SRI LANKA: CONTINUED VIOLENCE IN THE EAST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000521 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS MCC FOR S GROFF, D NASSIRY, E BURKE AND F REID E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: CONTINUED VIOLENCE IN THE EAST Classified By: DCM James R. Moore for reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Recent violence in Sri Lanka's east included an April 2 blast on a civilian passenger bus in Amara district that killed 15 and injured 20. On Apil 1, in Batticaloa district, six Sinhalese consruction workers were gunned down. The Sri Lanka government blamed the Liberation Tigers of TamilEelam (LTTE) for both incidents. In media statemnts, LTTE representatives disavowed responsibiliy and made counter-accusations that either goverment forces or the paramilitary Karuna group, operting with government assistance, carried them out The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission is investigatng the bus bombing and has yet to identify the lkely perpetrators. On April 3, government securty forces attacked four LTTE bases in Batticaloa district and reported killing as many as 25 Tiger cadres. The rapid tempo of these incidents, following closely on the LTTE attack on Katunayake air base, shows that the government's campaign to "clear" the LTTE from the East has not reduced the volatility of the situation. End summary. ¶2. (U) On April 2, a blast on a passenger bus in the eastern district of Ampara killed 15 people and injured 20; two off-duty security service personnel were among those killed in the attack. Government officials told the media that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were responsible for the incident, which occurred near a Sri Lankan army checkpoint. LTTE representatives, through media interviews and on the website TamilNet, disavowed responsibility. The Tigers asserted that either government security forces, or the paramilitary Karuna group, with government backing, carried out the attack in order to discredit the LTTE. The Nordic-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) is still investigating the incident. ¶3. (U) Six Sinhalese construction workers were gunned down by unknown perpetrators in Batticaloa district on April 1. The Media Center for National Security reported that the six, working to build the Village of Hope orphanage, were the victims of LTTE violence, while the LTTE countered that government forces or allied paramilitaries were responsible. A Reuters report called the incident "an eerie reminder of the massacre of 17 local staff of French aid group Action Contre le Faim, who were shot in the head execution-style in an attack truce monitors have blamed on the military." ¶4. (SBU) From April 1-3, government strikes against the LTTE continued. News organizations reported that a government helicopter hit an LTTE mortar position near Omanthai in the north. Aerial bombing targeted a Sea Tiger base in Mannar in the northwest. ¶5. (SBU) On April 3 government security forces attacked four LTTE bases in Batticaloa district. The military-run Media Center for National Security reported intercepting LTTE radio messages that estimated 25 LTTE cadres were killed in the attacks. Deputy military spokesman Lt. Col. Upali Rajapaksa told us that the LTTE had fled their camps, leaving vehicles and some radio equipment behind. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Many Tamil observers, including four Tamil National Alliance Members of Parliament, have discounted the government's assertion that the LTTE was responsible for the bus bombing and the execution of the construction workers. They consider it likely that the LTTE-breakaway "Karuna group" may have carried out both attacks. In the charged atmosphere of escalating violence and a parallel propaganda war, objective facts are often difficult to establish. We are awaiting the SLMM's findings on the latest incidents. However, it is increasingly difficult for the SLMM, already understaffed, to continue working in the current security COLOMBO 00000521 002 OF 002 climate. If the SLMM assigns responsibility to the Karuna group, it will be breaking new ground. According to the terms of the 2002 Cease Fire Agreement, the SLMM is tasked with identifying government or LTTE violations, but does not have an explicit mandate to rule on actions involving paramilitaries or other armed groups. BLAKE