Northern Sri Lanka SitRep 79

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000559 SENSITIVE SIPDIS 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 ECON SUBJECT: Northern Sri Lanka SitRep 79 REF: A) Colombo 557 B) Colombo 549 C) Colombo 543 D) Colombo 539 E) Colombo 535 F) Colombo 533 G) Colombo 529 H) Colombo 522 I) Colombo 519 and previous ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: UN staff on the ground were preparing for Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's visit on May 23, but it was unclear if his schedule would allow a meeting with the Co-Chair Ambassadors. UN envoy Vijay Nambiar held a press conference where he described his flight over the desolation of the former conflict zone. Discussions were ongoing between the UN, ICRC and other NGOs and the GSL on IDP camp access issues. No agreement had been reached yet, but signs were positive that some flexibility would be allowed. The ICRC located their missing 17 local staff members inside the IDP camps. ICRC was also able to meet with the 3 doctors detained by GSL for their allegedly misleading reports from inside the No Fire Zone. GSL military spokesman announced Prabhakaran's body had been cremated. GSL Defense Secretary told state TV that the last 3 years of the war had killed 3,200 GSL soldiers and wounded 30,000. A massive celebration parade was held in Colombo the afternoon of May 22; post so far has no reports of any associated violence. As combat between the GSL and LTTE has concluded, this will be the final daily situation report. Reporting on the humanitarian situation and other issues will continue through regular channels. END SUMMARY. UN SECRETARY GENERAL MOON VISIT; MEETING WITH CO-CHAIR AMBASSADORS IN DOUBT -------------- ¶2. (SBU) UN Resident Representative Neil Buhne told Charge that UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's key messages to the GSL will include advocating for a political solution based on the "Thirteenth Amendment Plus", early returns of IDPs, and reconciliation and unity. Buhne told Charge that a meeting of Co-Chair Ambassadors during the Secretary General's short visit remains a high priority for the UN but may not occur due to scheduling complications resulting from the official meetings being shifted to Kandy, where the President will attend religious observances on May 23. Charge said that Co-Chair Ambassadors would be prepared to could go to Kandy to meet with the SYG if necessary. Ban Ki Moon arrives at midnight on May 22. On May 23, he will meet early in the morning with the UN Country Team, then briefly with Foreign Minister Bogollagama, before going to Vavuniya to visit IDP camps at Manik Farm. He will then overfly the safe zone, and proceed to Kandy for a meeting with President Rajapaksa, a press conference, and an official dinner. He would proceed from Kandy directly to the airport in Colombo for departure. UN ENVOY NAMBIAR GIVES PRESS CONFERENCE -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Vijay Nambiar, Chief of Staff to the UNSYG, continued his visit to Sri Lanka and made final preparations for the UNSYG's visit. Speaking to journalists, Nambiar reported on his flight of May 21 over the former safe zone. According to press accounts, COLOMBO 00000559 002 OF 004 Nambiar said, "Vehicles on the ground were charred, trees were burned and closely clustered tent camps were badly battered. We were not able to see any civilians. What was truly striking was almost the total absence of human habitation ... it was almost eerie." Nambiar was also asked about the UNs position on a war crimes investigation; he responded, "As far as the U.N. is concerned, where there are grave and systematic violations of international humanitarian law, these are things which should be looked at by the international community, by the United Nations." Setting the groundwork for the UNSYG's visit, Nambiar commented, "His talks will focus on conditions in the camps, the possibility of swiftly resettling the displaced and the need for an urgent political settlement to the conflict. Ban will also commend the government for defeating the rebels, who were branded a terrorist group internationally." MANIK FARM ACCESS NOT YET RESOLVED; BUT GREATER FLEXIBILITY EXPECTED -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa told UN Resident Representative Neil Buhne the evening of May 21 that access to Manik Farm is not restricted; rather the authorities want to limit the number of vehicles. There was greater flexibility May 21 for ICRC vehicles entering Manik Farm. UN trucks were allowed into Zones 1, 2, and 3. The UN has made a written proposal regarding vehicular access to the GSL. While there is as yet no resolution of the issue nor clear guidance, Buhne anticipates that a workable compromise will be reached. 