SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT ROUNDS UP ALLEGED SINHALESE

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000264 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS MCC FOR S GROFF, D NASSIRY, E BURKE AND F REID E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT ROUNDS UP ALLEGED SINHALESE LTTE COLLABORATORS Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On February 5, three Sinhalese members of the Railway Services Trade Union disappeared. Three days after the abduction, Defense Spokesman Rambukwella announced that the Army had arrested the three men on allegations that they had links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Meanwhile, newspapers are reporting a threat to the President that has been linked to the chairman of a state organization, who is also a prominent businessman and newspaper publisher closely associated with recently sacked Minister of Ports and Aviation Mangala Samaraweera (septel). All signs point to Tiran Alles, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Aviation Authority. A journalist contact told us that Alles is at the center of a web involving Sinhalese support to the LTTE. End Summary. Sinhalese Arrested for LTTE Links -------------- ¶2. (C) On Monday February 5, three Sinhalese members of the Railway Services Trade Union disappeared. Lalith Seneviratne and Nihal Senasinghe are journalists for Akuna, the now-defunct official newspaper of the trade union. Sisira Priyankara is a graphic designer for the paper and treasurer of the trade union. Seneviratne's wife filed an abduction report at the Aturugiriya police station the following day, reporting that five to seven men dressed in plain clothes, claiming to be members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID),entered the family home and took her husband away. Aturugiriya Police reported that the CID confirmed that they had not arrested Seneviratne. ¶3. (C) However, three days after the abduction, Defense Spokesman Rambukwella announced that the Army had arrested the three men on allegations that they had links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Rambukwella said that information provided by the three men led to the seizure of weapons, explosives and ammunition from a house in Kalutara. The men reportedly confessed that an LTTE contact paid them over USD 12,000 and helped them obtain three consignments of weapons and explosives for operations in and around Colombo. The men also confessed to being responsible for a string of bombings in Kiribathgoda, Wattala, Nugegoda, �00A;and Mount Lavinia. They further admitted to undergoing weapons training, physical training and explosives training at an LTTE facility. The men allegedly provided the names of other Sinhalese and Tamils working with the LTTE. The government promised to continue making arrests as necessary to protect national security. Local media and other observers, however, expressed concern about the method by which the men were arrested, pointing out that arresting authorities in this case failed to follow due process, including informing family members about the arrest and detention of their relatives. Conspiracy Against the President -------------- ¶4. (C) Meanwhile, newspapers are reporting a threat planted on a pro-Rajapaksa Web site that says the "head of Government will be finished in three months." This threat to the President has been linked to the chairman of a state organization, who is also a prominent businessman and newspaper publisher closely associated with recently sacked Minister of Ports and Aviation Mangala Samaraweera. All signs point to Tiran Alles, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Aviation Authority, often rumored to be the GSL's behind-the-scenes link to the LTTE. Local papers say the security forces will soon arrest this individual on charges of conspiracy and links to the LTTE. The President announced at a ruling party meeting over the weekend that COLOMBO 00000264 002 OF 002 there is an LTTE conspiracy to assassinate him. ¶5. (C) An Embassy journalist contact told a PAO FSN that Tiran Alles is at the center of a web involving Sinhalese support to the LTTE. According to the contact, Alles is the publisher of the new Sinhala weekly Maudima, a great commercial success that has contributed to Samaraweera's increasing popularity, but which is strongly anti-Rajapaksa. About 4 months ago, a freight forwarder for Aero Lanka was arrested and gave up information on part of an LTTE cell. Information from this arrest led to the arrest of a female journalist for Maudima who had links to the LTTE. Information from her arrest led to the arrest of the three Sinhalese men who worked for the trade union. All of these individuals can be traced back to Alles through his ties to the Maudima newspaper or the Aviation Authority. Our contact also alleges that Alles has a sleeper cell of 20 LTTE cadres working at the Bandaranaike International Airport, but the role of the sleeper cell is unclear. ¶6. (S) COMMENT: Alles was previously trusted by the President to carry messages to the LTTE. Rumors abound that Alles helped coordinate the LTTE's efforts to prevent voting in LTTE controlled areas, widely believed to be the reason for Rajapaksa's electoral victory. However, the implication that Rajapaksa's former Foreign Minister, through the connection to Maudima, may be involved in an assassination plot against the President strikes us as improbably baroque. It unclear whether the President is cracking down on Alles to get back at Samaraweera, who he sees as disloyal, or if the LTTE was actually employing Alles in an attempt to eliminate the President. The three-day gap before the army owned up to having the men in custody is troubling. The arrests of the Sinhalese men by the army occurred in much the same manner as other recent abductions, which have been attributed to government special forces, members of the LTTE-breakaway Karuna group, and the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP). In previous cases, the government and security forces have denied involvement, just as they did initially with these three men. In view of the similarity of methods, the official denials that the GSL forces have also been involved in the extralegal detentions and disappearances now appear suspect. BLAKE