This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001290 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:   DECL:  07-24-13 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINS PHUM CE NO LTTE
SUBJECT: Peace Process Update:  Discussion of latest GSL 
proposal re north/east intensifies; Tigers stir the pot 
 
Refs:  (A) FBIS Reston Va DTG 230531Z Jul 03 
 
-      (B) FBIS Reston Va DTG 230518Z Jul 03 
-      (C) FBIS Reston Va DTG 220532Z Jul 03 
-      (D) Colombo 1284, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Charge d'Affaires. 
Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
¶1.  (C) This update of Sri Lanka's peace process reviews 
the following: 
 
>> Norwegian envoy discusses government's latest 
proposal re north/east with Tamil Tigers 
 
>> Tigers ramp up agitation campaign in the north/east 
 
>> Defying international monitors, Tigers refuse to 
vacate military camp 
 
>> The 20th anniversary of Colombo's deadly anti-Tamil 
riots passes peacefully 
 
>> Flavor of the Peace Process:  GSL Customs seizes 
Tiger propaganda materials, but looks set to release 
them 
 
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Norwegians review GSL proposal with Tigers 
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¶2.  (C) Discussion of the latest Sri Lankan government 
proposal on forming an interim administration in the 
north/east is intensifying.  (Note:  See Ref D for 
details of the proposal.)  In response to a request from 
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Norwegian 
Special Envoy Jon Westborg, who delivered the proposal 
to the Tigers on July 17, traveled to the LTTE- 
controlled town of Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka on 
July 22.  While there, Westborg -- in a meeting with 
LTTE political chief S.P. Thamilchelvan -- answered 
several specific questions about the proposal.  In 
public, Westborg described the meeting as "very 
positive."  In private, he was even more effusive, 
telling Indian High Commissioner Nirupam Sen that 
Thamilchelvan's initial reaction to the proposal was 
"quite encouraging." 
 
¶3.  (C) COMMENT:  The LTTE probably will need several 
more weeks to review the proposal before formulating a 
final response.  At this point, the group's reaction 
seems relatively constructive.  The government, in the 
meantime, has to keep an eye out for reaction in the 
south.  President Kumaratunga and her party, which share 
a tense cohabitation relationship with the GSL, are 
hinting that they oppose the proposal, for example. 
Moreover, some Muslims from the east, worried about LTTE 
influence in that ethnically mixed region, have already 
spoken out against it.  END COMMENT. 
 
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Tigers stir the pot in the north/east 
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¶4.  (C) While their reaction to the latest peace 
proposal has been relatively positive, the Tigers 
continue to ramp up tensions on the ground in the 
north/east.  Two recent incidents highlight the group's 
latest agitation campaign.  In the first, a clearly 
marked vehicle belonging to the Norwegian-run Sri Lanka 
Monitoring Mission (SLMM) was pelted with rocks on 
July 21 as it traveled near Batticaloa in the east.  No 
one was injured in the incident, which was almost 
certainly perpetrated by pro-LTTE Tamils.  In the second 
incident, GSL Minister of Rehabilitation J. Jayawardena 
was prevented from attending a European Union-sponsored 
ceremony held in Jaffna.  An unruly mob consisting of 
students and suspected LTTE cadres jostled Jayawardena, 
forcing him to flee the scene. 
 
¶5.  (C) COMMENT:  As is a ritual with the group, the 
Tigers deny any involvement in any sort of intimidation, 
though the incidents described above bear all the 
hallmarks of LTTE tactics (use of crowds that melt away, 
etc.).  It is not clear why the Tigers appear to be 
turning up the heat in the north/east at this time.  The 
group has made clear that it is angry over the recent 
arrest of several of its cadre by government security 
forces, however.  (Note:  The government says the cadre 
were illegally carrying weapons.)  The fact that a SLMM 
vehicle was attacked is also very bad news.  This is the 
first time the monitors have been involved in such an 
incident.  (Note:  The incident may be linked to the 
worsening LTTE-SLMM relationship described below.)  END 
COMMENT. 
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LTTE defies Monitors on Camp 
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¶6.  (SBU) A LTTE-constructed camp near Trincomalee in 
the east continues to be the subject of controversy.  In 
comments made to the press on July 23, SLMM Deputy Chief 
Hagrup Haukland lashed out at the Tigers, stating that 
the LTTE must remove the so-called "Wan Ela" camp. 
(Note:  After a recent land survey, the SLMM determined 
that the camp encroaches on government-controlled 
territory -- see Ref D for additional background.) 
Haukland, who had also hit out hard against the LTTE on 
this matter last week, underscored that the group must 
comply with SLMM rulings, per its acceptance of the 
February 2002 ceasefire accord.  For their part, the 
Tigers have refused to vacate the camp, asserting that 
it is located in a zone controlled by its forces. 
 
