Northern Sri Lanka SitRep 45

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000384

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SCA (BOUCHER),SCA/INS AND PRM
STATE ALSO PASS USAID
AID/W FOR ANE/SCA, DCHA/FFP (DWORKEN, KSHEIN)
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA (MORRISP, ACONVERY, RTHAYER, RKERR)
ATHENS FOR PCARTER
BANGKOK FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA (WBERGER)
KATHMANDU FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA AND POL (SBERRY)
GENEVA FOR RMA (NKYLOH, NHILGERT, MPITOTTI)
USUN NEW YORK FOR ECOSOC (D MERCADO)
SECDEF FOR OSD - POLICY
PACOM ALSO FOR J-5

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF MOPS PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC CE
SUBJECT: Northern Sri Lanka SitRep 45

Ref: A) Colombo 374 B) Colombo 368 C) Colombo 361 D) Colombo 360
E) Colombo 357 F) Colombo 351 G) Colombo 342 H) Colombo 329 I)
Colombo 321 J) Colombo 320 K) Colombo 316


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Sri Lankan Army reports it has surrounded
hundreds of LTTE cadres in the eastern sections of PTK. The
military reports the LTTE is moving portions of the civilian
population to the southern section of the safe zone. 1,030MT of
food aid and non-food items have arrived off the coast of the safe
zone. A mine action assessment begins today (April 2) in Mannar.
ICRC continues to face difficulties securing visas for new and
replacement staff. The visas of two senior international staff of
CARE were abruptly terminated. EMBASSY announces $15 million in
additional food aid to Sri Lanka. End Summary.

Army Surrounds PTK
--------------


2. (SBU) The military announced they have surrounded
Puthukudiyiruppu (PTK),trapping several hundred LTTE cadres in the
eastern part of the town. (Note: PTK was the last significant town
under LTTE control.) Defense sources told DAO that the heaviest
fighting continues to be around PTK East. The Army believes LTTE
leaders above the rank of Lieutenant Colonel escaped before being
surrounded. The battle area's closest proximity to the safe zone is
1.5km. Another significant engagement occurred last night (April 1)
when three Sea Tiger craft attacked Army positions from the Nanthi
Kadal Lagoon, which separates the strip of land comprising the safe
zone from the rest of Mullaitivu district. The Army believes it
destroyed at least one of the vessels. The Navy says the Sea Tigers
are now using ordinary fishing boats mounted with light machine guns
and RPGs. The Navy believes the Sea Tigers have some craft hidden
in the safe area as well.

LTTE Moving IDPs South Within the Safe Zone
--------------


3. (SBU) Defense sources told DAO they have observed LTTE directing
the movement of IDPs from north to south within the safe zone.
According the military, the LTTE are also preparing fighting
positions and moving and firing artillery and mortars within the
safe zone. The U.N. reported limited shelling into and from the
safe area on April 1. The U.N. said there were no reports of SLAF
bombers or gunships attacking the safe zone since March 30 (ref A).

Food Aid Arrives Off the Coast of the Safe Zone
-------------- --


4. (U) WFP confirmed that the cargo ship Dublin arrived off the
coast of the safe zone this morning (April 2). Offloading of
1,030MT of mixed food commodities has begun. The shipment included
an additional 30 MT of complementary food items (vegetables and
condiments) donated by an INGO (ZOA) and some supplementary food
from the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, as well as clothing,
shelter material and 15 emergency medical kits from UNHCR and
UNICEF. WFP food sent to the area will be sufficient to feed
approximately 100,000 Internally Displaced Persons for a period of
20 days. Since the beginning of the 'sea route' operation, WFP has
dispatched a total of 2,219 MT of mixed food to the Vanni.

Deminers Begin Clearance Assessment in Mannar
--------------


5. (U) The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) reported to the
Embassy that they are set to begin their mine action assessment of
the Mussali area of Mannar immediately, using vehicles available in
Vavuniya. FSD reports ongoing administrative delays in obtaining
security clearances to move staff and vehicles from Batticaloa
through Medawachchiya check point, but hopes to resolve them soon.
FSD's launch of their demining efforts follows Presidential Advisor
Basil Rajapaksa commitment at a March 30 CCHA meeting to resettle
IDPs from Mussali (up to 5,500 of them) by the end of April (Ref E).
FSD has been awarded $600,000 in assistance from PM/WRA to work in
the Mussali area.

ICRC Continues To Face Obstacles
Securing Staff Visas
--------------


6. (SBU) The ICRC continues to face difficulties securing GSL
approval for visas for 35 replacement and short term surge capacity
staff (Ref E). ICRC Country Representative Paul Castella reported
that during a meeting with Foreign Minister Bogollagama on March 31,
Bogollagama claimed he was lacking arguments against MOD officials
who claimed that ICRC is now just doing medevacs and therefore did
not need visas for new personnel. The Foreign Minister proposed
that ICRC send him a summary of the activities that have increased
recently so that he can counter Defense Ministry arguments. ICRC
plans to send the requested summary to MFA today, April 2.

President Rajapaksa to Meet ICRC President
--------------


7. (SBU) The Foreign Minister also confirmed to Castella that
President Rajapaksa would be available to meet ICRC President
Kellenberger during his visit to Sri Lanka sometime before April 7.
ICRC is now working on confirming an exact date and time for the
meeting. Castella also invited Ambassador and a select group of
other Heads of Mission to meet and brief Kellenberger. Ambassador
welcomed the proposed meeting.

CARE Employees Visas Revoked
--------------


8. (SBU) On March 31, CARE received a letter from the Immigration
Department informing the organization that the residence visas of
two senior international staff members were being terminated. The
GSL gave the employees until April 8 to leave. The visa revocation
comes on the heels of an item posted on the Defense Ministry's
website alleging CARE was a "harbor for terrorists" (Ref F). CARE
has asked for further details on the reasons for the revocation from
immigration officials and Minister for Human Rights and Disaster
management Mahinda Samarasinghe. Ambassador offered to intervene on
CARE's behalf. CARE Country Director Nick Osbourne suggested
Ambassador wait until more information is available. U.N. Resident
Representative Neil Buhne reported that U/SYG Holmes raised U.N.
concerns about the visa revocation with the Sri Lankan Permanent
Representative in New York. Post will monitor developments in the

case and advocate on CARE's behalf if requested by the
organization.

Embassy Announces $15 Million
in Additional Emergency Food Aid
--------------


9. (U) EMBASSY issued a press release today (April 2) announcing
USAID has donated $15 million worth of vital food aid for Sri Lanka
to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). The food,
consisting of wheat, lentils and vegetable oil, will be distributed
to displaced and conflict-affected people in the northern and
eastern parts of Sri Lanka. The food aid is scheduled to arrive in
June 2009 and is enough to feed 300,000 people for over four months.
The donation represents approximately 21% of the total food aid
that WFP has called for this year to meet the needs of IDPs and
other conflict-affected people in Sri Lanka. Approximately 65
percent of the WFP food currently going into the conflict area by
ship is provided by USAID. "WFP highly values this contribution,
not only that it is most needed given the current IDP situation in
the North, but also because it is most timely, given the status of
our pipeline," said Mr. Adnan Khan, WFP Representative in Sri Lanka.

Civilian Casualties and IDP Outflow
--------------


10. (SBU) Sources from within the LTTE-controlled area report 39
civilians were killed and 57 injured on April 1. These sources
report 177 arrivals into Government-controlled territory on April 1
and 2. (Note: Such reports from Tamil sources cannot be confirmed
and are frequently exaggerated.)

BLAKE