280,000 IDPS IN CAMPS -------------- ¶5. (U) UNHCR reports estimates of roughly 80,000 people fleeing the former fighting zone in the past week. Close to 280,000 arrivals since late October have been screened and registered and are currently accommodated in 41 sites. Of these, some 260,000 are being accommodated in 25 emergency shelter sites in Vavuniya, another 11,000 in 11 emergency shelter sites in Jaffna and over 7,000 in three sites in Trincomalee. New shelters are being erected to accommodate new arrivals in Manik Farm Zone 4 as fast as the land is cleared by the Government. ICRC ALSO INVOLVED IN ACCESS TALKS; NO ROLE IN IDENTIFICATION OF DEAD -------------- ¶6. (SBU) ICRC reported they were negotiating with the GSL on access to the camps alongside the UN and other agencies. A common approach among these actors had developed, but there may be difficulties in continuing this given differing mandates among these groups. In the meantime, restrictions continue, although ICRC was able to get trucks through yesterday for all its distributions under its "planned activities." This was described by ICRC as a scaled-down version of their usual assistance, owing to the current access COLOMBO 00000559 003 OF 004 problems. In the absence of an overall agreement, ICRC was required to conduct a separate negotiation with GSL over each shipment into the camps. ¶7. (SBU) ICRC reported they had not been approached about assisting with the identification of remains, a part of their normal functions, and previously long-standing practice for them in Sri Lanka. They are therefore unable at this time to assess the number of dead from recent fighting. ICRC VISITS DETAINED DOCTORS -------------- ¶8. (SBU) ICRC told Charge that on May 21 their protection staff interviewed three government doctors who are being held by the Criminal Investigation Division in Colombo under detention orders. ICRC personnel told Charge they found it encouraging that ICRC had been allowed to see the doctors. ICRC noted to Charge that the fact the doctors have now been registered by the ICRC make it more likely that they will not suffer serious harm or "disappear." A fourth doctor, Varatharajah, Regional Director of Medical Services for Mullaitivu, was wounded and remains in the hospital. The ICRC has not met with him, and are not yet certain of his location. ICRC STAFF SIGHTED -------------- ¶9. (SBU) All 17 ICRC staff members who had previously been trapped in the safe zone have been sighted at the IDP camps in Vavuniya. ICRC has no word yet on the whereabouts of the 62 dependents of these staff members. PRABHAKARAN'S BODY CREMATED -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Military spokesman U. Nanayakkara told media on May 21 that LTTE leader Prabhakaran's body was cremated, as was done with any other LTTE body the military recovered. India's National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan said on May 22 that GSL had promised India a copy of Prabhakaran's death certificate to use in closing out their court case of Rajiv Ghandi's 1991 assassination. MILITARY SAYS 6,200 TROOPS KILLED OVER 3 YEARS -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa told state television on May 22 that in the last 3 years of fighting, considered the final major phase of the decades-long war, 6,200 government troops were killed and almost 30,000 were wounded. (Note: Both the GSL and the LTTE have had a long history of under-reporting their own losses, so it is likely the actual numbers are higher.) HUGE CELEBRATION PARADE COLOMBO 00000559 004 OF 004 -------------- ¶12. (SBU) The GSL organized a massive celebratory parade the afternoon of May 22 on the east side of Colombo. Reports said more than 150,000 people attended, with many bused in from other towns. As of 17:30 local time post had no reports of violence surrounding the parade, but security around the event was heightened. FINAL SITUATION REPORT -------------- ¶13. (SBU) With the end of combat between the GSL and the LTTE, this will be the final daily situation report. The mission will continue to provide updates as events dictate, and will continue to report on the humanitarian situation through regular channels. Our thanks to Eileen Sen, Nathan Jones, and other contributors to these daily situation reports. MOORE