SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT-BACKED PARAMILITARY RELEASES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000369 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: GOVERNMENT-BACKED PARAMILITARY RELEASES 11 CHILD SOLDIERS REF: A. STATE 19505 ¶B. COLOMBO 00279 ¶C. COLOMBO 00314 Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Eleven TMVP child soldiers were released on April 7 to police custody in Batticaloa. They were transported on April 8 to a temporary holding facility in Pallekele, near Kandy, where they were met by Justice Secretary Suhada Gamalath, who chairs the GSL committee on SIPDIS child soldiers, and UNICEF staff. The release comes after intensive engagement by the Embassy and UNICEF with the GSL (refs B and C). While a larger release was expected, this initial release of 11 child soldiers is a welcome development and positive first step. Post will continue to urge the government to do everything in its power to achieve the TMVP's release of significantly more child soldiers in the coming weeks, as well as to implement rehabilitation programs and work closely with UNICEF in these efforts. End Summary. U.S., UNICEF Pressure Spurred Release -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Eleven TMVP child soldiers were released on April 7 to police custody in Batticaloa. They were then transported to a temporary holding facility in Pallekele, near Kandy, where they were met at about 4:00am by Justice Secretary Suhada Gamalath, who chairs the GSL committee on child soldiers, and UNICEF officer Andrew Brooks. Brooks told Emboff that he believes all 11 were under 18 years old and had seen conflict as paramilitary forces. According to UNICEF, the children will be moved in late April to a reception and rehabilitation center at Ambepussa. Before this can occur, 70 adults who are now housed there must be transferred to another location. Fourteen former LTTE child soldiers who are currently in Ambepussa will remain there. ¶3. (SBU) The release comes after intensive engagement by the Embassy and UNICEF with the GSL (refs B and C). UNICEF Representative Director Phillipe Duamelle credited the release, in large part, to U.S. pressure on the GSL, telling DCM that the Human Rights Report and Congressional legislation "got the government's attention" (reftel A). (Section 699c of the FY08 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act has the effect of suspending most forms of military assistance to Sri Lanka until effective measures are taken to demobilize children and prevent the future recruitment of child soldiers.) Duamelle encouraged the U.S. to keep up the pressure on the GSL to win further releases from the TMVP. He also said Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe and Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa were actively involved in pushing for the release. Larger Release Was Expected... -------------- ¶4. (C) Both Duamelle and Gamalath (separately) told DCM on April 8 that a larger release, on the magnitude of 50 to 60 (161 TMVP child soldiers under 18 are currently in UNICEF's case files),had been anticipated late last week. Gamalath said that over the weekend the TMVP dropped the number to 11. Duamelle met on April 8 with Samarasinghe, whom he described as visibly disappointed by the lower than expected number. Duamelle speculated that divisions within the TMVP were the probable cause of fewer child soldiers than expected being released. Gamalath echoed this view. ...But Positive Steps by GSL Track Roadmap -------------- ¶5. (C) The GSL is taking positive steps which align with Embassy's 60-day Action Plan for the GSL (reftel C). Eleven days into the plan, there have been no further children COLOMBO 00000369 002 OF 003 recruited or re-recruited by the TMVP, to our knowledge. The April 7 release shows that the GSL has begun the process of working constructively with the TMVP to release child soldiers. Significant lobbying by senior ministers (particularly Samarasinghe),the support of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and the Justice Secretary's effort to meet the children at 4:00am demonstrate that the GSL is taking the issue seriously. Gamalath told DCM the GSL is pushing for another release before the Eastern Provincial Council elections on May 10. ¶6. (C) The GSL appears to be moving forward on staffing the Ambepussa rehabilitation center, where it plans to soon move the 11 children currently at Pallekele. In his April 8 meeting with DCM, Gamalath stressed the importance of staff with psychosocial expertise, and he is working to recruit experts who can train staff at Ambepussa. He identified UNICEF as a probable source of funding. Gamalath invited Emboffs to visit the facilities in Ambepussa and Pallekele, which we will do. ¶7. (C) Gamalath recently held meetings in Colombo with newly elected Batticaloa local officials, including mayor of Batticaloa, Padmini Prabhakaran. He also met last week in Colombo with TMVP leader Pillaiyan, whom he pressed on child soldier releases, and plans to meet with him again in the near future. ¶8. (C) In a conversation with Ambassador on April 8, Minister Samarasinghe said the releases were a "good start" and that we should all (the GSL, Embassy, UNICEF, and others) encourage additional releases by the TMVP in the coming weeks. Samarasinghe said the TMVP is "in the mood to do this" and Pillaiyan is speaking to TMVP area commanders about further releases. Human Rights Ministry Announces Release -------------- ¶9. (U) On April 9 the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights issued a press release stating, the GSL "welcomes the release...of eleven children by the (TMVP)." It noted that Justice Secretary Gamalath "accepted these children, who are thought to have been involved in the conflict, and has directed relevant authorities to commence a program of rehabilitation." The statement added that parents will have access to their children, and that the children will undergo psychological evaluation, counseling, education, and vocational training. It noted the "commitment shown by the TMVP...to ensure the release of children," attributing this to the TMVP's entry into the "democratic mainstream." The statement cited the GSL's continuing cooperation with UNICEF on the child soldier issue. TMVP May See Releases as Damaging Admission of Guilt in Child Recruitment -------------- ¶10. (C) Before this public announcement, Gamalath expressed to DCM his personal view that the GSL should not publicize the children's release. He believed the TMVP would be more likely to release more children if there were no publicity. DCM countered that the TMVP should seek publicity of releases, which will be politically popular in the East, in the run up to the May 10 Provincial Council elections. Gamalath, however, pointed out that the TMVP, as it tries to establish its credentials as a legitimate political party, may fear that larger scale releases signify an admission of culpability. ¶11. (C) There is other evidence that the TMVP wanted to do the release quietly. The GSL and UNICEF had planned to be present in Batticaloa when the TMVP turned over the children to the police. UNICEF told DCM that over the weekend, plans COLOMBO 00000369 003 OF 003 for this more public release were scrapped by the TMVP, in favor of quietly releasing the children to police custody. Comment -------------- ¶12. (C) The disagreement within the TMVP over how many children would be released and how the release would be orchestrated suggests that the TMVP is not a unitary group and that Pillaiyan does not call all the shots. With the May 10 elections approaching, the TMVP could have used a larger and more public release of child soldiers to considerable political advantage. Post believes, however, that Gamalath is probably correct that portions of the TMVP do not see the political benefit in such releases and will need to be convinced of it. Nevertheless, this initial release of 11 child soldiers is a welcome development and positive first step. It comes sooner than post had expected to see any progress. We will continue to urge the government to do everything possible to achieve the TMVP's release of significantly more child soldiers in the coming weeks, to implement rehabilitation programs, and to work closely with UNICEF in these efforts. Ambassador has requested the GSL to arrange for him to meet with Pillaiyan to urge further releases. Post will issue a press statement welcoming this initial step and encouraging further action. BLAKE