US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1490

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001490 
 
SIPDIS 
 
OFFICIAL INFORMAL 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O.  12958:  DECL:  08/26/13 
TAGS: AMGT, CE, MV, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  OFFICIAL INFORMAL NUMBER 123  (08/26/03) 
 
CLASSIFIED BY CHARGE' JAMES F. ENTWISTLE; REASONS 1.5 B, 
D. 
 
CONTENTS:  PEACE PROCESS UPDATE 
-          GORM PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION PROCESS 
           GUANTANAMO MALDIVIAN 
 TREASURY ADVISOR TOR SIGNED 
 
PEACE PROCESS UPDATE 
-------------------- 
 
1. (C) FYI.  Just wanted to flag the following peace 
track items: 
 
-- Paris Meeting:  Beyond that reviewed in Colombo 1482, 
we have no new news to report re the LTTE's Paris 
meeting.  The Norwegian Embassy here told us that Special 
Envoy Erik Solheim was slated to join the LTTE meeting 
today or tomorrow, as expected. 
 
-- Latest on LTTE Camp:  We checked with the SLMM and 
confirmed press reports that the monitors held a meeting 
on August 25 with LTTE officials (local Trincomalee 
leaders Pathuman and Thilak) re the unauthorized "Wan 
Ela" camp in the east.  The Tigers seemed a tad more 
accommodating on the matter than in the past, indicating 
that it was fine with them if the monitors visited the 
Wan Ela camp, as well as other LTTE camps in the area. 
The Tigers said they would study the SLMM's request to 
vacate the site and get back on the issue in a week or 
so. 
 
-- Threat by Muslim MPs:  We had mentioned in yesterday's 
o/i reports that two MPs aligned with Rauf Hakeem's Sri 
Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) were considering leaving the 
party for the Opposition.  The two MP's, who are angry 
about the recent LTTE-instigated violence in the east, 
are still debating their course of action, but have not 
taken the plunge and joined the PA yet.  We understand 
that both men have threatened to defect before, but were 
talked out of it by Hakeem (who no doubt provided them 
some carrots to stay on -- he does not have many sticks). 
As we noted yesterday, if the two cross-over to the PA, 
the UNF coalition would technically lose its majority in 
Parliament, but, with almost certain support from Tamil 
parties, would not fall.  There is no crisis atmosphere 
over this matter, but it is a headache for the 
government.  (POL) 
 
-- Situation in East:  Based on what we are hearing, the 
east appears to be calming down a bit after the 
turbulence of the past week or so.  There was a LTTE- 
instigated work stoppage in Trincomalee on August 25, but 
no reports of violence.  As flagged in Colombo 1482, two 
Muslims, who were presumably grabbed by the LTTE in the 
east, remain missing.  Four Tamil youths, who were 
reportedly nabbed by Muslims, also remain missing. 
 
--  JVP protest march:  The radical leftist Janathi 
Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has been conducting a protest 
march from the southern town of Galle to Colombo the last 
several days.  Onlookers have described the march, which 
began on August 25, as "peaceful," with participants 
shouting anti-GSL and anti-Norwegian slogans (the Norgies 
are fondly called the "white tigers").  The march is 
scheduled to wind up in Colombo on August 28.  By the 
way, the JVP and the SLFP (the main constituent element 
of the PA) are scheduled to meet today re their possible 
alliance.  Per Colombo 1406, there still seem to be 
stumbling blocks dividing the two sides, and no one 
expects a "joint pact" to be signed and sealed in the 
near-term.  (POL) 
 
 
GORM PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION PROCESS 
----------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) FYI.  In a conversation with polchief on August 
25, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, Permanent Secretary in the 
Maldivian MFA, confirmed that exact dates had yet to be 
set for the presidential selection vote in the Majlis 
("parliament"), or the subsequent "yes/no" national 
referendum.  Shaheed expected that the Majlis vote would 
be in mid-to-late September, with the request for 
candidates being issued just after September 11.  The 
national referendum would probably take place in October 
and the presidential inauguration in November, he noted. 
This timeframe is consistent with our reporting in 
Colombo 1384.  Gayoom remains hands down favorite to win. 
(POL) 
 
GUANTANAMO MALDIVIAN 
-------------------- 
 
3. (C)  We'll send in a frontchannel on our very 
interesting discussion this morning with the two 
Maldivian officials who interviewed their compatriot in 
Guantanamo.  While the GORM still wants to run down some 
angles on the gentleman's case, we will not be surprised 
if we are asked in the months ahead to return the fellow 
to Male'.  (CDA) 
 
TREASURY ADVISOR TOR SIGNED 
--------------------------- 
 
4. (SBU) We wanted to let you know that the Terms of 
Reference for the second Treasury Advisor on Debt 
Management was signed by Ministry of Finance Secretary 
Ratwatte and U.S. Treasury's Debra von Koch.  Treasury 
will be looking for USAID funding to come through, and 
for a candidate to fill this position.  Please keep us 
informed on the NSDD-38 process for the new Treasury 
personnel.  (ECON) 
 
ENTWISTLE