Friday, 18 May 2007, 09:22
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 06 COLOMBO 000728
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
MCC FOR S GROFF, D TETER, D NASSIRY AND E BURKE
EO 12958 DECL: 05/18/2017
TAGS PGOV, PREL, PTER, PHUM, MOPS, CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: GSL COMPLICITY IN PARAMILITARY
FACTIONS' HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
REF: A. COLOMBO 591 B. COLOMBO 561 C. COLOMBO 463 D. COLOMBO
460 E. 2006 COLOMBO 2056 F. 2006 COLOMBO 1896 G. 2005 COLOMBO
2157 H. 2004 COLOMBO 1219
Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons
1.4(b, d)

¶1. (S) SUMMARY: Allegations of government complicity in
crimes committed by organized paramilitary groups have
mounted in the last year. Paramilitaries such as the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-breakaway Karuna
group and Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) have helped
the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) to fight the LTTE, to
kidnap suspected LTTE collaborators, and to give the GSL a
measure of deniability. The GSL, which denies any links to
paramilitary groups, has recently touted its efforts to
improve its human rights record, such as the re-publication
of procedures on arrests and detentions and the appointment
of a "One-Man Commission" to investigate reported
disappearances (ref C). However, these efforts so far appear
aimed more at improving Sri Lanka's image abroad and have yet
to produce concrete improvements in the human rights
situation. Outside the capital, the incidence of human rights
abuses has continued, including extrajudicial killings,
abductions, child trafficking, extortion, and prostitution.
President Rajapaksa's government, strapped for cash, has cut
direct payments to paramilitaries initiated by former
President Kumaratunga and instead turns a blind eye to
extortion and kidnapping for ransom by EPDP and Karuna. While
many of the charges against the government have been made in
public fora, a growing number of trusted Embassy contacts,
often at personal risk, have described in detail the extent
of the GSL's involvement with paramilitary groups. END
SUMMARY.

GSL Finds Paramilitaries Useful
-------------------------------

¶2. (S) The GSL sees several advantages in allowing
paramilitary groups to operate in the country. Paramilitary
groups in the North and East help the GSL fight the LTTE and
compete with the LTTE for public support and new recruits.
These groups also enhance security in Colombo by kidnapping
and sometimes killing those suspected of working with the
LTTE. Frequent abductions by paramilitaries keep critics of
the GSL fearful and quiet. Ultimately, the GSL's objective is
to turn Karuna and EPDP leader Douglas Devananda into pro-GSL
political leaders in the East and North, respectively. The
government hopes this will ensure long term control over
these areas even if some form of devolution is instituted.

¶3. (S) In the meantime, these paramilitary groups give the
GSL a measure of deniability. XXXXX
 told us that some military commanders in JaffnaXXXXX want to
clamp down on paramilitaries but have orders from Defense
Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa to not interfere with the
paramilitaries on the grounds that they are doing "work" that
the military cannot do because of international scrutiny. On
XXXXX confided to XXXXX that the Defense Ministry had
instructed him not to interfere with "military intelligence"
operations (ref E).

COLOMBO 00000728 002 OF 006

¶4. (S) The GSL has a history of funding paramilitary
groups. XXXXX pointed out that under former President
Kumaratunga, the GSL had begun the practice of paying
paramilitaries to refrain from engaging in criminal pursuits.
Several Embassy interlocutors have independently confirmed
this. However, XXXXX said that the current government,
cash-strapped, has ended this arrangement. Instead, he
alleged, Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa has authorized
EPDP and Karuna to collect the money from Tamil businessmen.
This may account for the sharp rise in lawlessness,
especially extortion and kidnapping, that many have
documented in Vavuniya and Colombo. Even though EPDP and
Karuna are each comprised nearly exclusively of ethnic
Tamils, the crimes that they commit are almost always against
other Tamils.

Karuna Group Becomes Pre-eminent Paramilitary
---------------------------------------------

¶5. (S) The Karuna faction's formal name is Tamil Makkal
Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), which means "Liberation Tigers of
the Tamil People" in Tamil. This name is an attempt to sap
legitimacy from the LTTE by taking the "Liberation Tigers"
part of their name. In less than one year since Karuna
returned to Sri Lanka, the TMVP has become the most powerful
paramilitary organization in the country. It began in 2004
when Karuna broke away from the LTTE, taking about 4,000
Tiger cadres with him (ref H). After the LTTE struck back,
inflicting serious losses, then-President Chandrika
Kumaratunga helped Karuna escape to the Indian state of Tamil
Nadu, where he remained until July 2006. He remained active
in managing his cadres even while living abroad. Since
returning to Sri Lanka, Karuna has used strong-arm tactics to
establish a powerful paramilitary group that operates under
government protection (ref D).

