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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000053 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR S/ES, INR/MR, PA 
SCA/INS (CAMP, SIM, GOWER) 
SCA/PD (SCENSNY, ROGERS, PALLADINO); SCA/PAS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KPAO PTER EAID OIIP PREL CE LTTE
SUBJECT:  Special Media Reaction: LTTE Sinks Navy Ship Off 
Trincomalee 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: English and vernacular press on Sunday, 
January 8, overwhelmingly led with January 7th's pre-dawn 
LTTE suicide attack on the Sri Lanka Navy Dvora-class vessel 
off the coast of the eastern port of Trincomalee.  English, 
Sinhala, and some independent Tamil press readily blamed the 
LTTE for the attack.  Independent English and Sinhala media 
questioned the military's lack of retaliation.  Pro-LTTE 
media highlighted the attack but denied Tiger involvement. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) English and Sinhala government-owned newspapers, 
including the English Sunday Observer and Sinhala Sunday 
Dinamina, led with "LTTE blows up Dvora: 13 sailors missing, 
2 rescued."  By contrast, government-owned Tamil Thinakkural 
did not indict the LTTE when reporting the naval boat's 
sailors missing and presumed dead, headlining "SLN craft on 
mobile attacked in Trincomalee seas - 15 including two 
officers missing - two wounded" as its second lead story. 
 
¶3. (U) Mainstream independent media, including the Sunday 
Times and its sister Sinhala paper Sunday Lankadeepa (1/8), 
bannered, "Tiger suicide attack on Navy craft kills 12." 
The article questioned whether the LTTE had declared war 
through the latest suicide attack despite not having given 
the formal two weeks notice required by the Ceasefire 
Agreement.  In an op-ed seemingly written before the attack, 
Sunday Times (1/8) defense analyst Iqbal Atas denounced 
media pundits who claim a war between the LTTE and the Sri 
Lankan Forces would be unwinnable. 
 
¶4.   (U) Sinhala nationalist media in both English and 
Sinhala slanted reports of the suicide attack with criticism 
that the government has not responded militarily to the 
recent string of LTTE attacks.  The Island (1/8) led with, 
"Frustration among forces over latest atrocity: Dvora 
blasted off Trincomalee harbor, 13 sailors presumed dead." 
The article described a "Black Tiger" suicide boat hidden 
among fishing vessels speeding suddenly toward the Navy 
ship, virtually eviscerating both boats within seconds, and 
quoted a "frustrated" Navy official as saying, "When do we 
consider the war to have started?  There's a stark 
difference between tolerance and cowardice.  We must have a 
retaliatory plan."  The Island (1/9) published a political 
cartoon next to its editorial titled "Co-chairs as 
scarecrow" depicting a shark labeled "Inaction of Co-chairs" 
devouring the SLN boat.  The editorial in the Sunday Divaina 
(1/9), a sister paper to the Sunday Island, argued the 
government should "take a firm decision on whether or not to 
re-launch the war."  The paper's Defense Correspondent also 
argued that the Navy has not adequately monitored the sea 
around Trincomalee. 
 
¶5.  (U) All Tamil and pro-LTTE media reported the sunken 
naval boat in lead stories.  Headlining, "SLN Dvora 
missing," pro-LTTE Tamil Net (1/8) published the military's 
accusation that suicide cadres had perpetrated the attack, 
but emphasized LTTE spokesman Daya Master's assertion that 
the LTTE were not involved.  By contrast, the flagship Tamil 
newspaper, the mainstream but rarely LTTE-critical 
Virakesari, readily reported, "Black Tigers kill 13 Navy 
officers," followed by a story detailing the attack similar 
to those in mainstream English papers.  Pro-LTTE Tamil daily 
Sudar Oli (1/09) buried three stories on page 11: "Dvora 
sunk in Trincomalee - 13 sailors killed - LTTE denies any 
involvement," "Government forces say LTTE style suicide 
attack," and "We cannot say that the LTTE is responsible - 
SLMM head Hauckland." 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Comment: English and Sinhala media did not 
hesitate to blame the LTTE for the attack, with the 
government-owned media reiterating again the President's 
commitment to pursuing peace talks despite Tiger aggression. 
Although government-owned Tamil paper Thinakaran 
uncharacteristically declined to blame the Tigers for the 
attack, the normally more circumspect Virakesari newspaper 
did not deny the LTTE hand in this attack, readily indicting 
the "Black Tigers."  The Sinhala nationalist media continued 
to grumble over military inaction in the face of Tiger 
attacks.  In highlighting attack after attack, sections of 
the independent media express skepticism about government 
inaction and perhaps suggest growing  public pressure for a 
military response. End Comment. 
 
 
LUNSTEAD