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PP RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHLM #1184/01 2001131
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P 191131Z JUL 06
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001184 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: ISOLATED VIOLENT INCIDENTS IN NORTH AND 
EAST CONTINUE 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: A July 12 gun battle between the Sri 
Lankan Army (SLA) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam (LTTE) in the eastern region of Batticaloa left 
12 SLA troops and reportedly 4 LTTE cadres dead and 
marked the beginning of several small violent incidents 
in Sri Lanka's north and east, including 2 claymore mine 
attacks that killed a total of 5 civilians.  Against 
this backdrop, the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) 
recently made a generous gesture of good faith by 
permitting LTTE spokesman Daya Master to come to Colombo 
for medical treatment.  The LTTE did not reciprocate with 
any such confidence-building measure.  Persistent 
low-level violence is now the norm, with violations of 
the Cease-Fire Agreement on either side but no return to 
full-scale hostilities.  End summary. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
ISOLATED INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE CONTINUE; 
DEATH TOLL AT 75 SINCE JULY 1 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) According to press reports, a July 12 gun battle 
in Welikanda, in the eastern region of Batticaloa, 
between the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and Liberation 
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), left 12 SLA troops and 
possibly 4 LTTE cadres dead.   Several SLA soldiers 
were reported missing after the battle.  On July 17, 
the LTTE said it had detained one soldier and gave the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 
permission to visit the detainee. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Although the first week of July was relatively 
peaceful, a total of 75 people have died in violent 
incidents since July 1, including 29 Sri Lankan 
security forces, 4 paramilitary troops, 12 LTTE 
cadres, and 30 civilians-- 25 Tamils, 4 Muslims, and 1 
Sinhalese.  Low-level violence continued after 
the July 12 skirmish.  The morning of July 16, the 
LTTE launched an attack against the Selvanagar Army 
Camp in Trincomalee District.  One soldier was killed 
and one civilian was injured.  The Sri Lankan Army's 
website reported that Sri Lankan troops returned fire 
on the Tigers, but the number of LTTE casualties was 
unknown. 
 
¶4. (U) The press also reported that on July 16 in 
Jaffna, two Tamil civilians were shot and killed by 
unidentified assailants alleged to be LTTE cadres. 
That same day in Batticaloa, 4 Tamil civilians were 
abducted, one of whom was later found shot dead.  An 
Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) press release 
accused the LTTE of the abductions.  The Media Center 
for National Security also blamed the LTTE, positing 
that the deceased victim was a former LTTE cadre and 
citing villagers saying the 3 surviving abductees left 
the area to join the LTTE. 
 
¶5. (U) A remotely detonated claymore mine, presumably 
placed by the LTTE, killed one Sri Lankan Army (SLA) 
soldier, wounded 2, and injured 4 civilians near the 
Sivam Kovil (a Hindu temple) in the Jaffna Area on 
July 17.  Later that same day, another claymore mine 
injured an SLA soldier on foot patrol near Mannar on 
the west coast. 
 
¶6. (U) In Ampara July 17, Special Task Force (STF) 
personnel arrested an armed LTTE suspect at a 
roadblock.  Just after midnight that night, LTTE 
cadres fired on a police patrol in Ampara, injuring a 
constable.  Another claymore mine blast in Jaffna July 
18 killed one and injured 6 civilians and 4 soldiers. 
The same day, a claymore mine was discovered and 
defused near a dormitory at Batticaloa's Eastern 
University.  On July 19, a claymore mine in Jaffna 
killed 1 SLA officer and 1 civilian and injured 10 
 
COLOMBO 00001184  002 OF 003 
 
 
others. 
 
¶7. (SBU) In a July 19 phone conversation with poloff, 
a spokesman for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission 
(SLMM) said he was "90 percent sure" the LTTE was 
behind "most" of the claymore attacks.  The spokesman 
noted that the current situation is so fragile that 
any small act of violence leads to escalation, 
although he was not sure the responses on either side 
were pre-meditated. 
 
----------------------- 
"HUMANITARIAN GESTURE" 
----------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) On July 13, the GSL permitted LTTE spokesman 
Daya Master to come to Colombo for medical treatment. 
In press reports, GSL Defense Spokesman Keheliya 
Rambukwella called the action a "humanitarian gesture 
that might resuscitate the peace process."  The 
Buddhist monk-based Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) 
registered vociferous objections.  A JHU-affiliated group 
called the National Movement Against Terror (NMAT) staged 
a protest outside Master's hospital, demanding that he 
be arrested.  Master reportedly underwent an angiogram 
and was then released and returned to LTTE 
headquarters in Kilinochchi. 
 
¶9. (U) July 16, papers prominently featured an appeal 
from the mother of a Sri Lankan police officer being 
held by the LTTE.  The officer was taken into custody 
10 months ago when he pursued a suspected foreign 
pedophile into LTTE-controlled territory.  A newspaper 
quoted the policeman's mother asking for her son's 
release as an equivalent "humanitarian gesture" to 
match the GSL's assistance to Daya Master.  July 18 
press reports said the LTTE is willing to negotiate 
the policeman's release only if 5 LTTE cadres held by 
the GSL are released. 
 
¶10. (SBU) In a July 19 phone conversation, a pro-LTTE 
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian told 
emboff "A humanitarian gesture is expected to come 
naturally.  It cannot be used as a bargaining point." 
Jayadeva Uyangoda, a Colombo University professor, 
echoed those sentiments in another July 19 phone 
conversation with poloff.  The professor said the 
government media exacerbated the situation by trying 
to portray the action as both humanitarian and as a 
quid pro quo negotiation effort. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Uyangoda noted that the last week has seen a 
drop-off in the number of civilians targeted, perhaps 
due to international pressure.  He said that the 
current violence is qualitatively different from the 
1995-2000 era, when large-scale military engagement 
was the norm.  He assessed that low to mid-level 
violence would continue in a "managed war," with both 
sides denying responsibility. 
 
-------- 
COMMENT 
-------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Comment:  The steady drumbeat of low-level 
violence over the past few weeks is now sadly routine. 
The GSL's decision to permit Daya Master access to 
medical care in Colombo surprised many and alienated 
Sinhalese hard-liners.  With the LTTE's intransigence 
about releasing the GSL policeman, the government also 
faces criticism for not having gained anything in 
return for the humanitarian gesture to the LTTE.  In 
addition, the attempt to portray the action as both 
humanitarian and self-interested seems to have back-fired. 
End comment. 
 
COLOMBO 00001184  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
ENTWISTLE