By Colombo Telegraph –

A leaked “secret “ US diplomatic cable, dated May 18, 2007, updated the Secretary of State on Sri Lanka’s issue of paramilitary operations shows then military commander in Jaffna and present Governor ,Northern Province Major General  G.A. Chandrasiri, confided Ministry of Defence instruction to US Ambassador Robert O. Blake.

Jaffna Security Forces Commander Major General G.A Chandrasiri escorts US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher and Ambassador Robert O Blake

“In the meantime, these paramilitary groups give the GSL a measure of deniability. Jaffna Government Agent K. Ganesh told us that some military commanders in Jaffna, including Major General Chandrasiri, 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 December 7, 2006, Chandrasiri confided to Ambassador Blake in Jaffna that the Defense Ministry had instructed him not to interfere with ‘military intelligence’ operations (ref E).” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.

The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable is classified as “SECRET” and discuses Sri Lanka’s paramilitary operations and written by the Ambassador Robert O. Blake.

Under the subheading “GSL Finds Paramilitaries Useful” the Ambassador wrote “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.”

“The GSL has a history of funding paramilitary groups. Popular Tamil TV talk show host Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam (strictly protect), who has close personal ties to the Rajapaksa family, 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, Ranga 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” Blake further wrote.

Related news; WkiLeaks: Gota Authorized Paramilitary Operations – Sri Ranga

Below we give the relevant part of the cable;

VZCZCXRO9322
OO RUEHBI RUEHLMC
DE RUEHLM #0728/01 1380922
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 180922Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6072
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0407
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0115
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 7096
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 5189
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3756
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0973
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 3828
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 1087
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2907
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 7682
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 5363
RUEHON/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 0209
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 2046
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

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. Jaffna Government Agent K. Ganesh told us that some military commanders in Jaffna, including Major General Chandrasiri, 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 December 7, 2006, Chandrasiri confided to Ambassador Blake in Jaffna 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. Popular Tamil TV talk show host Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam (strictly protect), who has close personal ties to the Rajapaksa family, 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, Ranga 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).

BLAKE