HUMANITARIAN COORDINATION MEETING FOCUSES ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000600 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID AID/W PLEASE PASS USAID/OFDA, USAID/ANE, USAID/CMM KATHMANDU FOR OFDA REGIONAL ADVISOR WILLIAM BERGER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER AORC EAID CE SUBJECT: HUMANITARIAN COORDINATION MEETING FOCUSES ON HEIGHTENED LTTE EFFORTS TO TARGET UN AND NGO PERSONNEL FOR FORCED RECRUITMENT ¶1. (SBU) Summary: At the eighth meeting of Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Assistance on April 23 with Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights Samarasinghe and Defense Secretary Rajapaksa, UN chief Lyons briefed on his April 20 trip to Killinochchi in which he expressed the UN's concern that UN and NGO local staff and other able bodied young men in LTTE-controlled areas face increased risk of forced recruitment. The LTTE offered to look into the matter. The LTTE refused clearance for a UN ship with a cargo of 5,000 metric tons of construction materials for Jaffna to jump start construction activities on the grounds that it could not guarantee the safety of waters it does not control. (NOTE: The LTTE's refusal is specious since the UN is only seeking a guarantee the LTTE will not attack the vessel.) The GSL offered to transport the cargo on GSL vessels if the UN wishes to do so. The Ambassador briefed the Minister and Defense Secretary on an email sent April 17 from Karuna requesting that international NGOs fill out a questionnaire detailing their staff, budget, number of vehicles and even mobile telephone numbers. Samarasinghe responded that the government had looked into the matter and concluded that the email was a hoax. The Minister agreed to a suggestion by the Sri Lankan head of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies that he take the lead in briefing all NGOs that the letter was a hoax, and its request inappropriate and therefore no NGO should respond. End Summary. UN Visit to Killinochchi: UN and NGO Officials at Risk of Forced Recruitment -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Acting Head of UN Operations in Sri Lanka Frederick Lyons briefed on his trip of April 20 to Killinochchi. He said the purpose of his trip was to meet with the UN team up there, deliver a letter from the UN on LTTE child recruitment, and a separate letter on forced recruitment of NGO staff who have faced an increased risk of recruitment in the last several weeks. Lyons said the UN is concerned that all able-bodied young men are subject to forced recruitment in LTTE-controlled areas and noted that three UN staff narrowly escaped this fate the day before his arrival. Tamilselvan promised to review the issue, but the UN does not hold out much hope of near-term progress. Lyons noted that a group of international NGOs planned to meet separately this week with the LTTE to reinforce their concerns. The head of the European Commission Humanitarian Office, David Verboom, used the occasion to ask for the Minister's support for the permission of the government for a Bilateral Donor Group of technical level diplomats to visit to Killinochchi. Samarasinghe thought such a visit would be useful and undertook to get formal approval. ¶3. (SBU) Lyons also requested LTTE clearance for a UN ship to transport 5,000 metric tons of construction materials to Jaffna to jump start construction activities and thereby improve livelihood opportunities. He said that Tamilselvan responded in his usual manner that the LTTE could not guarantee the safe passage of UN flagged vessels because it did not control the waters around Sri Lanka. (NOTE: This is specious since the UN only requires a guarantee the LTTE will not attack the UN vessel.) Lyons expressed disappointment that he would have to explore other options. Minister Samarasinghe suggested the possibility of the UN consigning the construction materials to the government which would then take responsibility for transporting the materials to Jaffna. Lyons agreed to explore this and other ideas with the COLOMBO 00000600 002 OF 002 government. ¶4. (SBU) Lyons concluded by raising the continuing difficulties UN staff were experiencing at government-controlled check points leading into LTTE-controlled areas. He reported that his own delegation had their vehicles searched in contravention of international guidelines and that two UNHCR employees had been subjected to body searches on a different occasion. He urged that instructions be given to staff at all checkpoints to follow international guidelines and practice. Government Says Alleged Karuna Email a Hoax -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Ambassador on behalf of the Co-Chairs briefed the Minister and Defense Secretary on an email sent April 17 from Karuna requesting that international NGOs fill out a questionnaire detailing their staff, budget, number of vehicles and even mobile telephone numbers. He explained that several NGOs had contacted the Embassy to ask for guidance on how to respond. The Embassy advised them not to respond pending clarification by the government, since it was clearly inappropriate for Karuna or another paramilitary organization to request such details. Ambassador asked for GSL guidance on the matter and requested that the GSL ask Karuna to withdraw his email. After consulting with the Defense Secretary, the Minister said he had been briefed on the Ambassador's conversation with the Foreign Secretary on this subject (septel). The government had looked into the matter and concluded that the email was a hoax. Samarasinghe agreed to a suggestion by the Sri Lankan head of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies that he take the lead in briefing all NGOs that the letter was a hoax, and its request inappropriate and therefore no NGO should respond. BLAKE