SRI LANKA: INTERLOCUTORS MOURN BALASINGHAM AS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 002081

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: INTERLOCUTORS MOURN BALASINGHAM AS
LTTE'S VOICE OF MODERATION


Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Embassy's Tamil contacts, international
observers and Sri Lankan political figures lamented the
December 14 death in London of chief LTTE negotiator and
theoretician Anton Balasingham (1938-2006). Members of
Colombo's humanitarian and think-tank community stressed that
Balasingham had been a moderate voice within the LTTE.
Balasingham, who joined the nascent LTTE in 1972, reportedly
supported a federal solution with maximum devolution for the
pre-dominantly Tamil North and East rather than Tiger supremo
Prabhakaran's separate Tamil state, according to
LTTE-breakaway leader and former peace delegation member
Karuna Amman. However, Prabhakaran never gave Balasingham
full freedom to negotiate. End Summary.

Close Friendship Between
Prabhakaran, Balasingham
--------------


2. (C) Contacts from all over the political spectrum lamented
the December 14 death in London of chief LTTE negotiator and
theoretician Anton Balasingham (1938-2006). Balasingham, a
British citizen married to an Australian, headed the LTTE
delegation in all peace negotiations with the Government of
Sri Lanka (GSL) from Thimpu in 1985 until Geneva I in
February 2006. Balasingham did not participate, however in
the failed Geneva II talks in October 2006 due to his failing
health. Pro-LTTE senior Tamil National Alliance (TNA)
Member of Parliament for Trincomalee R. Sampantham told Pol
FSN: "Balasingham understood the dimensions of the Tamil
question. He was close to Prabhakaran and had his full
trust. He was able to discuss matters freely with
Prabhakaran and influence his thinking." Sampantham added
that: "Balasingham's death won't impact the negotiating
process, because it is up to the GSL to come up with
solutions for basic Tamil aspirations."


3. (C) In a eulogy for Balasingham on the pro-LTTE website,
Prabhakaran described the late negotiator as his "best
friend" and confidant against "tribulations and anxieties."
However, the personal closeness between the two did not
translate into ideological consistency. Prabhakaran, a
self-taught military tactician, respected Balasingham as a
thinker and, especially, as a writer of Tiger propaganda
tracts, but was not much influenced by Balasingham's academic
brand of Marxism.

Proponent of a Federal Solution?
--------------


4. (U) On the other hand, Balasingham supported a federal
solution with maximum devolution for the predominantly Tamil
North and East rather than Prabhakaran's separate Tamil
state, according to LTTE-breakaway leader and former peace
delegation member Karuna Amman. In an interview published
December 15 in the independent Daily Mirror newspaper, Karuna
said that Balasingham was the only top LTTE leader committed
to a federal solution, adding: "Prabhakaran wanted to drag
out the peace process for five years during which time we
could rearm. Anton Balasingham was the only one who didn't
agree, but Prabhakaran didn't allow him to make independent
decisions." Karuna reported that Balasingham's trips to
LTTE-controlled territory became shorter over the years
because of heated arguments with Prabhakaran about the peace
process.

Human Rights Community
Laments Loss of Moderate Voice
--------------


5. (C) Jeevan Thiagarajah, Executive Director of the
Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) and chairman of the
Institute for Human Rights told Pol FSN on December 15:
"Balasingham's demise weakens the voice of moderation and
negotiation for the LTTE. In view of his long association
with Prabhakaran, he was able to persuade the LTTE leader on
many matters. For example, the decision to pursue federalism
in the Oslo peace talks was Balasingham's." BBC Sinhala

COLOMBO 00002081 002 OF 002


editor Priyanth Liyanage called Balasingham "a moderating
force within the Tamil Tigers." Tyrell Ferdinands, Director
of the Initiative for Policy and Conflict Transformation,
told us: "Balasingham was a rare personality, dominating and
blunt: Prabhakaran trusted him absolutely, even on an
emotional level. He occasionally changed Prabhakaran's mind.
His death signals the changing of the guard, of which we saw
the first signs at Geneva II when S.P. Tamilselvan led the
LTTE delegation. We saw a new Tamilselvan, who performed and
proved himself well. We may see a new dynamism within the
negotiating team, with collective views rather than the
domination of one personality."


6. (C) COMMENT: Anton Balasingham was for years the "friendly
face" of the Tamil Tigers. A Ph.D. from London, he penned
long academic analyses of Tamil political aspirations, in
addition to leading the LTTE negotiating team. It is likely
that he was, in fact, more pragmatic than the LTTE leadership
in Sri Lanka, and did understand a federal solution within a
united Sri Lanka would be the only possibility for the
Tamils. However, his absence from the negotiating table is
unlikely to change the course of the ethnic conflict in the
immediate future. Prabhakaran, the violent extremist, is
still calling the shots, and his is the only opinion that
matters for the Tigers.
BLAKE