EAC MEETING 7 JUNE 2006

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000958 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC CASC CEPTER SUBJECT: EAC MEETING 7 JUNE 2006 ¶1. (SBU) Colombo EAC met June 7 to discuss the June 6 early morning claymore mine attack along the main road from Colombo to the airport north of town. The latest information indicates the explosion occurred near the entrance to a Navy base (which processes new recruits) about five hundred meters off of the main road. Sources indicate the intended target was a bus scheduled to leave the base carrying Naval personnel. Instead, a civilian bus was blown up, with injuries to the driver and conductor (the only two on board). It appears that the perpetrators of this remote-controlled attack made a mistake. The civilian bus apparently was running late and thus appeared around the time the Navy bus was expected. Moreover, the buses were of similar color and apparently easy to confuse in the dark. ¶2. (SBU) EAC members agreed that this attack bore similarities to the (date) LTTE bomb attack on Army Commander Fonseka in that both were targeted at specific military targets but with disregard for any collateral civilian casualties that might occur in the attack. The EAC agreed that this attack, just off the main road to the airport which Mission personnel travel on at all hours, reinforces the view that the LTTE continues to be willing to attack specific targets in the Colombo area. While Americans are not being targeted, the possibility of a "wrong place, wrong time" scenario increases with each such attack. ¶3. (SBU) The EAC agreed that the consul will circulate a draft revision within the Mission to our consular information sheet which underlines that the LTTE continues to carry out attacks on specific targets in the Colombo area, thus creating a small but real possibility that Americans could be affected. That draft, after internal consideration, will be forwarded to the Department. The EAC considered whether transportation arrangements to the airport for USG personnel should be changed but decided that changes are not necessary at this time. ¶4. (SBU) The EAC also discussed the recent landmine incident in Wilpattu National Park in which six Sri Lankan tourists were killed. The EAC decided that no actions were necessary since Americans are already advised not to travel to Wilpattu which lies in the area of Sri Lanka to which USG personnel require chief of mission authority to travel. The consular information sheet is being revised to include information about the Wilpattu incident, however. LUNSTEAD