¶7.  (C) COMMENT:  The monitors are clearly growing more 
exasperated with the LTTE day-by-day.  The SLMM 
undoubtedly feels insulted that it is not being listened 
to, hence Haukland's increasingly shrill comments to the 
press.  Mission has spoken to SLMM representatives, and 
they say that they are trying to manage the controversy 
and make sure that it does not lead to a complete 
breakdown in ceasefire monitoring.  The solution to the 
problem seems simple; the LTTE should withdraw.  It is 
not yet clear, how far the Tigers want to press this 
matter, however.  Up to now, LTTE has by and large tried 
to maintain fairly good relations with the monitors. 
END COMMENT. 
 
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Quiet Anniversary of Deadly Riots 
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¶8.  (SBU) The 20th anniversary of the July 1983 riots in 
Colombo passed peacefully in Sri Lanka.  The riots -- 
which started on July 23, 1983 and lasted several days 
-- led to the deaths of hundreds of Tamils, with 
thousands driven from their homes.  The local press ran 
some stories on the riots, but there was no official 
government ceremony.  The one incident that seemed to be 
linked to the anniversary was an attempt by some Tamils 
to put up a statue of a deceased LTTE fighter in Jaffna 
on July 23.  The pro-LTTE group was interrupted by 
government security forces and fled the scene with the 
statue.  No one was injured in the incident.  (Note:  The 
statue was of Charles Anthony, a LTTE squadron leader, 
who was killed during the July 1983 attack on government 
forces that triggered the Colombo riots.  Anthony was a 
close associate of LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran.) 
 
¶9.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Most observers date the 1983 riots 
as the start of the ethnic conflict.  Certainly, there 
is little doubt that the riots divided the Sinhalese- 
Tamil communities in a very profound way.  The GSL has 
made some effort to come to terms with the killing of so 
many of its citizens; President Kumaratunga, for 
example, ordered a commission to examine what happened 
and put together a report.  The sad fact, however, is 
that no one has ever been charged for the mayhem that 
took place.  As for the LTTE, the group has used the 
event as an effective recruiting tool with Tamils.  It 
has also on occasion launched deadly attacks, such as 
that on Colombo's airport in July 2001, to "commemorate" 
what took place.  END COMMENT. 
 
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The Case of the LTTE's Propaganda Materials 
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¶10.  (C) In our flavor of the peace process section: 
Sri Lankan customs officials working at Colombo port 
recently seized two shipping containers headed for the 
LTTE-controlled Wanni region.  In taking the action, the 
customs officials asserted that the containers -- with 
contents listed as "stationery" -- included LTTE flags, 
key chains, LTTE magazines, and stickers.  Of special 
note, were maps depicting areas of the north and east as 
a separate LTTE-controlled entity ("Eelam").  It is not 
clear where the containers were shipped from and in 
whose name, but they are believed to have been ordered 
by the LTTE's propaganda department.  The latest word is 
that customs plans to release the material because -- 
under the terms of the ceasefire accord -- the GSL has 
no grounds to hold them as contraband. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) COMMENT:  Before the advent of the peace 
process in December 2001, the type of materials seized 
at the port would have been immediately destroyed by the 
GSL.  Now, with the peace track months old, the 
transshipment of such "propaganda" items is a relatively 
ho-hum affair.  (Note:  Some groups skeptical of the 
peace process complained about the materials, but did 
not gain much traction and clammed up.)  In general, as 
far as the GSL is concerned, materials of a non-warlike 
nature can be provided to the LTTE, including those that 
are basically political in nature.  (Note:  That said, 
there are clearly lines that cannot be crossed:  earlier 
this month, the government complained that LTTE cadre 
were showing videos of past war exploits to potential 
recruits in the east.  The SLMM agreed with the 
government that this type of LTTE activity was 
provocative and inappropriate.)  END COMMENT. 
 
¶12. (U) Minimized considered. 
 
ENTWISTLE