From: Aftenposten
Date: 24.4.2003
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000705
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR D, SA, SA/INS, S/CT
NSC FOR E. MILLARD LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL E.O. 12958: 
DECL: 04-24-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PINS, EAID, CE, NO, JA, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT: In another negative signal, Tigers postpone meeting
of key assistance committee 
Refs: (A) FBIS Reston Va DTG 240442Z 03
 - (B) Colombo 696, and previous
 - (C) Oslo 803 (Notal)
(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Deputy Chief of Mission. Reasons: 1.5 (B, D).

1. (C)
SUMMARY: Late April 23, the Tamil Tigers postponed the next
meeting of a key committee focused on humanitarian assistance
issues. Admitting to being caught off guard, the Norwegian
facilitators are reviewing next steps. The Indian polcouns
told us he thought the decision was another tactical
step. Coupled with their recent withdrawal from the peace
talks, the latest Tiger move places added pressure on the
whole process. END SUMMARY.

================================
Tiger Statement re Key Committee 
================================

2. (U)
In a statement issued late April 23, the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) announced that it was postponing the next
meeting of a key committee focused on humanitarian assistance
issues (see Para 3 for information on this committee). The
statement came in the form of a letter from S.P. Thamilchelvam,
the head of the LTTE´s Political Section, to Ambassador
Bernard Goonetilleke, the head of the GSL´s Peace Secretariat.

SIPDIS

3. (U)
(((Note: Before the LTTE´s April 23 announcement, the next
meeting of the Sub-Committee on Immediate Humanitarian and
Rebilitation Needs in the North and the East, "SIHRN," had
been scheduled to take place April 25-26 in Kilinochchi in the
LTTE-controlled Wanni region. SIHRN, which began operations
earlier this year as agreed in the peace talks, is a joint
committee made up of GSL and LTTE representatives. Norwegian
facilitators and Japanese advisers guide the process. SIHRN
had been holding semi-regular meetings up to this point.)))

4. (U)
The LTTE´s statement attributes the decision to postpone the
meeting to "our leadership´s wish to await action and
implementation on urgent matters" raised in its April 21
announcement that it was pulling out of the peace talks (see
Ref B). The statement, the text of which is contained in Para
8, goes on to complain that: "As you (the GSL) are aware,
urgent action is required on resettlement and rehabilitation
of internally displaced people and of refugees. We wish to
implore the government of Sri Lanka to act on
matters...enabling the return to normal life to people" in the
north and east. The statement wraps up by saying: "We wish to
reiterate that mutual trust and cooperation can be restored
through decisive and urgent action" by the government "to
alleviate the hardships of the people in the northeast."

=============================
Norwegian and Indian Reaction 
=============================

5. (C)
When queried, Norwegian government facilitators admitted to
being caught off guard by the LTTE´s latest action. In an
April 24 conversation, Norwegian embassy polchief Tomas
Stangeland told us the first indication the GoN had that the
meeting was being postponed was a LTTE fax containing
Thamilchelvam´s letter that came in April 23. Up to that time,
the Norwegians, convinced the meeting was on, were preparing
to send their team to Kilinochchi. In response to the
unfolding events, Stangeland said Norwegian Ambassador Hans
Brattskar planned to meet with GSL officials led by chief
negotiator G.L. Peiris to discuss next steps soon. The GoN has
also forwarded a request to Kilinochchi to meet with
Thamilchelvam within the next week (as of late April 24, there
had been no response to this request from the
LTTE). Stangeland added that he thought the decision by the
LTTE to postpone the meeting was completely
counter-productive. He said the Norwegian facilitation effort
would keep plugging away, hoping that the Tigers´ recent
decisions were mere posturing.

6. (C)
In an April 24 meeting, Indian High Commission polchief
Taranjit Sandhu told us the Tigers´ decision was another
"unfortunate" move by the group. He said he thought it was a
"tactical" step by the Tigers, who wanted to put pressure on
the GSL to cave in on various issues, including by reducing
the security zones in Jaffna. India, he commented, had no
indication that the group was intending to leave the peace
process altogether. The GoI would continue to monitor the
situation, however.

=======
COMMENT
=======

7. (C)
Coupled with their withdrawal from the peace talks, the latest
Tiger move places added pressure on the whole process. At this
point, the government and the Norwegians seem to be scrambling
a bit to find a way to respond to the LTTE and, by doing so,
try to prevent further unraveling. While the LTTE is
broadcasting its views, it seems to have turned off the
receive mode, however. Despite all the bad news, there is
still not a sense of panic regarding the state of the peace
process.  That said, skepticism regarding the LTTE is steadily
rising. END COMMENT.

======================
Text of LTTE Statement 
======================

8. (U)
The text of the LTTE statement issued late April 23 follows:
Begin text: Mr. Goonetilleke: In accordance with the decision
of our organization´s leadership to suspend our participation
in the negotiations, we regretfully wish to postpone the next
meeting of the sub committee on immediate humanitarian
rehabilitation needs (SIHRN). It is our leadership´s wish to
await action and implementation on urgent matters raised by
Mr. A. Balasingham in his letter to the prime minister,
Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremsinghe, prior to setting a date for the
next meeting. As you are aware, urgent action is required on
resettlement and rehabilitation of internally displaced people
and of refugees. We also wish to implore the government of Sri
Lanka to take immediate steps to act on matters already agreed
at previous meetings of the sub-committee and ensure
humanitarian and rehabilitation projects in the northeast are
implemented enabling the return of normal life to the people
living there. In the meantime, we are also hopeful that all
efforts will be made by your government to urgently seek the
funds from pledges made by several international donors at the
Oslo conference on 25th November last year to be targeted for
identified projects through the northeast reconstruction fund
(NERF). In the last few months, from announcements made at our
meetings, expectations among the people of the northeast have
been raised to a high level. Therefore it would be meaningless
for the sub-committee to continue to meet regularly without
any tangible action on the ground.  While we regret that we
are compelled to postpone the next meeting of the SIHRN, we
wish to reiterate that mutual trust and cooperation can be
restored through decisive and urgent action from the
government of Sri Lanka to alleviate the hardships of the
people in the northeast. Yours Truly, S.P. Thamilchelvam Head,
Political Section Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam End text.

9. (U) Minimize considered.

WILLS