Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06COLOMBO2139
2006-12-29 06:59:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:
SRI LANKA: UPDATE ON JORDANIAN SHIP GROUNDED OFF
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UNCLAS COLOMBO 002139
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: UPDATE ON JORDANIAN SHIP GROUNDED OFF
NORTHERN COAST
REF: COLOMBO 2126
UNCLAS COLOMBO 002139
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: UPDATE ON JORDANIAN SHIP GROUNDED OFF
NORTHERN COAST
REF: COLOMBO 2126
1. (U) December 28-29 saw a barrage of media articles on the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) boarding a Jordanian
vessel and forcing the crew to raise anchor, causing the ship
to be grounded off the coast of Mullaitivu in the north
(ref). Papers reported that the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
(SLMM) ruled the act a violation of the 2002 Cease-Fire
Agreement and reiterated the Tigers have no rights to Sri
Lankan territorial waters. The media also quoted government
officials condemning the LTTE act of piracy.
2. (U) According to press reports, the Sea Tigers who boarded
the ship December 23 initially tried to explode the anchor
with dynamite, but when that attempt failed, armed Sea Tigers
forced the crew to pull up anchor. The LTTE then made the
crew members get into waiting motor boats, injuring several
of them in the process. As reported reftel, the LTTE
released the crew members to the Red Cross and they were
brought to Colombo. Government papers called the incident "a
blatant act of piracy" because the Tigers forcibly entered
the ship, stole equipment, and evacuated the crew. A
December 29 Daily News article said that when a Chinese ship
was similarly attacked in the Mullaitivu area in 2003 and 23
people were killed, the SLMM laid the blame on independent
"criminal elements" though most people assumed the Sea Tigers
were the guilty party. In this case, several news articles
noted, the ship's captain clearly said the Tigers are
responsible, leaving no doubt the LTTE has committed piracy.
3. (SBU) The grounded vessel remains off the coast of
Mullaitivu with its cargo intact. Major Rajapaksa of the
National Security Media Center told emboff in a December 27
phone conversation that the Sri Lankan AIR FORCE and Sri
Lankan Navy (SLN) have the ship under constant surveillance,
but the SLN cannot approach it because the LTTE have
shore-based guns in the vicinity. According to DAO's
sources, the ship may be stuck until the weather changes in
May.
BLAKE
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: UPDATE ON JORDANIAN SHIP GROUNDED OFF
NORTHERN COAST
REF: COLOMBO 2126
1. (U) December 28-29 saw a barrage of media articles on the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) boarding a Jordanian
vessel and forcing the crew to raise anchor, causing the ship
to be grounded off the coast of Mullaitivu in the north
(ref). Papers reported that the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
(SLMM) ruled the act a violation of the 2002 Cease-Fire
Agreement and reiterated the Tigers have no rights to Sri
Lankan territorial waters. The media also quoted government
officials condemning the LTTE act of piracy.
2. (U) According to press reports, the Sea Tigers who boarded
the ship December 23 initially tried to explode the anchor
with dynamite, but when that attempt failed, armed Sea Tigers
forced the crew to pull up anchor. The LTTE then made the
crew members get into waiting motor boats, injuring several
of them in the process. As reported reftel, the LTTE
released the crew members to the Red Cross and they were
brought to Colombo. Government papers called the incident "a
blatant act of piracy" because the Tigers forcibly entered
the ship, stole equipment, and evacuated the crew. A
December 29 Daily News article said that when a Chinese ship
was similarly attacked in the Mullaitivu area in 2003 and 23
people were killed, the SLMM laid the blame on independent
"criminal elements" though most people assumed the Sea Tigers
were the guilty party. In this case, several news articles
noted, the ship's captain clearly said the Tigers are
responsible, leaving no doubt the LTTE has committed piracy.
3. (SBU) The grounded vessel remains off the coast of
Mullaitivu with its cargo intact. Major Rajapaksa of the
National Security Media Center told emboff in a December 27
phone conversation that the Sri Lankan AIR FORCE and Sri
Lankan Navy (SLN) have the ship under constant surveillance,
but the SLN cannot approach it because the LTTE have
shore-based guns in the vicinity. According to DAO's
sources, the ship may be stuck until the weather changes in
May.
BLAKE