VZCZCXRO9906
OO RUEHBI
DE RUEHLM #0549/01 1401045
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201045Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO ZDK RUEHLO #4906 1410823
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0012
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1202
RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 0276
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 3849
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 1686
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 8694
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 6928
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 4990
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3060
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 4949
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 4055
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 9317
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 6623
RUEHON/AMCONSUL TORONTO 1156
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3540
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//
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000549 
 
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 ECON
SUBJECT: Northern Sri Lanka SitRep 77 
 
REF:  A) Colombo 543 B) Colombo 539 C) Colombo 535 D) Colombo 533 E) 
Colombo 529 F) Colombo 522 G) Colombo 519 H) Colombo 514 I) Colombo 
507 and previous 
 
COLOMBO 00000549  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  President Rajapaksa declared May 20 a national 
holiday to celebrate the victory over the Tamil Tigers (LTTE).  In 
Ambassador's farewell call on him, the President acknowledged the 
importance of reconciliation with Sri Lankan Tamils and with the 
Tamil Diaspora to ensure that Tamils would not support a comeback by 
the LTTE. The President said his initial thoughts on power-sharing 
arrangements with the Tamil minority included implementation of 
existing constitutional provisions on provincial council, plus the 
creation of a new upper house of the Sri Lankan Parliament to 
represent the provinces' interests.  Defense Secretary Gothabaya 
Rajapaksa was highly critical of recent UN and ICRC actions, and 
said the ICRC was no longer needed in the former conflict zone, even 
to identify bodies.  He said international organizations should 
include more nationals of the region so situations such as Sri 
Lanka's fight against the LTTE would be better understood.  India 
reportedly requested forensic evidence of LTTE leader Prabhakaran's 
death to close out court proceedings on Rajiv Gandhi's 
assassination.  UN Envoy Nambiar's overflight of the former conflict 
zone was cancelled for the second day because of bad weather.  The 
UN and aid organizations continued to have access problems to the 
IDP camps in Vavuniya because of new restrictions on vehicles. 
Approximately 40,000 IDPs are expected to arrive in the camps in the 
next two days; preparations are lagging as a result of restrictions. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
AMBASSADOR'S FAREWELL CALL ON PRESIDENT 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Ambassador noted that his time in Colombo had coincided 
almost exactly with the fourth and final phase of the Sri Lankan 
conflict, from mid-2006 until the war ended on May 18.  The 
President's government had managed to do what no government had done 
before: wrest all the territory of the country from the Tamil 
Tigers.  Ambassador stressed that the reconciliation phase must 
begin now, with two vital components: the humanitarian side, 
providing the IDPs with what they need, and the political side - 
power-sharing arrangements to help Tamils have a future with hope 
and dignity.  This was the way to defeat terrorism for good. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The President responded that those were his intentions, 
but that there "certain people in the international community," 
abetted by "some in the South" (i.e., the opposition) who would try 
to undercut him.   The Ambassador encouraged the GSL to think about 
how to engage with Tamil representatives.   Ambassador said it was 
particularly important to reach out to the Tamil Diaspora so they 
would stop supporting the LTTE.  He inquired about the government's 
plans for a political solution.  The President said the basis of the 
plan would be the "13th amendment plus 1" - meaning implementation 
of the existing constitutional provisions for provincial councils, 
but adding an upper house to Parliament, modeled on the U.S. Senate, 
with numerically equal representation for each province. 
 
 
COLOMBO 00000549  002 OF 004 
 
 
DEFENSE SECRETARY CRITICAL OF UN/ICRC 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa was sharply critical 
of international organizations in his final meeting with Ambassador. 
 Rajapaksa said the ICRC's job was essentially finished now that the 
conflict was over.  He said the GSL is unhappy with the UN and ICRC 
for being critical of the GSL when they should have been working 
with the government to help resolve the conflict and address the 
challenges Sri Lanka faced.  The Defense Secretary said the GSL 
doesn't want the ICRC and UN involved in identification of those 
killed in the former conflict zone because of their "negative" 
attitude.  He claimed their reporting would likely inflame passions, 
exacerbate divisions, and be contrary to the goals of reconciliation 
and closure.  Ambassador strongly disagreed, saying the ICRC was 
performing excellent work in assisting GSL efforts to deal with the 
humanitarian crisis. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Gothabaya insisted the ICRC and UN were not helping.  He 
acknowledged some GSL shortcomings, but said international actors 
should understand the complexities of the conflict and work with the 
GSL and the military, rather than be antagonistic toward the 
government.  The Defense Secretary said international organizations 
should include more Asians, such as Thais, Malaysians, and Japanese. 
 They would then be better able to establish rapport and 
understanding with their GSL and military counterparts.  Ambassador 
replied that the USG could not and would not dictate to 
international organizations the composition of their teams. 
Ambassador said that the GSL should strive to improve its 
cooperation with the ICRC and the UN.  By demonstrating greater 
openness, the GSL could counter and minimize allegations that it has 
something to hide. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Defense Secretary did not directly respond to 
Ambassador's question about problems the UN and NGOs were having 
with new rules on vehicle access to the IDP camps.  Instead, he 
highlighted rifts between INGOs and Sri Lankan NGOs, saying that the 
NGOs complained they should have greater access to funding, since 
they have the local expertise to respond to the situation. 
 
