US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1666

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 001666 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, NP, T, S/CT 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  09-25-13 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, MNUC, PARM, CE, MV 
SUBJECT:  PSI:  Sri Lanka continues to review "Statement 
of Interdiction Principles" document 
 
Refs:  (A) State 272470  (C) State 262197 
 
-      (B) Colombo 1543  (D) State 254587 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead. 
Reasons 1.5 (b, d). 
 
1.  (C) Per Ref A, Mission followed up on September 25 
with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
regarding its reaction to the Proliferation Security 
Initiative (PSI) "Statement of Interdiction Principles" 
document.  Rohan Perera, the MFA's Legal Adviser, told 
us that the GSL continues to review the document.  The 
GSL is examining the initiative in a "favorable" manner, 
he said, though it understands that its focus is on WMD, 
and not conventional weapons of the sort smuggled by the 
Tamil Tigers.  Perera added that there is a bit of a 
"vacuum" at the MFA at this time with the former foreign 
secretary just departing and the new one not yet in 
 
SIPDIS 
place.  This might hold up the GSL's development of 
substantive points regarding PSI. 
 
 
2.  (SBU) The Ambassador has also been in touch with 
British High Commissioner Stephen Evans on this matter. 
Evans, acting on instructions from London, is 
coordinating with other PSI participant embassies to 
arrange a joint demarche to the Sri Lankan government on 
this subject soon. 
 
3.  (SBU) Mission has not received any reaction from the 
Maldivian government regarding PSI. 
 
4.  (C/NF) COMMENT:  As alluded to by Perera, the focus 
of the GSL regarding sea interdiction is on the 
conventional arms resupply activities of the terrorist 
Tamil Tigers.  PSI's focus on WMD and the GSL's focus on 
countering Tamil Tiger activities are not mutually 
exclusive, of course, and our guess is that the GSL will 
be willing to support PSI.  The GSL, for example, has 
proven to be very helpful to the USG regarding the issue 
of suspect vessels in the past.  We are working together 
with the UK to develop a representative group of PSI 
members, as we think such an approach would be useful. 
END COMMENT. 
 
5.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD