LOCAL G8 COUNTER-TERRORISM ACTION GROUP ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000656 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR S/CT SANDAGE/ROSAND E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2016 TAGS: PTER CE SUBJECT: LOCAL G8 COUNTER-TERRORISM ACTION GROUP ON "IDEOLOGICAL RADICALIZATION" REF: STATE 58471 Classified By: DCM James F. Entwistle for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). (C) DCM attended an April 12 local G8 CTAG meeting chaired by the Russian Ambassador. Japan, Italy, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and France also participated. There was general agreement that the possibility of increased radicalization of the Muslim population in Sri Lanka, especially on the east coast, exists given that the community is marginalized in many ways and has suffered during the twenty-five years of fighting between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). That said, there was also general agreement that there are no concrete signs that "jihadis" are gaining ground in any systematic way and that the government tended to overplay the possibility in the knowledge that it is an issue more likely to catch the eye of G8 after 9/11. All agreed, however, on the wisdom of remaining engaged with the Muslim community in Sri Lanka in order to promote moderation and to encourage Muslim participation in seeking solutions to longstanding ethnic strife. Beyond that, the meeting participants used the occasion to compare notes on various G8 members' efforts to monitor LTTE fundraising and other activities in their respective countries. LUNSTEAD