"TAMIL DOCTORS" HELD FOR QUESTIONING 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ambassador argued strongly for ICRC access to the Tamil 
government doctors who were previously working inside the conflict 
zone, who have since been detained.  The Defense Secretary said that 
the government just wanted to question them.  He said it would be 
best if the Criminal Investigation Division of the police keeps them 
for the time being, as they would likely face a security risk from 
"reactionary groups" if released now when passions are high.  The 
police would then release them later when it was safer for them. 
Ambassador emphasized that that the doctors were likely under a 
great deal of pressure by the LTTE to report the way they did, and 
noted that they may have been coerced.  Ambassador pointed out that 
the doctors had endured great hardship, that their heroic efforts 
had likely saved countless lives, and stressed that their release 
 
COLOMBO 00000549  003 OF 004 
 
 
would be a magnanimous gesture by the GSL that would be recognized 
by the international community. 
 
AMBASSADOR TIES BETTER MIL-TO-MIL 
RELATIONS TO HUMAN RIGHTS IMPROVEMENT 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Ambassador told the Defense Secretary that progress on 
child soldiers and human rights would lay the basis for normalized 
military-to-military relations.  He strongly hoped that 
extra-judicial killings and abductions would stop and that the media 
would be free from intimidation.  Ambassador noted that UNICEF 
statistics showed there were still at least 34 child soldiers in the 
Eastern Province.  The Defense Secretary said he had issued orders 
to arrest those holding child soldiers.  He noted that so far three 
individuals had been arrested for doing so, and a case against them 
was pending.  He added that he had issued orders for the disarmament 
of all armed groups, including the TMVP.  The Defense Secretary said 
that security was now provided by the police for all officials in 
the region.  He recognized that armed militias were a problem, and 
over the last few months he had been moving step-by-step to resolve 
it.  He said with the end of the armed conflict, he now considered 
this to be his major task. 
 
INDIA SEEKING PRABHAKARAN EVIDENCE 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Media reports from India stated that the Indian Government 
would seek forensic evidence of the reported deaths of both LTTE 
leader Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman, his intelligence chief, in order 
to close their file on the investigation and prosecution of those 
involved in the 1991 assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv 
Ghandi.  In 1995 India formally requested extradition of Prabhakaran 
and Pottu Amman from Sri Lanka, if ever they were captured. 
 
UN, ICRC VISIT TO SAFE ZONE CANCELLED AGAIN 
DUE TO POOR WEATHER 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) UN Resident Representative Neil Buhne confirmed to DCM May 
20 that for the second day in a row the UN/ICRC helicopter 
overflight of the former safe zone and visit to transit sites in 
Vavuniya was cancelled due to poor weather.  Their military 
helicopter took off at 1100 but was forced to turn back due to heavy 
winds and low clouds.  They will try again May 21 to have the UN 
Secretary General's Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar overfly the former 
safe zone.  The back-up plan is to either take a fixed wing aircraft 
to both places (an overflight of the safe zone by plane would be 
less useful, however, and would preclude touching down), or to 
travel by road to Vavuniya.  The UN is also developing contingency 
plans for Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's travel on May 23 in case 
the poor weather continues. 
 
ACCESS TO CAMPS PROBLEMATIC; 
UN PROTESTING NO-VEHICLES RULE 
------------------------------ 
 
COLOMBO 00000549  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) Access to the IDP camps became an increasing problem due 
to new restrictions imposed by the GSL.  While food and water are 
still getting in, as they are under the direct control of GSL at 
that point, all aid workers including UN personnel are being told 
they must walk into the camps.  This rule severely limits the 
ability to oversee aid distribution and to get non-food aid in to 
the most recent IDPs, some of whom have literally only the clothes 
on their backs.  Further to this rule change, International 
Organization for Migration (IOM) staff attempted to walk into Zones 
1 and 2 at Manik Farm site on May 20 and were turned back by GSL 
personnel. 
 
¶12.  USAID/OFDA Regional Advisor reports no relief organization has 
been able to enter Zones 1, 2 or 3 since May 17.  There are now 
35,000 IDPs in Zone 4 of Manik Farm.  Only a few organizations are 
working there:  UNICEF, IOM and CARE.  16,000 persons are being 
processed at the former crossing point in Omanthai, and 25,000 will 
be processed tomorrow.  Preparations are not in place for them.  For 
example, there are no latrines prepared in Zone 4.  UN agencies and 
others remained in discussions with GSL to try to resolve the access 
problems before UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon arrives the evening 
of May 22. 
 
¶13. (SBU) NGOs and INGOs reported no access was allowed to IDP camps 
in the Jaffna area, in spite of an order from the GSL Security 
Forces Commander granting them such access. 
 
HEALTH PROBLEMS INCREASING IN CAMPS 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) The World Health Organization has reported a resumption of 
disease monitoring in the camps, with more than 3,000 reported cases 
of severe diarrhea and 1,000 cases of hepatitis at the Manik Farm 
site camps. 
 
BLAKE