to
Karuna and not to LTTE leader Prabhakaran. There are
reports that President Kumaratunga's United People's
Freedom Alliance (UPFA),which is trying to garner
majority support in Parliament, is mulling over whether
to try to woo this group of Karuna loyalists to its
side. Tamil contacts have told us that at a meeting of
all of the TNA parliamentarians held late April 6 in
Colombo it was agreed that the party would not divide
into northern and eastern elements. Despite these
reports, Mission continues to hear that there is a deep
fissure in the TNA and it is effectively divided into
two camps, one pro-LTTE, one pro-Karuna.

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Brief LTTE comments on election
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8. (U) For its part, the LTTE released a brief
statement on April 5 on TamilNet commenting on the
recently concluded election. It stated that Tamil
voters had "performed a commendable historical duty" by
voting in large numbers of MPs from the TNA. The
statement supported the peace process, but went on to
note that if the "Tamil national problem" was not
resolved on the basis of "Tamil self-rule" then "the
Tamil people will fight to establish Tamil sovereignty
in their homeland on the principle of self-
determination."

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COMMENT
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9. (C) The LTTE's timeline in trying to knock out
Karuna is not known. There had been word in recent
weeks that the Tigers would wait until after the
election to up the pressure. Since April 2, there has
been no discernible indication that the Tigers plan any
sort of all-out offensive. That said, hostilities
between the two sides would seem hard to avoid at some
point. If fighting breaks out, there are worries that
the humanitarian situation in the east could quickly
become dire and we understand that the UNDP is making
contingency plans. Re the TNA, it is still not certain
whether the party will formerly split into two groups.
It is certainly the case that if the UPFA tries to work
with pro-Karuna elements in the TNA it would greatly
upset LTTE leader Prabhakaran and almost certainly
affect the peace process in a negative way. END
COMMENT.


10. (U) Minimize considered.

LUNSTEAD