O 171133Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9595
INFO AMEMBASSY ATHENS 
AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 
AMEMBASSY DHAKA 
AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 
AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 
AMEMBASSY LONDON 
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 
AMEMBASSY OSLO 
AMEMBASSY TOKYO 
AMCONSUL CHENNAI 
AMCONSUL MUMBAI 
AMCONSUL TORONTO 
USEU BRUSSELS
USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 
USMISSION GENEVA 
HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
DIA WASHINGTON DC
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
SECDEF WASHDC
CDRUSARPAC FT SHAFTER HI//APCW/APOP//
CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI//J3/J332/J52//

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000299 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SCA (BOUCHER, CAMP), 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: MOPS PREF PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC CE
SUBJECT: Northern Sri Lanka SitRep 33 
 
Ref:  A)  Colombo 294  B) Colombo 287  C) Colombo 282  D) Colombo 
279  E) Colombo 277  F) Colombo 265  G) Colombo 258  H) Colombo 250 
I) Colombo 248  J) Colombo 247  K) Colombo 245 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  The International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC) reports basic medical supplies are still urgently needed in 
the safe zone; this plea is repeated by health administrators in the 
safe zone.  The UN accuses the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 
(LTTE) of forcibly recruiting a local staff member and family 
trapped in the conflict area.  The Government advised the UN to 
direct their local staff in the conflict area to encourage civilians 
to try to escape in the coming days.  USAID staff received 
permission to conduct monitoring of sites for internally-displaced 
persons (IDPs) in Vavuniya and Mannar during the week of March 
16-20.  Ambassador has requested a meeting with the Foreign Minister 
to press the GSL to allow in medicine and stop shelling.  End 
Summary. 
 
"Undue Deaths" in Safe Zone 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On March 16, two medical administrators in the conflict 
area reported "undue deaths due to non-availability of essential 
drugs at Mullaitivu" in a letter to the Ministry of Healthcare and 
Nutrition.  The medical workers report that at least 500 civilian 
deaths since January 2009 have been registered at hospitals, and 
that additional "thousands of civilian deaths could have gone 
unrecorded as they were not brought to the hospitals."  The letter 
informs the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition, "We have been 
supplied with no antibiotics, no anesthetics, and not a single 
bottle of IV fluid, leaving us in a desperate situation of not being 
able to provide even lifesaving emergency surgery."  The contact 
laments the fact that despite recent promises by the Government to 
send in basic medical supplies on ICRC ferries, none have yet 
arrived. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) ICRC Deputy Head of Delegation Anthony Dalziel confirmed 
on March 17 that no medical supplies have been sent to the safe zone 
in recent weeks.  An ICRC ferry leaves for the safe zone tonight 
(March 17) and presents another opportunity for the Government to 
fulfill its promise to provide basic medical supplies.  Dalziel 
noted that medical supplies were already low in the safe zone when 
he was there for three weeks in February, and emergency procedures 
were performed with low levels of anesthesia.  He reports that now, 
"the cupboards are bare" and amputations and other emergency 
procedures must be performed without any anesthesia.  The ICRC also 
welcomes U.S. support in raising with GSL counterparts the delay in 
issuing visas to international staff needed for the organization to 
properly respond to the crisis in the North; Embassy will raise with 
the Foreign Minister and recommends that Assistant Secretary Boucher 
raise with Basil Rajapaksa in their March 18 meeting in Washington. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ambassador has raised the urgent need for medical supplies 
in multiple meetings with Special Presidential Advisor Basil 
Rajapaksa, including at the February 18 launch of the UN Common 
Humanitarian Action Plan in Colombo, when Rajapaksa publicly 
committed to providing medical supplies in the safe zone.  Only one 
shipment was sent, which reportedly ran out within two days.  In a 
 
March 12 meeting with Ambassador, Rajapaksa again promised that the 
Government would provide weekly shipments of medical supplies (Ref 
B); none has since been sent.  The Ministry of Defense has 
repeatedly blocked medical shipments due to their concern such 
supplies would be used by LTTE to treat their wounded. 
 
UN Worker Forcibly Recruited by LTTE 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On March 16, the UN accused the LTTE of forcibly 
recruiting a local staff member and three of his family members, 
including a 16-year old girl.  The UN Office of the Resident 
Coordinator expressed grave concern for the safety of the four 
individuals, who were reportedly forcibly recruited over the weekend 
of March 14-15. 
 
GSL to Civilians: "Flee the Conflict Zone" 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU) On March 13, the Acting UN Chief Security Officer sent a 
routine notice to the Government Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH) 
identifying the GPS coordinates of UN local staff still in the safe 
zone. On March 15 the JOH responded in writing requesting the UN 
urge the LTTE to release civilians.  The reply further states; "it 
could be anticipated that these stranded civilians will make all 
efforts to force themselves out from the clutches of the LTTE very 
soon in the coming days.  In this scenario the UN should act on 
these same lines and persuade the civilians to flee the Conflict 
Zone without delaying any further."  (Note: The Government's new 
instruction raises concern that in the instance of further civilian 
deaths, blame may be levied against the civilians themselves.)  The 
UN agreed with Ambassador that it should respond in writing to point 
out that the UN repeatedly has called on the LTTE to let civilians 
leave.  Until the LTTE agrees, civilians risk being shot if they 
attempt to do so. 
 
Increase in IDP Numbers 
----------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanyakkara was quoted 
in the press on March 17 as saying "over 43,000" civilians had 
reached Government-controlled territory.  The UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that just 37,018 individuals (12,078 
families) have fled into Government-controlled territory from 
January 1-March 16, not inclusive of those ICRC-assisted medical 
evacuees who are still in hospitals.  (Comment: Another reason for 
the discrepancy between Government and UN figures may be due to the 
lack of international monitoring at certain locations; no 
international organizations are present in a Kilinochchi screening 
location.  End comment.)  Post advises using "nearly 40,000 IDPs" as 
our current estimate of arrivals into Government-controlled 
territory since January 1. 
 
USAID Mission to IDP Sites 
-------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) After weeks of back-and-forth between the US Embassy, the 
Ministry of Resettlement and the Ministry of Defense, the Government 
has provided permission for US personnel to visit sites housing 
 
recent IDPs from the north.  USAID Food for Peace officer and OFDA 
Regional Advisor are visiting IDP sites in Mannar and Vavuniya from 
March 16-20; Embassy will report septel. 
 
Reported Civilian Casualties 
---------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Tamil sources from within the LTTE-controlled area report 
64 civilians were killed and 106 injured on March 16.  Tamil sources 
report that 139 civilians fled into Government-controlled territory 
on March 16. (Note: Such reports from Tamil sources cannot be 
confirmed and are frequently exaggerated.) 
 
BLAKE