In Ambassador's first visit to Jaffna, Tamils

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000714

SIPDIS

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

PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04-30-14
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINS PHUM SOCI MASS KHDP CE LTTE
SUBJECT: In Ambassador's first visit to Jaffna, Tamils
express skepticism about new government

Refs: Colombo 706, and previous

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: During his April 28 visit to the
Tamil-majority northern city of Jaffna, Ambassador
Lunstead saw life in Jaffna since the April 2
parliamentary elections. A key topic that emerged in
conversations with Tamil interlocutors was a deep sense
of reservation and skepticism regarding the new UPFA
government and its ability to return to peace talks with
the Tigers. As in previous Mission visits, the slow
pace of rehabilitation in the north and east was also
mentioned repeatedly. Other highlights of the trip
included visits to a U.S.-sponsored surgical mission, a
State Department-sponsored humanitarian demining site,
and a USAID project that provides prosthetic limbs to
disabled individuals in the Jaffna peninsula. While
there were some hopeful signs seen during the visit,
northern Tamils remained deeply concerned about the
future of peace negotiations. END SUMMARY.

============================
AMBASSADOR'S VISIT TO JAFFNA
============================


2. (C) In his April 28 visit to the city of Jaffna in
northern Sri Lanka, Ambassador Lunstead held a series of
meetings, including a discussion with key MPs from the
pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Tamil
National Alliance (TNA) and civil society interlocutors.
Other highlights of the trip to Jaffna included a visit
to a U.S. military surgical mission providing
reconstructive and plastic surgery and a meeting with
the Catholic Bishop of Jaffna. Also included in the
program were a military briefing with Major General
Susil Chandrapala, the commander of the GSL's military
forces in the Jaffna peninsula and visits to a State
Department-sponsored humanitarian demining site and a a
USAID project providing prosthetic limbs to disabled
Tamil civilians.

==================================
DEEP SKEPTICISM FOR NEW GOVERNMENT
==================================


3. (C) One key theme that emerged in the Ambassador's
meetings was a palpable sense of skepticism among Tamils
regarding the new United People's Freedom Alliance
(UPFA) government and its ability to address peace
process and rehabilitation issues. At a large lunch
meeting with TNA and Tamil civil society contacts, MP
for Jaffna Gajen Ponnambalam said he doubted that the
"weak coalition government" would be able to take any
substantive action on restarting peace talks with the
Tigers. (At present, the UPFA does not command a
majority in Parliament and the TNA MPs have publicly
stated their support for the Opposition.) Father
Bernard, a Catholic priest and human rights activist,
also noted that President Kumaratunga's poor historical
record with the Tigers would make negotiations
"problematic, to say the least," and that Jaffna Tamils
were deeply skeptical about how long the UPFA government
would last.


4. (C) Government Agent for Jaffna S. Pathmanathan also
highlighted specific concerns regarding the lack of
resources for resettlement and rehabilitation work in
Jaffna. Queried by Ambassador, Pathmanathan said that
the flow of aid had slowed with the most recent change
of government, and there were still insufficient funds
and aid mechanisms for infrastructure and resettlement
projects in Jaffna. Catholic Bishop of Jaffna Thomas
Savundaranayagam echoed these comments, noting that the
inhabitants of Jaffna were not yet enjoying the "fruits
of peace." Savundaranayagam said Jaffna Tamils were
"anxiously awaiting a return to peace talks" but that
signs were not good due to the minority government.

==========================================
U.S. SURGICAL MISSION AIDS TAMIL CIVILIANS
==========================================


5. (C) The highlight of the Jaffna trip was a visit to
a U.S. humanitarian surgical training mission performing
surgery and medical care for Tamil civilians with
injuries caused by landmines and unexploded ordnance
(UXO). Known as BRAVA, which stands for Blast,
Resuscitation and Victim Assistance, the team of nearly
twenty U.S. military personnel is working with Sri
Lankan physicians at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital to
provide care and surgery to landmine victims, as well as
treating victims of accidents and patients with birth
defects. The team is conducting several operations a
day at the Jaffna teaching hospital, which, despite
being extremely old and dilapidated, is the only
hospital on the entire peninsula. In addition to its
surgical work, the team also donated several pallets of
medical supplies to the hospital. The entire BRAVA
mission generated a significant amount of positive press
coverage in the English-, Sinhala- and Tamil-language
press. Addressing journalists during his visit to the
BRAVA mission at the hospital, Ambassador Lunstead
stressed that the humanitarian assistance that the
surgical mission was providing to the people of Jaffna
was possible because of the peace process.

==================================
MILITARY'S ONGOING ISSUE WITH HSZS
==================================


6. (C) In another key stop during the day, the
Ambassador received a briefing on the military situation
in the Jaffna peninsula from Major General Susil
Chandrapala, the commander of the Sri Lankan military
forces in Jaffna. Chandrapala frankly admitted that the
military's "high security zones" (HSZs) around army
camps and sentry points were a contentious issue with
regard to the resettlement of internally displaced
persons (IDPs) and refugees, but said that HSZs were
"essential to maintain the status quo and the balance of
power." Chandrapala noted that since he had assumed
command of the Jaffna operational area in December of
2003, he had authorized the return of some lands for
resettlement purposes. Echoing comments made by other
interlocutors throughout the day, Chandrapala cited the
acute need for funds and infrastructure, which would aid
in the overall resettlement of civilians on the Jaffna
peninsula.

=================================
OTHER US-SPONSORED WORK IN JAFFNA
=================================


7. (C) Illustrating concrete examples of the assistance
that the U.S. provides to Sri Lanka, including the
civilian population of Jaffna, the Ambassador visited a
U.S.-sponsored humanitarian demining site and a USAID-
funded clinic to aid the disabled. At the demining
site, the Ambassador met with U.S.-trained Sri Lankan
Army deminers and technical experts from the U.S.-based
RONCO Corporation. (Note: RONCO personnel provide
technical oversight to humanitarian deminers from the
Sri Lanka Army "SLA"). The mine clearance operation in
progress was just one facet of the State Department-
sponsored humanitarian demining program that has trained
nearly five hundred deminers, trainers and paramedics
since 2003. In that time, U.S-trained SLA humanitarian
deminers have succeeded in clearing over 300,000 square
meters of land in three operational areas in the north
and east. At the USAID-funded Jaffna Jaipur Center for
Disability Rehabilitation, the Ambassador met with Sri
Lankans working to provide prosthetic limbs and
wheelchairs to civilians in Jaffna disabled by landmines
and UXOs.


8. (C) COMMENT: In this, the first Mission visit to
Jaffna since the April 2 Parliamentary elections, the
level of skepticism and uncertainty among Tamil
interlocutors regarding the new government was striking.
As in previous visits to Jaffna, contacts reiterated the
need for rehabilitation and the slow pace of aid to the
north and east, but new and deep currents of mistrust
towards the UPFA government and doubt about the future
of peace negotiations emerged in frank conversations
with Tamil contacts. President Kumaratunga's recent
comments that she would like to see a speedy resumption
of the peace talks were raised at several points by
Ambassador, but it seems that the UPFA message has yet
to resonate among Tamils in the north. END COMMENT.


9. (U) Minimize considered.

LUNSTEAD