O 191143Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9616
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 000310 
 
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 35 
 
Ref:  A)  Colombo 307  B)  Colombo 304  C)  Colombo 299  D)  Colombo 
294  E) Colombo 287  F) Colombo 282  G) Colombo 279  H) Colombo 277 
I) Colombo 265  J) Colombo 258  K) Colombo 250 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: The UN Resident Coordinator informed Ambassador 
of reports of planes dropping bombs in the Government-designated 
"safe zone" on March 18.  Multiple accounts substantiate reports of 
civilian retaliation against the LTTE on March 18.  Larger numbers 
of civilians are fleeing into Government-controlled territory.  OFDA 
Regional Advisor interviewed local aid worker who escaped the 
conflict area on March 18.  End Summary. 
 
Aircraft Bombs Safe Zone 
------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) UN Resident Coordinator Neil Buhne informed Ambassador of 
reports that the Sri Lankan Air Force bombed targets within the safe 
zone late on March 18. Embassy is contacting other sources for 
corroboration and further detail. (Note: it is likely the Air Force 
was targeting the LTTE leadership.) 
 
Civilians Retaliate Against LTTE 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The nationalist daily newspaper "Island" reported that on 
March 17 "angry civilians... set fire to an LTTE 'police' station at 
Puthumathalan in the civilian safety zone after LTTE cadres shot 
dead parents of a child whom they made an abortive bid to abduct. 
They also shot dead the child before retreating among violent 
protests."  Military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, in a 
press briefing on March 18, noted that this incident sparked wider 
protests by IDPs, which included the burning of LTTE vehicles. 
Embassy cannot substantiate all the details of these reports, but 
they are consistent with earlier information regarding retaliation 
against the LTTE by IDPs (Ref A). 
 
IDPs Fleeing Conflict Zone 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) News reports indicate as many as 2,000 civilians entered 
Government-controlled territory on March 18, taking advantage of the 
chaos to escape.   Among this total, 643 civilians fled the conflict 
area in dinghies on March 18 and were reportedly rescued by the Sri 
Lankan Navy.  Newspapers, as well as a military contact, attest the 
Navy chased away LTTE boats which were attempting to halt the 
civilians' escape.  Government owned "Daily News" reports the LTTE 
may have fired on the flotilla of dinghies before the Navy drove 
them off. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) OFDA Regional Adviser met on March 18 with a group of 15 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Vavuniya who fled the "safe 
zone", including a Sri Lankan employee of the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM).  This contact reported that the 
LTTE is now widely recruiting from among the trapped population, 
forcing both young and old to fight, and is positioning its 
artillery within civilian concentrations.  The IOM worker confirmed 
the skirmish on March 17 following LTTE attempt to forcibly recruit 
civilians who were offloading food supplies, leading to wider 
retaliation by the IDPs.  The IOM worker and his family fled the 
 
conflict zone at 2:30a.m. on March 18 by crossing the lagoon on 
foot. He reported that LTTE forces fired on his group of 15 people 
in an attempt to stop their flight.  When they neared the Sri Lankan 
military side, army soldiers provided cover fire for the civilians 
to safely exit the lagoon.  They have since been transported to one 
of the newly prepared IDP sites at Manik Farms, Vavuniya. 
 
Defense: "Pro-LTTE" Elements in International Organizations 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Defense spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella asserted 
that certain international organizations have been "infiltrated by 
the LTTE" and are helping to spread disinformation.  In discussing 
the widely-publicized statement of UN High Commissioner for Human 
Rights Navanetham ("Navi") Pillay noting 2,800 civilian deaths and 
7,000 injuries, the spokesman claimed: "There are certain pro-LTTE 
elements in international organizations holding high ranking posts. 
They are taking cover behind these organizations in order to support 
the LTTE."  (Note: Pillay, a South African national, happens to be 
an ethnic Tamil but to our knowledge, has never visited Sri Lanka.) 
 
Food, But Still No Meds 
----------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Offloading of 500MT of food aid from the Vin-Tan cargo 
vessel will finish by the end of today (March 19).  The vessel will 
return to Trincomalee by March 20.  The World Food Program aims for 
another food shipment during the week of March 23-27.  The ICRC 
confirmed that the Government did not provide any medical supplies 
for the evacuation ferry which departed for the safe zone the night 
of March 18. 
 
¶8.  (U) Colombo 307 (Ref A) reports on the Ambassador's meeting with 
Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister in which the Ambassador raised the 
range of U.S. concerns. 
 
BLAKE