“The Karuna group is probably the most active Sri Lankan paramilitary in abductions and extrajudicial killings. On March 20, former Tamil MP and legal expert Dr. K. Vigneswaran (strictly protect) confided to PolOff that even MPs fear that the GSL will use Karuna to assassinate them. Colombo-area Tamil MP and Chairman of the Civil Monitoring Commission Mano Ganesan echoed this anxiety to us on March 29. A number of other MPs, Muslims as well as Tamils, have told us privately that they fear for their lives. Vigneswaran 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. Vigneswaran 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).” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.

Karuna, Douglas and the President

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. The cable was written by the Ambassador Robert O. Blake on May 18, 2007.

The ambassador wrote; “Father Bernard, a Catholic priest from Jaffna, confirmed that Karuna has extended his activities to Jaffna from his base in the East. Bernard has documented 52 new abduction cases in Jaffna in the month of March 2007, many of which he believes are the responsibility of the Karuna group. In February 2007, he presented more than 200 files to One-Man Commissioner (and personal friend of the President) Mahanama Tilakaratne. However, Bernard told PolOff that he was discouraged with the One-Man Commission (ref B), since Tilakaratne had not made the effort to investigate even a single case in Jaffna. Father Bernard told us he has evidence of 747 abductions in Jaffna from November 2005 to February 2007. However, because of GSL interference and limited resources, he was only able to document a sample of 200 of these cases for presentation to Tilakaratne. Father Bernard 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.'”

We publish below the relevant part of the cable;

Related posts to this cable;

WkiLeaks: Gota Authorized Paramilitary Operations – Sri Ranga

WikiLealks: Major General Chandrasiri Confided MOD Instruction To US

WikiLeaks: EPDP Sold Jaffna Children: Girls To Prostitution Rings And Boys To Slavery

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 

E.O. 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)

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

¶6.  (S) The Karuna group is probably the most active Sri
Lankan paramilitary in abductions and extrajudicial killings.
 On March 20, former Tamil MP and legal expert Dr. K.
Vigneswaran (strictly protect) confided to PolOff that even
MPs fear that the GSL will use Karuna to assassinate them.
Colombo-area Tamil MP and Chairman of the Civil Monitoring
Commission Mano Ganesan echoed this anxiety to us on March
¶29.  A number of other MPs, Muslims as well as Tamils, have
told us privately that they fear for their lives.
Vigneswaran 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.
Vigneswaran 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) Father Bernard, a Catholic priest from Jaffna,
confirmed that Karuna has extended his activities to Jaffna
from his base in the East.  Bernard has documented 52 new
abduction cases in Jaffna in the month of March 2007, many of
which he believes are the responsibility of the Karuna group.
 In February 2007, he presented more than 200 files to
One-Man Commissioner (and personal friend of the President)
Mahanama Tilakaratne.  However, Bernard told PolOff that he
was discouraged with the One-Man Commission (ref B), since
Tilakaratne had not made the effort to investigate even a
single case in Jaffna.  Father Bernard told us he has 

COLOMBO 00000728  003 OF 006 

evidence of 747 abductions in Jaffna from November 2005 to
February 2007.  However, because of GSL interference and
limited resources, he was only able to document a sample of
200 of these cases for presentation to Tilakaratne.  Father
Bernard 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."

BLAKE