SRI LANKA: LOCAL EMPLOYEE OF US NGO KILLED NEAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 001509 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PTER CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: LOCAL EMPLOYEE OF US NGO KILLED NEAR TRINCOMALEE ¶1. (U) On the afternoon of September 11, a 31 year old Tamil employee of Seattle-based NGO World Concern was shot and killed on the outskirts of Trincomalee. The employee, Ragunathan Ramalingam, was a team leader for World Concern,s water sanitation activities north of Trincomalee. Amcit Kathleen Rutledge, country director in Sri Lanka for World Concern, told the Embassy that the employee was returning to work on a motorcycle with the NGO's logo following lunch with his family in Nilaveli. He passed through an Army checkpoint near a Navy base on Nilaveli Road and shortly thereafter, around 1:30 pm, was shot five times by unidentified gunmen. The Embassy has spoken with the NGO to express condolences and has contacted security officials to register concern and request further information. ¶2. (C) A September 12 World Concern press release states that there is no known motive for the killing and no suspects at this time. Intelligence sources (protect) indicate that Ramalingam was under investigation for LTTE fundraising and organizing pro-LTTE activities. Police sources indicate that although they have no specific knowledge, they regard the Sri Lankan Navy as the most likely suspect. MOORE