SRI LANKA: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES PROSPECTS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000465 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES PROSPECTS FOR PEACE WITH TAMIL LEADER Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) On May 12 Ambassador met with V. Anandasangaree, President of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) to discuss devolution of power and prospects for peace. Anandasangaree stressed that the LTTE is not the sole representative of the Tamil people, and that the government should talk with other actors. He commended the Ambassador for being one of the few international spokespersons to get this right. He pointed to Tamil constituencies living outside the LTTE-held north, i.e. "more than half the Sri Lankan Tamil population (that) lives peacefully" among Sinhalese and Muslims in the South, and the large Tamil diaspora in Europe, Scandinavia, the U.S., and Canada. Anandasangaree emphasized that a political solution to the conflict should be couched in terms of the Indian federalist model, which can be sold easily to the Sri Lankan people, as well as to Indian Tamils. Ambassador pointed out that many of the All Party Representative Committee proposals are based on the Indian model, which Anandasangaree acknowledged. ¶2. (C) Anandasangaree informed Ambassador that Sri Lankan Air Force night raids in the Vanni have stopped, following a letter that Anandasangaree sent to President Rajapaksa on April 17. His letter urged the President to end the night aerial attacks because they are "sure to cause immense hardship and innumerable casualties among civilians." ¶3. (C) Anandasangaree was critical of the government's decision to appoint Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare and EPDP Leader Douglas Devananda as Chairman of the newly established Special Task Force Committee for Northern Development to oversee development and resettlement in the North. The Task Force is seen as a prelude to a future Northern Provincial Council. Anandasangaree noted Devananda's and the EPDP's history of serious election abuses and alleged human rights violations in the north. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: Anandasangaree is one of the few remaining moderate Tamil politicians who have not been killed by the LTTE. He does not sit in parliament. He often supports the government and is a potential future candidate for governor of the Northern Province, but does not hesitate to criticize the GSL about human rights and other problems. BLAKE