Abductions and Killings
-----------------------

¶6. (S) The Karuna group is probably the most active Sri
Lankan paramilitary in abductions and extrajudicial killings.
XXXXX confided to PolOff that even MPs fear that the GSL will
use Karuna to assassinate them. XXXXX echoed this anxiety to
us XXXXX. A number of XXXXX MPs, Muslims as well as Tamils,
have told us privately that they fear for their lives. XXXXX
stated that he believed Karuna set up the assassination of
Tamil MP Joseph Pararajasingham on Christmas Day 2005 (ref G)
with the help of EPDP leader Devananda. XXXXX was also
positive that Karuna cadres were employed in the killing in
Colombo of popular Tamil MP Nadarajah Raviraj on November 10,
2006 (ref F).

¶7. (S) XXXXX confirmed that Karuna has extended his
activities to Jaffna from his base in the East. XXXXX has
documented XXXXX abduction cases in Jaffna XXXXX, many of
which he believes are the responsibility of the Karuna group.
XXXXX told PolOff that he was discouraged XXXXX told us he has
COLOMBO 00000728 003 OF 006
evidence of XXXXX. However, because of XXXXX and limited
resources, he was only able to document a sample XXXXX.XXXXX
described one abduction in which a man suspected of having
ties to the LTTE was taken and a "calling card" was left with
a picture of Karuna on the front and a calendar on the back,
indicating that the man's "time had run out."

Child Soldiers
--------------

¶8. (S) The TMVP is allowed to operate throughout the East
in close proximity to SLA bases, often with clearly underage
cadres guarding its camps with machine guns. XXXXX stated
that the GSL allows Karuna's cadres to recruit children
forcibly from within IDP camps in the East. XXXXX said the
average age of Karuna recruits is 14. XXXXX's allegation that
Karuna recruits children from IDP camps with the tacit
approval of the military was confirmed by XXXXX. We have
received confidential reports of the Karuna group's
recruitment and use of child soldiers from a U.S.-based NGO
as well.

Extortion and Prostitution Rings
--------------------------------

¶9. (S) Karuna does not have the international fund-raising
network among the Tamil Diaspora that the LTTE has built over
the past 25 years. As a result, he has resorted to a wide
range of criminal activities. XXXXX stated that when the GSL
brings in shipments of food and supplies to IDP camps from
Colombo, Karuna's cadres are given the opportunity to go
through the shipment first. They are allowed to take any food
they need for themselves, as well as any supplies they
believe they can sell, with only the left-overs making their
way to the IDPs.


¶11. (S) XXXXX also explained that Karuna operates
prostitution rings out of the IDP camps to "take care of" GSL
soldiers, stating that the women "had no choice" but to
acquiesce to Karuna cadres' demands. XXXXX and XXXXX
independently described how women are forced into
prostitution, or to give up their children to traffickers.
The methods are similar to those in Jaffna (paras 17-18).
Families sometimes try to arrange their daughters' marriages
at the age of 12 or 13 in the hope that it will reduce the
likelihood of their being forced into prostitution.

¶12. (S) Although the GSL has consistently denied supporting
Karuna, XXXXX allowed PolOff to listen to tapes of his
interview with Gothabaya. The Defense Secretary was effusive
in his praise for Karuna and the
SIPDIS benefits the GSLXXXXX
COLOMBO 00000728 004 OF 006

Making Karuna Legitimate
------------------------

¶13. (S) XXXXX The TMVP does not yet have the status of a
formal political party. According to Sri Lanka's
Constitution, new parties cannot register when an election is
"pending" in any part of the country. Elections for local
councils are long overdue in the Northern and Eastern
Provinces, which are now in constitutional limbo following
the October 1, 2006 Supreme Court decision to de-merge the
two provinces. As a result, the GSL must find an existing
political party for Karuna to "join," perhaps later changing
the name to TMVP, in order for Karuna to stand for elections.
XXXXX said thatXXXXX has so far resisted GSL efforts to force
a shotgun marriage with Karuna, but that he may ultimately
have to yield.

EPDP: "Political Party" and Paramilitary
-----------------------------------------

¶14. (S) The EPDP, originally called the Eelam People's
Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), began as a rival to
the LTTE. One wing of the EPRLF founded the EPDP as a formal
political party when its leader, Douglas Devananda, was
elected to Parliament in 1994 and aligned with the
government. Devananda continues to hold the single
parliamentary seat his party won in the 2004 election. As
part of the ruling coalition, he serves as Minister of Social
Services and Social Welfare. Although registered as a formal
political party, the EPDP remains a feared paramilitary
group, wielding non-official power over parts of the Jaffna
peninsula and especially the offshore islands with the tacit
approval of the Sri Lanka Army.

