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OO RUEHBI
DE RUEHLM #0469/01 1181149
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 281149Z APR 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9882
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1136
RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 0219
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 3785
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 1612
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 8606
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 6842
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4928
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2970
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 4889
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3995
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 9245
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 6555
RUEHON/AMCONSUL TORONTO 1096
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3468
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDRUSARPAC FT SHAFTER HI//APCW/APOP//
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI//J3/J332/J52//

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000469 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA (BOUCHER), 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: PREF MOPS PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC CE
SUBJECT: Northern Sri Lanka SitRep 62 
 
REF: A) Colombo 464 B) Colombo 459 C) Colombo 456 D) Colombo 454 E) 
Colombo 448 F) Colombo 435 G) Colombo 432 H) Colombo 425 I) Colombo 
418 J) Colombo 414 K) Colombo 413 and previous 
 
COLOMBO 00000469  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  On April 27, the Government announced it would 
end use of heavy weapons in the conflict zone given the threat to 
civilians.  However, according to several still unconfirmed reports, 
shelling into the "safe zone" continued on April 28.  The Government 
did not approve UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs 
John Holmes' requests for UN access to the conflict zone, nor to the 
release of UN local workers residing in IDP camps.  40MT of food for 
trapped civilians was delivered on April 28.  End summary. 
 
END TO COMBAT? 
--------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) While the Government of Sri Lanka declared an end of combat 
operations on April 27, unconfirmed reports of shelling in the 
Government-declared "safe zone" continued today, April 28.  Two 
sources in the conflict zone e-mailed photographs purportedly dated 
April 28 at 10 a.m. and labeled as Mullivaikkal and Iraddaivaikkal, 
areas within the "safe zone."  Several photographs of explosions on 
land were taken from a vantage point offshore.  Post is seeking 
confirmation of the reports of shelling from other sources with 
contacts in the conflict area. 
 
HOLMES LEAVES "DISAPPOINTED" 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John 
Holmes left Sri Lanka on April 27 with few concrete gains.  The Sri 
Lankan government did not approve his requests for UN access to the 
conflict area and for the release of UN local staff workers from IDP 
camps.  He was publicly skeptical of the Government's vow to end 
heavy combat operations, given similar promises in recent months. 
He told reporters, "I hope that the idea of not using heavy weapons 
will genuinely be respected, which I am afraid has not been the case 
in the past."  Holmes announced during his visit that the UN would 
provide an additional $10M to support IDP assistance. 
 
UK, FRENCH, JAPANESE DELEGATIONS 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) British Minister for International Development Mike Foster 
visited Sri Lanka on April 27.  British Deputy High Commissioner 
told Charge that Foster pressed the Government for a pause in 
fighting to allow humanitarian assistance into the safe zone.  He 
urged international monitoring of IDP screening centers, greater 
access to IDP transit sites, and greater freedom of movement by 
IDPs, as well as early returns of IDPs to their home villages.  The 
day before the visit, Prime Minister Brown announced 2.5 million 
pounds in new humanitarian assistance for Sri Lanka, some of which 
may be used for demining. 
 
¶5. (SBU) During their April 29 visit, British Foreign Secretary 
David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will 
meet with the President, government officials, opposition leaders, 
and the UN and will visit IDP transit sites in Vavuniya.  A 
 
COLOMBO 00000469  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
five-member Parliamentary delegation headed by Des Browne scheduled 
for April 30-May 2 has been postponed to May 4-6 at the request of 
the Government. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) This requested delay may be because of a visit by Japanese 
Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi.  The Japanese Embassy told us today 
that Akashi plans to come to Sri Lanka from April 30-May 3.  Akashi 
is also seeking access to IDP camps. 
 
CONDITIONS IN IDP SITES 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The rush of civilians who fled the safe zone since April 20 
clearly overburdened Government registration capabilities.  Efforts 
to provide food to civilians pending registration in the interim at 
Omanthai, where only UNHCR and ICRC have regular access, are ad-hoc. 
 Post has received a report from a medical worker in the Vavuniya 
area that on April 27 buses started taking all boys ages 14 - 35 
from two schools in Vavuniya used as transit facilities en route to 
the longer-term camps.  The youths were told they were being taken 
under the Prevention of Terrorism Act to a police station for 
screening.  However, the young men have reportedly not turned up at 
any police station, and their current location is unknown. Post 
plans to follow up with ICRC to determine if it is aware of the 
reports, if the ICRC considers this to be an appropriate screening 
approach, and whether ICRC protection officers have access for 
monitoring to the facilities where the youths have been taken. 
 
ADDITIONAL AID 
-------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) On April 27, UNHCR airlifted nearly 3,000 family-sized tents 
from the UNHCR warehouse in Dubai to Colombo for distribution to 
civilians displaced in northern Sri Lanka.  UNICEF also announced 
the arrival of a 50MT airlift to Colombo of nutritional supplies, 
water treatment units for safe water, oral rehydration salts, and 
medical supplies, and noted another shipment is due to arrive 
shortly.  The Government of India pledged 1 Billion Indian Rupees 
(approximately $20M) for relief and rehabilitation for displaced 
Tamil civilians. 
 
FOOD DELIVERED TO CONFLICT ZONE 
------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Due to security concerns and offloading and storage 
limitations, a ship transporting 1,030 metric tons (MTs) of World 
Food Programme (WFP)-donated food was diverted from Mullaitivu to 
Jaffna.  To respond to the immediate need for food in the conflict 
area, WFP is sending small shipments with the ICRC-flagged ferry, 
Green Ocean.  On April 28, the Green Ocean transported the first 
shipment of food to the conflict area since April 1.  The shipment 
included 40 MTs of rice (34), lentils (4), sugar (1), and oil (1). 
(Note: based on UN low-end estimates of 50,000 persons still within 
the LTTE-controlled pocket, 27 MTs would be needed each day.) Once 
offloading is completed and patients are evacuated, the ICRC ferry 
will continue the following rotation: every second trip, the ferry 
will transport 30 to 40 MTs of complementary food provided by the 
non-governmental organization ZOA.  Because ICRC offloads patients 
 
COLOMBO 00000469  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
in Pulmoddai, WFP is staging food shipments in Pulmoddai for 
transportation to the conflict area. 
 
ESTIMATES OF CIVILIAN DISPLACEMENT 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) OCHA reports an increase of 40,000 IDPs to the 
Government-designated IDP camps in recent days. This brings the 
total number of documented arrivals into Government-controlled 
territory since late October to 151,231.  These civilians are 
located in Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar and Trincomalee.  However, this 
figure probably does not include approximately 30,000 of IDPs still 
en route to transit facilities, according to Defense Ministry 
announcements regarding rescued civilians.  On April 27, John Holmes 
cited a possible total of 200,000.  The UN estimates that at least 
50,000 people are still trapped in the conflict zone.  Estimates 
provided by sources inside the safe zone range as high as 165,000, 
but these may be under pressure from the LTTE to over-report the 
numbers. 
 
MOORE