NORWEGIAN AMBASSADOR BRIEFS COLOMBO CO-CHAIRS ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000187

SIPDIS

USEU PASS AMBASSADOR LUNSTEAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2015
TAGS: PREL PTER PHUM EAID CE LTTE
SUBJECT: NORWEGIAN AMBASSADOR BRIEFS COLOMBO CO-CHAIRS ON
HIGH-LEVEL NORWEGIAN VISIT

REF: COLOMBO 157

Classified By: CDA JAMES F. ENTWISTLE FOR REASON 1.4D.


1. (C) Summary. The Norwegian delegation headed by
Foreign Minister Petersen made progress in working out an
LTTE/GSL tsunami coordination mechanism although the deal
is not final. Norwegian Ambassador Brattskar, who has been
facilitating the discussions, is encouraged. Colombo co-
chair representatives agreed that the public statement
after the January 25 Brussels co-chair meeting should be
short and focus on expressing hope that GSL/LTTE tsunami
coordination will, down the road, have a positive impact on
the peace process. Brattskar said that it was clearly
Prabhakaran who met with Peterson so rumors of the LTTE
leader's demise under the tsunami waves are not true. End
Summary


2. (C) Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar briefed
Colombo co-chair representatives January 24 on the just-
concluded visit by a high-level delegation led by Foreign
Minister Peterson and including Development Minister
Johnson, DFM Helgesen and Sri Lanka peace envoy Erik
Solheim. Charge' represented the U.S.

Finding a GSL/LTTE Tsunami Coordination Mechanism
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3. (C) Brattskar noted that the GON had been clear in its
preparations for the visit that it was tsunami-related, not
peace process, although in reality, of course, the two were
closely linked. FM Peterson met with both President
Kumaratunga (CBK) and with LTTE leader Prabhakaran
(London-based LTTE heavyweight Anton Balasingam, LTTE
political chief Thamilchelvam and LTTE Sea Tiger chief
Soosai sat in). Brattskar, who has seen Prabhakaran in
action a number of times, said there is no/no doubt that it
was really Prabhakaran who met with the Norwegian
delegation so, Brattskar said, Prabhakaran is clearly
"alive and well, although he was very subdued."


4. (C) The primary topic of the extensive round of
Norwegian meetings with both sides had been the formation
of a joint GSL/LTTE mechanism to deliver tsunami relief
assistance in the tsunami affected areas of the north and
east, discussions which Brattskar has been quietly
facilitating for several weeks (reftel). Brattskar said
much progress was made over the weekend but things are not
in final. Brattskar and Helgesen had gone back up to
Kilinochchi early January 24 for "very useful" further
discussions with the LTTE on the mechanism. It will now be
referred to the LTTE central committee and Brattskar is
hopeful there will be another GSL/LTTE round of
discussions by the end of this week. Both President
Kumaratunga and Prabhakaran really want this,
Brattskar commented, and both are leaving discussions
to the working level and staying out of details
(which is particularly hard for the President,
the Norwegian noted). Brattskar noted that both realize
their reputations are at stake since, if they can't
cooperate on an unspeakable national disaster,
what hope is there that they will ever cooperate
on anything else? Brattskar commented that,
in the talks he has been facilitating, both
sides "are listening to each other and are flexible."
A three-tier mechanism (local, regional and national
levels) is currently under discussion. The local
part is basically already in effect in that
GSL/LTTE tsunami cooperation at the district level
is very good, Brattskar said. The UN and the Sri
Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) share that
view, he commented.


5. (C) Brattskar speculated that the outcome of the
"mechanism talks" will be something that builds on the old
North East Reconstruction Fund (NERF) idea, some sort of
"joint purse" into which donors could put money, etc.
Japanese Ambassador Suda immediately said his government
could not send money that way. Brattskar said the details
would have to be worked out but he remains optimistic.
Brattskar stressed, however, that although the discussions
had leaked to the papers over the weekend (each side
typically blames the other),it is crucial in his view that
the details of these discussions, which are still
"fragile," not become public and that their very existence
still be closely-held despite the press leaks. (No doubt
Brattskar is chagrined to see the details of the weekend
Norwegian discussions all over the frontpage of the January
25 English language "Mirror" newspaper.) In particular,
Brattskar commented, it is crucial to avoid the perception
that the discussions are something the co-chairs and/or the
Norwegians dragged the two sides into. This is absolutely
not so, Brattskar said. The GSL and the LTTE wanted and
initiated the talks. He is merely facilitating. The
mechanism would only deal with tsunami coordination; it is
not a "back door" to the LTTE's Interim Self-Governing
Authority (ISGA) plan. "This is not ISGA-lite."

Child Soldiers and Muslims
--------------


6. (C) Brattskar said he had been struck during the
delegation's LTTE meetings and during the discussions he
has been facilitating by the fact that the LTTE had raised
the issue of Muslims in the east who had been particularly
hard hit by the flood. "I'm not used to hearing the LTTE
express concern about Muslims." The LTTE had also insisted
that, whatever the final "mechanism" looked like, Muslims
would have to be involved in the decision-making process.
Brattskar said the LTTE was also extremely sensitive to
charges that it was using post-tsunami confusion to recruit
child soldiers. LTTE political chief Thamilchelvam had
denied this vehemently and said that international
organizations, rather than blast the LTTE publicly, should
bring specific cases to the attention of the LTTE
leadership "and we will solve them." Brattskar also noted
that the Norwegian delegation had visited the hard-hit
coastal town of Mullaitivu (home of the Sea Tigers) and
that he had been very impressed with how much better things
looked than when he had visited the town a week after the
tsunami.

SIPDIS

Short and Sweet Co-Chairs Statement Needed
--------------


7. (C) Turning to the co-chairs public statement that will
be issued after the January 25 Brussels meeting, Brattskar
asserted (and the other co-chair reps agreed) that a
lengthy, detailed public statement (that is, like the draft
the EU has been circulating) would be unhelpful. Mention
of every detail only will give obstructionists more
ammunition to pick the process apart. There was general
agreement that the co-chair statement should be no more
than half a dozen sentences. In a nutshell, co-chair
representatives agree, the statement should call for and/or
applaud GSL/LTTE tsunami coordination (without mentioning
ongoing discussions described above) and express hope that
over time the ties developed in this tsunami coordination
endeavor will lead to progress on the peace front. The co-
chairs must "do no harm" with the statement, Brattskar
stressed. In particular hard language urging an early
return to the peace table must be avoided. EU Charge'
Wilton undertook to pass these Colombo views back to the EU
bureaucracy.

Need for Decentralized Nationwide Reconstruction Process
-------------- --------------


8. (C) Brattskar said that Norwegian Development Minister
Johnson had expressed the view "to everyone she met" that
the post-tsunami reconstruction phase (the nationwide
effort, not just the GSL/LTTE mechanism) needed to be
decentralized down to the local "government agent" level
rather than keeping with Sri Lankan tradition and having
everything controlled by the central government in
Colombo. Johnson had also been quite outspoken that
reconstruction aid needed to be well coordinated and
that regional "asymmetries" in the reconstruction
effort needed to be avoided. The other co-chair
representatives agreed with that approach
(which is also held by the local IFI reps and
the UN here) and noted that the GSL needs to be engaged on
these issues at the highest level. Brattskar commented
that DFM Helgesen might seek to discuss these issues at
Brussels.
ENTWISTLE