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O 021212Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7426
INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0613
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 7600
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 5780
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 4201
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1685
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 4208
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 3304
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 8202
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 5773
RUEHON/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 0494
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 2519
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000007 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/02/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT: MODERATE TAMIL POLITICIAN ASSASSINATED IN COLOMBO 
 
REF: COLOMBO 1616 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission James R. Moore, for reasons 1.4( 
b,d). 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary.  United National Party (UNP) member of 
parliament T. Maheswaran was shot and killed on January 1 
while attending New Year's Day ceremonies at a Hindu temple 
in Colombo.   Sri Lanka Police officials say that the 
suspected assailant, who they claim was working for the LTTE, 
was among those injured in the attack and is currently under 
police custody.  Maheswaran was a frequent and harsh critic 
of the government, especially its human rights record.  His 
security detail was reduced from 18 officers to 2 officers in 
late December, following his vote against the government's 
budget.  On December 31, he publicly announced plans to 
reveal details of the involvement of security forces and 
paramilitaries in human rights abuses in Jaffna.  This has 
led to widespread speculation that the government, rather 
than the LTTE, is responsible for his death.  Maheswaran's 
assassination is the third killing of a moderate Tamil MP in 
just over two years, and does not bode well for the 
resolution of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict.  End Summary. 
 
New Year's Day Attack 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U)  United National Party (UNP) member of parliament T. 
Maheswaran was shot and killed on January 1 while attending 
New Year's Day ceremonies at a Hindu temple in Colombo. He 
was shot around 10am by an unidentified gunman at the Sri 
Ponnambala Vaneswara Hindu Kovil in the Kotahena area of 
Colombo.  His bodyguard and 11 civilians were injured. 
 
¶3.  (U)  Sri Lanka Police officials say that the suspected 
assailant was among the injured and is currently under police 
custody at Colombo National Hospital. The suspect is 
reportedly a resident of Jaffna who was temporarily staying 
at a lodging house in Wattala, just North of Colombo. 
Maheswaran's security officer, also injured in the attack, 
told local press that the suspect was one of Maheswaran's 
former security officers. The police say a "micro pistol" was 
found at the scene of the crime and say that such pistols are 
commonly used by the LTTE.  Defense Spokesman Keheliya 
Rambukwella announced that the President has ordered a full 
and impartial inquiry into the incident. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Maheswaran, a businessman by profession, who some 
allege to have engaged in corruption, was elected to 
parliament from Jaffna in 2000.  He was appointed Minister of 
Hindu Cultural Affairs in 2001.  Maheswaran was elected to 
parliament from Colombo in 2004.  He was married with two 
children. 
 
Outspoken Government Critic 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C)  Maheswaran was a frequent and harsh critic of the 
government, especially its human rights record. He spoke out 
strongly against the round-up of Tamils following the 
November 2007 bombings in Colombo (reftel).  He frequently 
voted against renewing the state of emergency that has been 
in effect since August 2005.  Maheswaran also voted against 
the government's budget in December 2007, despite heavy 
government pressure to support it. 
 
Security Detail Drastically Reduced 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C)  Maheswaran's security detail was reduced from 18 
officers to 2 officers in late December.  The UNP has charged 
that this reduction was a direct result of his vote against 
the budget proposals and that the government is therefore 
responsible for his death.  Defense Spokesman Rambukwella has 
argued publicly that changes in Maheswaran's security detail 
 
COLOMBO 00000007  002 OF 002 
 
 
were based on the recommendations of the Threat Assessment 
Unit and that Maheswaran put himself in jeopardy by refusing 
to alter his daily routines.  UNP contacts say the President, 
Prime Minister, and defense officials ignored pleas from 
Maheswaran to restore his security.  Western People's Front 
MP Mano Ganesan, whose security detail was also drastically 
reduced last month, told us "the government of the day should 
take total responsibility for the assassination of 
Maheswaran" and that this incident illustrates the "very 
serious situation faced by human rights defenders" in Sri 
Lanka. 
 
Planning to Reveal Government Misdeeds 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C)  Maheswaran appeared on the Shakthi TV talkshow 
"Minnel" on December 30, where he said he planned to release 
in parliament on January 8 a list of names of paramilitary 
and security force personnel in Jaffna who were involved in 
killings and abductions of civilians.  On December 31, 
Maheswaran told Lanka e-News that a group of assassins from 
Colombo kills six civilians per day in Jaffna.  He said these 
men are sent from Colombo for one-month tours and are 
stationed in Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) (a 
paramilitary group and political party headed by Douglas 
Devananda) camps guarded by the Sri Lanka Army.  He 
reportedly planned to provide evidence of this to Indian 
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he arrives in Sri Lanka in 
February.  Speculation is rampant that the government, 
through the EPDP, silenced Maheswaran before any of this 
could happen.  These accusations are strengthened by the fact 
that the killing took place in a high security zone and close 
to a police station. 
 
SLMC Gets the Vacant Seat 
------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C)  Shafeek Rajabdeen, former provincial councilor and 
leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Colombo 
district team during the 2004 general election, has been 
appointed to fill the parliamentary seat vacated by 
Maheswaran.  His appointment is based on an electoral pact 
between the SLMC and UNP in 2004.  (Note: Following the 
election, UNP candidates and those who contested with them 
were ranked according to the number of votes they received. 
Parliamentary seats are filled based on this list.)  UNP 
contacts tell us that the appointment of Rajabdeen is a blow 
to the UNP.  With the loss of Maheswaran, the UNP has just 5 
more MPs than the JVP.  Moreover, some UNP members are not 
confident that the SLMC will continue to support the UNP 
throughout the remaining sessions of parliament. 
 
¶9.  (C)  COMMENT:  Maheswaran's assassination is the third 
killing of a moderate Tamil MP in just over two years. 
Joseph Pararajasingham was killed in late 2005 and Nadaraja 
Raviraj was killed in late 2006.  The systematic elimination 
of moderate Tamils does not bode well for the resolution of 
Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict or the state of democracy here. 
Given the government's track record on the previous two 
cases, we do not expect to see an effective or transparent 
investigation into Maheswaran's killing.  It is unclear 
whether the suspect in the hospital is truly the assailant or 
simply a convenient scapegoat.  Embassy issued a statement on 
January 2 condemning the killing and urging the government to 
bring those responsible to justice without delay. 
 
BLAKE