SRI LANKA: BODY COUNT MOUNTS IN NORTH AND EAST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 002040

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2015
TAGS: PTER PGOV PINS CE LTTE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: BODY COUNT MOUNTS IN NORTH AND EAST

REF: COLOMBO 2000

Classified By: AMB Jeffrey Lunstead. Reason: 1.4 (B,D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Violence intensified in the north and east over the
past week, culminating in a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) attack December 4 on a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) vehicle in
Jaffna that resulted in the highest number of Army casualties
in a single incident since the beginning of the Ceasefire in

2002. Through this nagging pattern of small-scale--but no
less persistent--attacks, the LTTE appears to be trying to
provoke an over-reaction by the SLA. The continuing violence
on both sides poses an obvious threat to an increasingly
fragile Ceasefire Agreement (CFA). We recommend that the
Department issue a statement condemning ongoing violations of
the CFA, citing the December 4 attack on the SLA vehicle. The
proposed draft text follows at Para 8 below.

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PRESSURE INTENSIFIES ON TROOPS IN JAFFNA
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2. (SBU) On December 4 seven Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers
were killed after a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
command detonated mine exploded under their truck in
Jaffna--the highest number of SLA fatalities in a single
incident since the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) was signed in

2002. The explosion occurred near the same location as the
attack on a truck attached to the U.S.-funded humanitarian
demining program on November 24 in which one soldier was
killed (Reftel). One more soldier died after a separate LTTE
attack on an SLA camp in another location in Jaffna on
December 4. The December 4 incidents followed the killings
in Jaffna of two Tamil civilians on December 1 who were shot
by unknown assailants after removing decorations marking the
November 27 celebration of the LTTE's Heroes' Day. The next
day suspected LTTE militants threw hand grenades and fired at
SLA checkpoints in nine separate incidents, and Jaffna
residents reported that a previously unknown LTTE front
called "The Roaring People's Force" had been distributing
handbills warning of further reprisals if the SLA and
anti-LTTE Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) did not
cease attacking Tamil civilians.

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COMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN EAST
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3. (SBU) Communal violence erupted on the weekend of
December 2 in Sri Lanka's volatile eastern province with
Muslim and Tamil killings and counter killings in
Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara districts. On December 2,
a Muslim mob attacked and burned a Tamil trishaw driver and
his two passengers, leaving two dead and one seriously
wounded in the town of Muttur, Trincomalee district. This
attack followed the shooting of a Muslim man by unknown
gunmen earlier that day. The bodies of three Muslims who had
been abducted after crossing into LTTE-controlled territory
the morning of December 2, were found dead, execution style,
on December 3. A fourth member of the group was hospitalized
with severe stab wounds.


4. (C) Unknown assailants abducted two Tamil men the night
of December 2 and they remain missing. On the evening of
December 4 the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) met with
Muslim and Tamil leaders to calm the situation as the GSL
sent army and police to reinforce the government-controlled
areas of the town. Arthur Tviten, district head of the SLMM,
said he believes the violence was the spontaneous result of
long-standing tensions between the two communities rather
than a planned campaign of violence.


5. (C) In Batticaloa district on December 2, unidentified
gunmen shot Kattankudy Divisional Secretary A.L.M. Falleel
in his office with 9 mm pistols. The critically injured
Falleel (a Muslim) died two days later. International NGOs
operating in Batticaloa reported hearing that Falleel had
troubled relations with the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization
(TRO),a charity with strong links to the LTTE. The
predominantly Muslim coast line of Ampara district, south of
Batticaloa, observed a three-day hartal (general strike)
following the murder of Falleel, an Ampara native. Communal
tensions in the district remain high following the November
18 grenade attack on a mosque in Akkaraipattu that killed six
and wounded 15. While the attack has been widely attributed
to the LTTE, the Tigers have denied responsibility. The SLMM
district office told us that it lacks sufficient evidence to
determine whether the LTTE was behind the attack or whether
political rivalries within the fractured Muslim community are
the cause. He added that he believes either scenario is
plausible.

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SLMM APPEALS FOR CALM
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6. (C) On December 4, SLMM chief Hagrup Haukland issued a
statement calling on all leaders to show restraint and appeal
for calm in their communities. On December 5 Norwegian
Ambassador Hans Brattskar told the Ambassador that he plans
to travel to Jaffna and Kilinochchi on December 8-9, in what
he described a very tense situation.


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COMMENT
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7. (C) It is unclear to what degree, if any, the LTTE may be
behind the violence in the east, where local ethnic tensions
often run rampant. LTTE involvement in the Jaffna attacks is
pretty obvious, however. This violence may be motivated by
either an LTTE desire to put pressure on the new government
or it may be an LTTE signal that it wants to end the CFA.
Whatever the motivation, the violence runs the risk of
further imperiling the CFA.

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DRAFT TEXT OF STATEMENT
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8. (SBU) Begin text:

The U.S. remains gravely concerned about persistent
violations of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA),particularly
over the past few weeks. We condemn the December 4 LTTE
attack on a Sri Lanka Army vehicle in Jaffna that caused the
deaths of seven soldiers. Such violence is inconsistent with
LTTE claims to be committed to the peace process. We call on
both the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to take
immediate action to prevent killings and to uphold the terms
of the Ceasefire Agreement.

End text.
LUNSTEAD