Extra-Judicial Killings with the Military's Support
--------------------------------------------- ------

¶15. (S) Working in concert with SLA soldiers stationed in
the Jaffna peninsula, the EPDP is able to conduct extortion,
abductions, extra-judicial killings and other criminal acts
without fear of consequences, according to numerous sources.
XXXXX told us about EPDP's involvement in extra-judicial
killings in Jaffna. Independently,XXXXX confirmed much of
XXXXX's account. He explained that when the EPDP intends to
kill a target, they first provide notice to the military. The
number of soldiers patrolling the streets of Jaffna (40,000
total on the peninsula) is such that there are literally
soldiers stationed at every street corner. At an agreed time,
all of the soldiers in the designated area take a five to ten
minute "break" at once (although the normal practice is to
take breaks in shifts). At that point, armed and masked
gunmen, often riding on motorcycles, race down the street and
assassinate the intended victim. Shortly after the killing,
the soldiers' break over, they return to their posts to deal
with the aftermath. While police investigations are common,
they almost never lead to arrests. XXXXX also told us of a
XXXXX doctor XXXXX who performs forced abortions, often under
the guise of a regular check-up, on Tamil women suspected of
being aligned with the LTTE.

COLOMBO 00000728 005 OF 006

¶16. (S) XXXXX Child Trafficking
-----------------

¶17. (S) XXXXX said he believes that EPDP is operating child
trafficking rings in Jaffna with a base on Delft island,
which the EPDP "owns." XXXXX explained that because of the
large number of widows in Jaffna, men associated with the
EPDP, often from neighboring villages, are used to seduce
women with children, especially girls, with the promise of
economic protection. After establishing a relationship, the
men then take the children, sometimes by force and sometimes
with the promise that they will be provided a better life.
The children are sold into slavery, usually boys to work
camps and girls to prostitution rings, through EPDP's
networks in India and Malaysia. XXXXX maintains that children
are often smuggled out of the country with the help of a
corrupt Customs and Immigration official at Bandaranaike
International Airport in Colombo.

¶18. (S) XXXXX's story was partially verified by XXXXX who
stated that the EPDP works in concert with the Sri Lanka Army
(SLA) to operate Tamil prostitution rings for the soldiers.
XXXXX stated that young women were taken and forced to have
sex with between five and ten soldiers a night. Sometimes
they are paid approximately a dollar for each "service." The
young women's parents are unable to complain to authorities
for fear of retribution and because doing so would ruin the
girls' reputation, making it impossible for them ever to
marry. Families have begun arranging marriages for their
daughters at a very young age in the hopes that the EPDP and
soldiers will be less likely to take them. In addition to
trafficking in children, XXXXX detailed how the EPDP operates
an illicit alcohol smuggling ring using child "mules."

U.S. Takes a Hard Line against Paramilitaries
---------------------------------------------

¶19. (S) Addressing the activities of these paramilitaries
and their blatant disregard for human rights is a top
priority of the Embassy. Ambassador, DCM and Pol Chief have
met repeatedly with the President, the Foreign Minister,
Foreign Secretary, Defense Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa,
Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe and others to
emphasize the importance of reining in these groups and
ending the abductions, killings, and other human rights
abuses. Visiting senior USG officials, including Assistant
Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) Richard
SIPDIS Boucher and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for
SCA Steven Mann have delivered tough messages on human rights
to the highest levels of the GSL, noting that continued
abuses could affect defense cooperation.

COLOMBO 00000728 006 OF 006

¶20. (S) COMMENT: While none of the evidence put forward by
our contacts constitutes a smoking gun, the preponderance of
these statements ) and the extent to which they independently
corroborate each other ) points to a pattern of GSL
complicity with paramilitary groups on multiple levels. It
appears that this involvement goes beyond merely turning a
blind eye to these organizations' less savory activities. At
worst, these accounts suggest that top leaders of its
security establishment may be providing direction to these
paramilitaries. While it is perhaps understandable that the
GSL wants to use every possible means in its war against LTTE
terror, we must continue to stress to the Government the
importance of reining in the paramilitaries and establishing
internationally accepted norms for arresting, investigating,
prosecuting and, if appropriate, punishing those suspected of
cooperating with the LTTE. BLAKE