From: Aftenposten
8/11/2003 11:05
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001399
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, S/CT NSC FOR E. MILLARD E.O. 12958:
DECL: 08-11-13
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PINS, PREF, CE, NO, FR, LTTE - Peace Process
SUBJECT: Norwegian facilitator set to arrive to work on LTTE base issue;
Tigers get ready for Paris meeting
Refs: Colombo 1387, and previous
(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Chargeī dīAffaires. Reasons 1.5 (b, d).
1. (C)
SUMMARY: Norwegian Special Envoy Erik Solheim is slated to
arrive in Sri Lanka on August 12. One key purpose of his visit
is to try to convince the Tigers to vacate an unauthorized
camp they have set up in the east. In other peace process
news, the Tigers are getting ready for a seminar in Paris
scheduled to begin August 20. Solheim is known to have good
links with the Tigers, but settling the camp issue will be a
tough sell given the groupīs hard-line stance on the
matter. END SUMMARY.
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Solheim due in Sri Lanka
========================
2. (SBU)
The Norwegian Embassy has confirmed that Special Envoy Erik
Solheim, a key player on the GoN peace facilitation team, is
due to arrive in Sri Lanka on August 12. One key purpose of
his visit, which is slated to last several days, is to try to
convince the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
organization to vacate an unauthorized camp it has set up in
Trincomalee District in the east. In July, the Sri Lanka
Monitoring Mission (SLMM) had ruled that the "Wan Ela" camp
was an encroachment on GSL-controlled areas and thus a
violation of the February 2002 ceasefire accord. With the
LTTE adamantly refusing to vacate the site, the SLMM washed
its hands of the matter last week and referred it to the
Norwegian facilitators to resolve, thus setting the stage for
Solheimīs visit. During his time in Sri Lanka, Solheim is
tentatively scheduled to travel to the LTTE-controlled Vanni
region in the north to meet with S.P. Thamilchelvam, the
groupīs political chief. Solheim has met with Thamilchelvam
on many occasions and is said to have good rapport with him.
======================
More info on LTTE Camp
======================
3. (C)
Regarding the camp, Mission checked with the SLMM office in
Trincomalee, which confirmed that as of earlier today (August
11) the LTTE was still at the site. SLMM Trincomalee chief
Abdel Burkan confirmed that his office will continue to run
daily patrols in the vicinity of the camp to check on the
situation. Per earlier remarks he has made to us (See
Reftels), Burkan said the roughly 15 LTTE inhabitants of the
camp remained friendly with the monitors. The camp was small,
about two soccer fields in size, and very ramshackle with some
huts, a tent, and a communications antenna. Burkan estimated
that the camp could be dismantled quickly if the Tigers wanted
to do so.
4. (C)
Queried on whether he had heard of any other LTTE camps
encroaching on government areas, Burkan said the monitors were
examining one LTTE-occupied site which seemed to be new. The
site was located one/two kilometers away from Wan Ela at a
place called Uparu. Whether the camp violated the ceasefire
accord had not yet been determined, he added. (Note: The Sri
Lankan military has told us that it thinks that, in addition
to Wan Ela, the LTTE may have established at least four
additional bases in the east in past months.)
==========================
Tigers get ready for Paris
==========================
5. (C)
In other peace process developments, the Tigers are getting
ready for a seminar in Paris scheduled to begin on August
20. The seminar, which is slated to last approximately a week,
will focus on constitutional/legal issues. The seminar is also
being structured to help the LTTE decide on the nature of its
response to the GSLīs recent proposal setting out modalities
of forming a Tiger-dominated interim administration for the
the north/east. Contacts in the Tamil community have
confirmed that the LTTEīs delegation will consist of
approximately 20 people, 10 from the group and 10 representing
pro-LTTE Tamils who live in other countries. Thamilchelvam
will lead the delegation. The following names are also
reportedly on the delegation list:
-- Pulithevan (one name only), chief of the LTTEīs Peace Secretariat
SIPDIS
-- V. Rudrakumar, a pro-LTTE lawyer living in the U.S.
-- Dr. V.T. Thamilmaran, a law lecturer at Colombo
University with close LTTE links
-- J. Maheswaran, a pro-LTTE Tamil based in Australia with
significant experience on humanitarian assistance issues
6. (SBU)
There are reports that Thamilchelvam may meet with Anton
Balasingham, the LTTEīs London-based chief negotiator,
somewhere in Europe before the Paris meeting takes
place. Balasingham, who has serious health problems,
apparently will not attend the Paris event himself. In the
meantime, the pro-LTTE website "TamilNet" reported that
Thamilchelvam spoke to a rally in the Vanni on August 10. In
his wide-ranging remarks, Thamilchelvam made clear that the
group was intent on preparing a response to the GSLīs
north/east proposal, indicating that the peace talks could
resume if the groupīs (as yet unidentified) counter-proposals
were accepted. He stated, in part: "We would be ready to
resume negotiations if the Sinhala nation accepts our proposal
for the interim administration and follows the path of
peace. We will prepare and submit a proposal for an interim
administration that would essentially reflect the aspirations
and expectations of our people...International legal experts
and senior academics will discuss the proposal before it is
given in final form. An interim administration is
indispensable to mend the war-shattered lives of our people."
Aside from these basically upbeat remarks, Thamilchelvam also
made semi-threatening comments to the effect that Tamils
should be allowed to choose their own "destiny" if the LTTEīs
counter-proposals were rejected by the GSL. He also took the
opportunity to get his licks in against two long-standing
targets of Tiger vituperation, President Kumaratunga and the
Sri Lankan military. Dredging up the history of past military
campaigns, Thamilchelvam basically accused the president and
the army of being warmongers and anti-Tamil in intent.
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COMMENT
=======
7. (C)
Of all of the Norwegian facilitators, Solheim is known to have
the best links with the Tigers. He has dealt with them for
years and knows the topmost LTTE leaders as well as any
outsider. Even with these advantages, settling the camp issue
will be a tough sell for Solheim. The group has taken an
increasingly hard-line stance on the issue. Solheim will have
to use all of his many wiles to convince them that their
stance is self-defeating. As for Paris, the Tigers seem to
want to use the meeting in a genuine way to review legal
issues. Thamilchelvam, for one, appears to be going out of his
way to flag that the Tigers are taking the governmentīs
proposal very seriously. END COMMENT.
8. (U) Minimize considered.
ENTWISTLE