SRI LANKAN SECURITY FORCES CAPTURE KEY TIGER BASE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000038

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2016
TAGS: PTER PGOV MOPS PREL CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKAN SECURITY FORCES CAPTURE KEY TIGER BASE
IN EAST; RAID LTTE-AFFILIATED NGO

REF: COLOMBO 0030 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT O. BLAKE JR. FOR REASONS: 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) security
forces captured the Tamil Tigers' (LTTE) main military camp
in the eastern district of Ampara on January 7, where they
reportedly uncovered an explosive-laden truck and three
motorbikes fitted with explosive detonators. The military
alleged a Dutch non-governmental organization (NGO) had
operated a hospital within the camp. Meanwhile, the
LTTE-affiliated international NGO the Tamils Relief
Organization (TRO) reported that paramilitary cadres "with
the Sri Lanka Army" raided its Trincomalee and Vavuniya
offices between January 5-7, stripping the offices of
computer and electronic equipment, burning documents and
assaulting a security guard. On January 8, a police Criminal
Investigations Department (CID) unit raided the TRO's Colombo
Office. These nearly simultaneous attacks on TRO offices by
paramilitaries and security forces are another strong
indication that government security forces are working
hand-in-hand with anti-LTTE paramilitaries in the east. End
summary.

200-Cadre Camp Captured
--------------


2. (C) Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) security forces captured
the Tamil Tigers' (LTTE) main military camp in the eastern
district of Ampara on January 7, according to military
spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe. The military
claimed that the camp had housed a number of child soldiers
and included a hospital "built by a non-governmental
organization" (NGO). Surviving Tiger cadres retreated from
the so-called "Stanley Base" in Kanjikudichcharu, Ampara
after a battle leaving behind ammunition, antipersonnel mines
and rations, according to GSL reports. Police Special Task
Force (STF) units also uncovered an explosive-packed truck
and three motorcycles fitted with explosive devices in the
camp.

NGO Blamed
--------------


3. (C) The independent (but strongly nationalist) Island
newspaper alleged that the Dutch NGO ZOA (Southeast Asia)
Refugee Care Netherlands had built the hospital. However, it
also quoted ZOA Country Director Bernard Jaspers Fayer as
denying that the NGO had built a hospital for the LTTE.
Fayer added that ZOA had suspended operations in its Ampara
office, seven kilometers from the Tiger base, on August 4,
2006 due to security concerns.


4. (C) ZOA Akkaraipattu program manager C. Elangovan told Pol
FSN on January 9: "We had been working in a village in
Thirukovil, Ampara (near the LTTE's 'Stanley Base') but
stopped work there on August 4. The (GSL) Security Task
Force (STF) has now taken control of the entire area. There
was one nursing home run by the LTTE while we worked in the
area. It was housed in a building next-door to a pre-school
called the Thangavelayuthapuram Maha Vidhyala with which ZOA
had been working for a period of time. ZOA has never given
assistance to the LTTE or a hospital run by the LTTE." The
program manager added: "Unfortunately, this is a way of
linking all NGOs to the LTTE."

TRO Offices Raided, Looted
--------------


5. (C) According to a January 8 press release from Arjunan

COLOMBO 00000038 002 OF 002


Ethirveerasingham, local press officer of the LTTE-affiliated
international NGO the Tamils Relief Organization (TRO) in Sri
Lanka (and an AmCit),paramilitary cadres raided the
Trincomalee and Vavuniya offices of the TRO repeatedly
between January 5-6, stripping the offices of computer and
electronic equipment, burning documents and assaulting a
security guard. Arjuna told pol FSN on January 9 that on
January 7, "Karuna cadres and Sri Lanka ARMY (SLA) soldiers"
returned to the Trincomalee office, removing a van,
furniture, and relief materials such as portable stoves,
tents and candles. On the morning of January 9, he told us,
armed Karuna cadres and SLA soldiers took control of the TRO
office in Trincomalee.


6. (C) On January 8, a police Criminal Investigations
Department (CID) unit raided "without a warrant" the TRO's
Colombo office, according to a TRO press release and a
Tamilnet report. Arjuna told pol FSN on January 9 that the
raiders spoke in both Tamil and Sinhalese. A January 6
article on the pro-LTTE Tamilnet website reported that police
had called six male TRO employees from Vavuniya and
Trincomalee in for questioning. Tamilnet also alleged that
police had photographed TRO personnel and vehicles during the
raids. Paramilitary cadres believed to be working with the
Sri Lanka ARMY (SLA) had previously targeted TRO offices in
Jaffna and the east in 2006.


7. (C) COMMENT: The government's allegation against the
Dutch NGO ZOA comes in the context of a recent
government-orchestrated media campaign against NGOs working
in Tamil areas. UN observers and ceasefire monitors have
previously brought up evidence that elements of the GSL
security forces paramilitaries are working with the shadowy
paramilitaries. The near-simultaneity of the raids by
paramilitary cadres on TRO offices in the east with the
police raid on the TRO's Colombo office on Monday is another
strong indication of the working relationship between Sri
Lankan security forces and anti-LTTE paramilitaries,
especially the "Karuna group," official denials
notwithstanding.
BLAKE