Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07COLOMBO13
2007-01-04 12:29:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:
SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT AIR STRIKES KILL 16
how-toVZCZCXRO8799 OO RUEHBI RUEHCI DE RUEHLM #0013 0041229 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 041229Z JAN 07 FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5059 INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 9743 RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 6681 RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 4747 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3421 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0429 RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 3513 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2595 RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 7245 RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 0309 RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 5014 RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1657 RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000013
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2017
TAGS: MOPS PTER PHUM PREL PGOV CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT AIR STRIKES KILL 16
CIVILIANS IN THE NORTH
Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT O. BLAKE, JR. FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and (
d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000013
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2017
TAGS: MOPS PTER PHUM PREL PGOV CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT AIR STRIKES KILL 16
CIVILIANS IN THE NORTH
Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT O. BLAKE, JR. FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and (
d)
1. (C) Summary: On January 2 Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF)
jets bombed a northwestern coastal area near Mannar.
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) website Tamilnet
reported that 16 civilians died in the air strike.
Government officials countered that the SLAF targeted and hit
a known Sea Tiger naval base in an area with no civilians.
The Bishop of Mannar, who visited the area after the raid,
condemned the attack on civilians and stated there was no
LTTE military installation in the vicinity. The Bishop asked
for independent international observers to come to the area
to verify the facts of the case. Government media accused
the LTTE of using "propaganda" to sway the international
community. However, early reports from the Sri Lanka
Monitoring Mission (SLMM) tend to support the LTTE version of
events. End summary.
2. (U) Sri Lankan media featured conflicting stories on the
January 2 Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) bombing of a northern
coastal area near Mannar. According to the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) website Tamilnet, 16 civilians were
killed. The Bishop of Mannar, who visited the site the next
day, condemned the air raid and sought an international human
rights monitoring body to examine the incident. Tamilnet
published a letter from the Bishop to President Rajapaksa in
which the Bishop said there were no LTTE military
installations in the area. However, several newspapers
carried stories in which government officials decried LTTE
"propaganda" and claimed the strikes hit a Sea Tiger naval
base that had been under surveillance for some time. A
January 4 Daily Mirror article quoted Defense spokesman
Keheliya Rambukwella speculating that the LTTE had a
"tip-off" about the air raid and lured civilians to the area
to raise casualties in a deliberate attempt to discredit the
SLAF.
3. (C) Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) spokesman Group Captain
Ajantha De Silva told APAO on January 2 that the SLAF had
reliable intelligence that the Sea Tiger base they were
surveilling was preparing to carry out an attack in the near
future against the Sri Lankan Navy. The SLAF had therefore
taken the necessary precaution of a pre-emptive strike
against the base.
4. (C) However, SLMM deputy operations chief (protect) told
Pol Chief on January 4 that an SLMM team had visited the area
on January 3 and had found numerous civilian casualties in a
small fishing village, but no sign of a Sea Tiger base. She
added that even if Rambukwella's claim that the LTTE brought
civilians into the area were true, the government had clearly
violated the Cease-Fire Agreement.
5. (C) COMMENT: Embassy will continue to try to clear up the
uncertainties surrounding the air strike. However, based on
the eyewitness evidence collected by the Bishop of Mannar and
the SLMM, it appears that the "intelligence" cited by
government sources has let them down in this case. The
security forces, whatever the justification for the raid,
have handed the Tigers another propaganda boon which can only
further undermine the government's international support. In
the meantime, Sri Lanka's defense establishment seems bent on
pursuing the military victory over the LTTE that has eluded
them for more than two decades.
BLAKE
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2017
TAGS: MOPS PTER PHUM PREL PGOV CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT AIR STRIKES KILL 16
CIVILIANS IN THE NORTH
Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT O. BLAKE, JR. FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and (
d)
1. (C) Summary: On January 2 Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF)
jets bombed a northwestern coastal area near Mannar.
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) website Tamilnet
reported that 16 civilians died in the air strike.
Government officials countered that the SLAF targeted and hit
a known Sea Tiger naval base in an area with no civilians.
The Bishop of Mannar, who visited the area after the raid,
condemned the attack on civilians and stated there was no
LTTE military installation in the vicinity. The Bishop asked
for independent international observers to come to the area
to verify the facts of the case. Government media accused
the LTTE of using "propaganda" to sway the international
community. However, early reports from the Sri Lanka
Monitoring Mission (SLMM) tend to support the LTTE version of
events. End summary.
2. (U) Sri Lankan media featured conflicting stories on the
January 2 Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) bombing of a northern
coastal area near Mannar. According to the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) website Tamilnet, 16 civilians were
killed. The Bishop of Mannar, who visited the site the next
day, condemned the air raid and sought an international human
rights monitoring body to examine the incident. Tamilnet
published a letter from the Bishop to President Rajapaksa in
which the Bishop said there were no LTTE military
installations in the area. However, several newspapers
carried stories in which government officials decried LTTE
"propaganda" and claimed the strikes hit a Sea Tiger naval
base that had been under surveillance for some time. A
January 4 Daily Mirror article quoted Defense spokesman
Keheliya Rambukwella speculating that the LTTE had a
"tip-off" about the air raid and lured civilians to the area
to raise casualties in a deliberate attempt to discredit the
SLAF.
3. (C) Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) spokesman Group Captain
Ajantha De Silva told APAO on January 2 that the SLAF had
reliable intelligence that the Sea Tiger base they were
surveilling was preparing to carry out an attack in the near
future against the Sri Lankan Navy. The SLAF had therefore
taken the necessary precaution of a pre-emptive strike
against the base.
4. (C) However, SLMM deputy operations chief (protect) told
Pol Chief on January 4 that an SLMM team had visited the area
on January 3 and had found numerous civilian casualties in a
small fishing village, but no sign of a Sea Tiger base. She
added that even if Rambukwella's claim that the LTTE brought
civilians into the area were true, the government had clearly
violated the Cease-Fire Agreement.
5. (C) COMMENT: Embassy will continue to try to clear up the
uncertainties surrounding the air strike. However, based on
the eyewitness evidence collected by the Bishop of Mannar and
the SLMM, it appears that the "intelligence" cited by
government sources has let them down in this case. The
security forces, whatever the justification for the raid,
have handed the Tigers another propaganda boon which can only
further undermine the government's international support. In
the meantime, Sri Lanka's defense establishment seems bent on
pursuing the military victory over the LTTE that has eluded
them for more than two decades.
BLAKE