US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1693

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001693 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  09-30-03 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KPAO, CE, IZ, UN, Political Parties 
SUBJECT:  Prime Minister's vocal support for Coalition 
intervention in Iraq nets small backlash at home 
 
Refs:  (A) SA/INS - Colombo 09/29/03 class e-mail 
-      (B) Colombo 1688, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by James F. Entwistle, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons 1.5 (b, d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's 
remarks supporting Coalition actions in Iraq during his 
recent UNGA address have netted a small backlash, with 
several newspapers criticizing the PM's stand as being 
too pro-U.S.  In discussions, observers had a mixed 
reaction as to whether the PM would pay a political 
price at home for his views.  At this point, despite the 
flak, there is every sign that PM Wickremesinghe will 
continue to steer GSL foreign policy in a direction 
friendly to the U.S.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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PM's Statement on Iraq 
---------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's comments 
supporting Coalition actions in Iraq during his 
September 26 address at the UN General Assembly have 
sparked a small backlash at home.  The speech, which 
focused mainly on Sri Lanka's peace process and UN 
structural reforms, included the following reference to 
Iraq: 
 
"There are members in this hall today who believe 
passionately that the United States and their allies 
were wrong to intervene in Iraq.  Then there are those 
of us who feel that the United States and their allies 
had no choice but to intervene, that the failure of the 
UN had created the need for a world policeman however 
reluctant it might be.  But Iraq is more than a 
divergence of views on a major issue.  It shows the 
inadequacies of the present collective security system. 
A decision-making system which grappled with the issue 
of Iraq for over a decade without solution and created a 
deadlock at a most critical time." 
 
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A Small Backlash 
---------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) The Sri Lankan press initially covered the 
PM's speech as a straightforward news story, but there 
were soon rumblings that his comments had gone too far 
in a pro-U.S. direction.  The following two passages 
from recent editorials are a sampling of this negative 
reaction: 
 
-- In its September 28 edition, the SUNDAY TIMES, an 
independent English language weekly, characterized the 
PM's stance re Iraq as "bold and brazen," and questioned 
"...will this government also attract unwarranted 
attention as a lackey-state running after the pot of 
gold represented by U.S. largesse in the short term, at 
the expense of her self-respect and international 
solidarity for a better world in the long term?" 
 
-- In its September 29 edition, THE ISLAND, an 
independent opposition daily, in an editorial headlined 
"Sri Lanka as a hireling," stated "...Prime Minister 
Ranil Wickremesinghe in his address to the UN General 
Assembly on Friday, kicked, well and truly into our own 
goal by subscribing to the much disputed view that the 
U.S.-led allies had to invade Iraq faute de mieux.  He 
didn't stop at that.  He sought to justify the emergence 
of a global policeman by blaming it on what he perceived 
as failure of the UN.  The statement was highly uncalled 
for in that other countries like France and Germany have 
their reservations about the matter.  Why should Sri 
Lanka commit herself to someone else's war?" 
 
4.  (U) Late September 29, the radical Janatha Vimukthi 
Peramuna (JVP) party issued a statement criticizing the 
PM's remarks regarding Iraq. 
 
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Political Soundings 
------------------- 
 
5.  (C) In discussions with emboffs, observers had mixed 
reactions as to whether Prime Minister Wickremesinghe 
would pay a political price at home for his views. 
Reaction included: 
 
-- Jehan Perera, an analyst at the National Peace 
Council, a local think-tank, told polchief September 30 
that he thought the PM would pay a "stiff" political 
price for his pro-U.S. stance.  The Prime Minister, he 
asserted, had "crossed the line" and become too close to 
the U.S.  Sri Lankans, especially left-wing and Muslim 
elements, would notice the PM's positioning and react in 
a highly negative way.  Perera said he could not 
understand why the PM had taken such a friendly view of 
U.S. intervention in Iraq at UNGA when his government 
had been more lukewarm earlier in the year in its public 
pronouncements on the matter.  (Note:  The GSL's major 
public statement re the Iraq war issued on March 20 was 
relatively constructive, but with nuances -- see 
Reftels.  It cited Iraq's failure to disarm and also 
expressed "confidence" that the coalition would move to 
minimize any negative impacts the war might have.  The 
statement, however, went on to underscore the central 
role the UN should play regarding war and peace issues.) 
 
-- Taranjit Sandhu, political counselor at the Indian 
High Commission, told polchief that he thought the 
negative press play was indeed indicative of some 
opposition to the PM's comments within Sri Lanka's body 
politic.  He doubted that such resistance would amount 
to much, however, given the PM's "strong" political 
position at home at this time.  Elaborating, Sandhu said 
he did not think most Sri Lankans had noticed the PM's 
UNGA address in any case -- they remained more focused 
on the peace process and the local economic situation, 
and news in these areas was basically positive. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
6.  (C) Despite the flak he has received at home over 
his UNGA remarks, there is every sign that PM 
Wickremesinghe will continue to steer GSL foreign policy 
in a direction friendly to the U.S.  As reported 
previously, the Prime Minister appears to have made a 
determination quite early in his tenure that he wanted a 
closer relationship with the U.S. than that maintained 
by the previous government.  His comments at UNGA and 
Sri Lanka's recent helpfulness at Cancun on trade issues 
were only the latest and the most public examples of 
this long-standing policy, which included signing an ICC 
Article 98 agreement with the U.S. in November 2002.  As 
flagged above, in spite of the editorials, we do not 
think his pro-U.S. "tilt" will cause him many problems. 
END COMMENT. 
 
7.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD