TIGERS BAG ANOTHER INTELLIGENCE OFFICER WHILE

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 001879

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/01/2015
TAGS: PGOV PTER CE LTTE
SUBJECT: TIGERS BAG ANOTHER INTELLIGENCE OFFICER WHILE
KILLINGS CONTINUE IN THE EAST

REF: A. COLOMBO 812

B. COLOMBO 1800

C. COLOMBO 454

Classified By: DCM James F. Entwistle. Reason: 1.4 (B,D)

SUMMARY
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1. (C) On the evening of October 29, an assassin shot and
killed Sri Lankan Army (SLA) LTCOL T.R. Meedin as the officer
sat in his car. This killing follows the May 31 murder of
another high ranking Tamil speaking intelligence officer MAJ
T.N. Muthalif. Police arrested four suspects on October 30
amid speculation surrounding the affiliation and motivation
of the perpetrators. Some authorities view this latest
killing as a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) response
to the October 10 attack on senior LTTE cadres Bhanu and
Keerthi. In the eastern district of Batticaloa, the LTTE
fought members of COL Karuna's LTTE breakaway faction, the
Tamil National Force (TNF),on October 30 and severely
injured two women living behind a police Special Task Force
(STF) camp in a grenade attack that same day. END SUMMARY

A KILLING
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2. (C) On October 29, LTCOL Meedin was found shot to death
in his car after leaving his Colombo home to meet an
unidentified acquaintance. He died from those wounds a few
hours later.

WHO SHOT T.R.? AND WHY?
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3. (C) Press, police and military contacts have divergent
theories on the killing. Contacts in the security forces
speculate that the LTTE, which has killed 64 members of
military intelligence since the Cease-fire Agreement (CFA),
may have assassinated Meedin, perhaps in retaliation for the
October 10 attack on LTTE district military head Bhanu and
district intelligence chief Keerthi (Reftel B). Some press
accounts of the killing suggested that the killer might have
been hired by the LTTE, rather than an LTTE cadre himself.
An alternate theory is that Meedin's work often involved
informers, one of them could have turned on him or delivered
him to an LTTE hitman. Press speculation points to a
possible business deal gone sour in which his wealthy
associate had underworld ties.

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE COAST
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4. (U) On October 30, the LTTE and Karuna's TNF fighters
clashed in LTTE-controlled territory near the village of
Vaharai in Batticaloa district with casualties on both sides.
The pro-LTTE website TamilNet accused Sri Lankan
intelligence operatives of being in company with the TNF
renegades. Later that day two men on motorcycle threw
grenades at a house behind an STF camp seriously injuring a
mother and daughter. Mounted attacks on motorbike are
standard for the LTTE and recently, women seen
"collaborating" have been intimidated or attacked.

COMMENT
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5. (C) The violence in Batticaloa district has become a
social norm, marching to a steady beat. We do not expect the
murder of Meedin will change the GSL policy of formally
respecting the CFA. That said, the TNF or some other
anti-LTTE force could exact revenge. Conventional wisdom
paints the LTTE as cash rich and manpower poor since the 2002
CFA. Using local criminal gangs would add a layer of
deniability to Tiger CFA violations and conserve their
hard-core Black Tiger cadres for high value targets like the
Foreign Minister. If the LTTE did use hired killers, it
could indicate not just a manpower shortage, but an
opportunity for security forces, since contract killers are
far more likely to talk to police than take a cyanide capsule.
LUNSTEAD