SRI LANKA: TAMIL PARLIAMENTARIANS FEAR "ETHNIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000153 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS MCC FOR S GROFF, D NASSIRY, E BURKE AND F REID E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: TAMIL PARLIAMENTARIANS FEAR "ETHNIC CLEANSING" IN EAST REF: A) COLOMBO 127 B) COLOMBO 140 Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Ambassador met with three Members of Parliament from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA),a party which shares the political goals of the LTTE, on January 24. The Tamil representatives said they feared an "ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing" of Tamils from the east. Ambassador explained that he has been working on issues facing the Tamil community, specifically the need for the government to address humanitarian issues, human rights abuses, resettle displaced Tamils in their villages in the East, and offer a credible devolution package to the Tamil people. He asked the TNA to convey to the Tiger leadership that their refusal to re-open the A-9 highway and intransigence on supply of food and other humanitarian items to Jaffna was blocking progress on negotiations and raised questions about the sincerity of their concern for the Tamil people. The TNA deputies agreed to carry the message to their counterparts in the LTTE. End summary. "Naked Ethnic Cleansing" -------------- ¶2. (C) Ambassador met Tamil National Alliance Members of Parliament R. Sampanthan (Batticaloa District),Suresh Premachandran (Jaffna District),and M. Sanathiraja (Jaffna District) on January 24 at their request. These members of the LTTE proxy-party expressed deep concern about an impending "Sinhalization" of the eastern province following government security forces' military victories in Vakarai (ref A) and Sampur, and the Supreme Court's October 2006 ruling that the merger of the northern and eastern provinces was unconstitutional. ¶3. (C) Sampanthan and his colleagues noted several points as evidence of an "ethnic cleansing campaign" against the Tamils in the east. They denounced a Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) plan to resettle retired Sinhalese soldiers in the east near High Security Zones (HSZ) in Trincomalee, but admitted they had few details. They decried the pillaging of Tamil homes and villages in the post-conflict zones, which leaves little for the displaced to return home to. The GSL's crude campaign to discredit non-governmental organizations and international agencies that assist Tamil civilians was of particular concern, they said, as "the Tamil people feel abandoned by their government." ¶4. (C) The TNA MPs were especially alarmed by the implications of the recently strengthened emergency regulations modeled on the old Prevention of Terrorism Act. Sampanthan claimed (and other interlocutors confirm) that Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa has signed a large number of blank arrest and detention order forms for individual police constables to fill in. Through these catch-all detention orders (as BBC reported on January 21) over 400 Tamils have been detained at the Boosa interrogation camp near Galle in the past two weeks. U.S. Engagement -------------- ¶5. (C) The Ambassador explained that he has been working on the issues facing the Tamil community, including the need for the government to address humanitarian issues, human rights abuses, and offer an acceptable devolution package to the Tamil people. He said he had met with senior military leaders earlier in the week (reftel B) to urge them to resettle as quickly as possible all the Tamil and other civilians displaced by the fighting in and around Vakarai, and had received assurances the military intends to do so. COLOMBO 00000153 002 OF 002 Sampanthan replied: "I'm aware that you have been frank and that the GSL listens to you. We consider these meetings with you valuable for producing results for our people." ¶6. (C) Ambassador Blake asked that the TNA, in turn, take a message to the LTTE: that the Co-Chairs had negotiated with the GSL for over a month to arrange the trial opening of the A9 highway for a humanitarian convoy to Jaffna. We were all disappointed when the LTTE refused to allow it, Ambassador said. Other LTTE moves, such as the January 21 Sea Tiger attack on a food supply ship in Jaffna and the LTTE's refusal to allow private traders to operate in Jaffna raise serious doubt as to whether the Tigers have the Tamil people's best interest at heart. The Ambassador added, "Everything or nothing is not the way negotiations work." The Tamil MPs agreed to take the Ambassador's message to the LTTE political leadership. Bullies and Bloodshed -------------- ¶7. (C) Ambassador reiterated that there is no military solution to the ethnic conflict. We had expressed our hope to the GSL that the MoU between the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and main opposition United National Party (UNP) would bear fruit in the form of a substantial devolution proposal. Sampanthan agreed that the MoU had been "a promise of fresh air" but said he was not surprised by the arrangement's apparent failure. He contended that the President "doesn't want to antagonize any of his allies in the pursuit of his military objectives. So he gives the security forces and paramilitaries a blank check to do what they want to at the expense of the people." He added morosely, "I don't know what the LTTE will do if this situation of impunity continues. There will be bloodshed. Even I will not be safe. What's happening?" ¶8. (C) COMMENT: If reports are accurate that the Defense Secretary has signed reams of blank detention orders, the SIPDIS potential for unchecked abuse by local military and police commanders is considerable. We have heard from several civilian interlocutors the argument that the GSL plans to purge or dilute the Tamil population in the east, replacing it with a majority Sinhalese population. To them, this "colonization" of the traditional Tamil homeland began several decades ago, with large-scale irrigation schemes linked to resettlement plans for land-poor Sinhalese farmers. To Tamil political representatives today, the fear that this "colonization" strategy will resume is all too tangible. That is why the Ambassador and other Embassy officers are pushing the military to resettle the Tamil and other civilians displaced during the Vakarai conflict as quickly as possible. We urge Washington interlocutors to do the same as the opportunity arises. BLAKE