SRI LANKA: SEVEN CIVILIANS INJURED IN VIOLENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 002118 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PTER CE LTTE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: SEVEN CIVILIANS INJURED IN VIOLENT PROTEST IN NORTH REF: A. COLOMBO 1419 ¶B. USDAO COLOMBO IIR 6816002806 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Seven civilians were injured when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers fired on a violent protest led by students affiliated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the northern district of Jaffna on December 19. In Colombo on December 17-18 security forces arrested and released over 100 suspects in neighborhood sweeps for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suspects. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) declared the LTTE guilty of gross violations of the Cease-fire Agreement (CFA) after the December 14 shooting at a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter in the eastern district of Ampara (Ref B). The CFA continues to hold--but under obvious and increasing pressure. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) A series of clashes between the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-affiliated student groups have continued to ratchet up tensions in the Jaffna peninsula, culminating in a December 19 incident in which the SLA fired into a crowd of several hundred protesters trying to march on the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) compound in Jaffna. Seven persons were reported shot and others injured after security forces reportedly beat members of the crowd. The SLMM district head in Jaffna reported the SLA was attempting to block this march because on December 15 a group of 25-30 pro-LTTE protesters had climbed the wall of the SLMM compound and entered its offices, demanding a meeting with the representative. In the wake of this incident, the SLMM is gauging the tension in Jaffna and reviewing its protective posture. ¶3. (U) In addition to the disturbances December 19, angry protests shook the normally quiet island of Kayts in Jaffna on December 18 following the discovery of the body of a local woman, who had been missing for two days, in an area under the control of the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) and the anti-LTTE Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP). According to the Divisional Secretary, a crowd of approximately 1000 protesters, organized by the LTTE, threw stones and burned tires in front of the naval base, accusing the SLN of involvement in her death. ¶4. (U) On December 16 President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced that he would ask Parliament to approve another one-month extension of the Emergency Regulations, which give the Armed Forces expanded powers of search, seizure and arrest. (The Emergency Regulations, enacted after the August 12 assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, have already been extended by Parliament four times.) During the night and early morning hours of December 17 and 18 the security forces conducted traffic stops and house-to-house searches in four predominantly Tamil neighborhoods in Colombo, questioning (and ultimately releasing) 107 suspects and detaining another five with forged documents. (The detainees may be held for up to 12 months under the Emergency Regulations.) A senior journalist for the largest Tamil newspaper reported being fingerprinted, photographed and held for twelve hours after police ignored his government press credentials. ¶5. (SBU) On December 17, the SLMM ruled the December 14 shooting of a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter (Ref B) in Ampara District as a "gross violation" of the CFA by the LTTE. According to press reports, Air Force Commander Donald Perera called on the SLMM and the Norwegian Embassy to take prompt action to ensure similar incidents do not happen again. (Comment: How exactly the Norwegian Embassy and SLMM are to do this the Air Force Commander did not say.) ¶6. (SBU) Comment: Although the SLA has shown great restraint in the face of months of increasing provocation, the first signs of strain may be beginning to show. These tensions can only continue to grow as stepped-up search operations for LTTE cadres in predominantly Tamil neighborhoods in Colombo increase the sense of vulnerability within the minority community. The LTTE can be expected to try to paint this latest flurry of incidents as further proof of a Sinhalese hard line in the new government. ENTWISTLE