US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1918

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001918 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR D, SA, SA/INS, S/CT, DS/DSS/ITA, DS/IP/NEA/SA 
DEPT ALSO PLEASE PASS TOPEC 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  11-05-13 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PINS, PTER, ASEC, MOPS, ECON, CASC, CE, NO, LTTE - Peace Process, PLO 
SUBJECT:  President Affirms Commitment to Negotiated 
Settlement and Cease-fire 
 
REFS:  (A) COLOMBO 1916 (B) COLOMBO 1917 
 
(U) CLASSIFIED BY CHARGE' D'AFFAIRES JAMES F. ENTWISTLE. 
REASONS 1.5 (b, d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary.  President Kumaratunga called in the 
Charge' November 5 to clarify her actions.  She said she is 
committed to maintaining the ceasefire with the LTTE and to 
reaching a "negotiated settlement" with the Tigers.  She 
wishes the Prime Minister success in this regard but felt 
she had no choice but to take over the Defense and Interior 
portfolios after what she sees as a two-year history of the 
LTTE being allowed to "run wild."  She told the Charge' that 
her imposition of a state of emergency is a preemptive 
action to be used in case the Prime Minister's supporters 
take to the streets.  The Charge' told the President that 
the U.S. is paying close attention to the safety and 
security of American citizens.  The President assured the 
Charge' that American citizens should go about their 
business and should not change travel plans.  In particular, 
she said U.S. military cooperation activities already under 
way should continue.  The President seemed self-confident 
and composed but unable to avoid veering into lengthy 
historical accounts of the Prime Minister's alleged perfidy 
over the years.  This clearly is personal.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (C) President Chandrika Bandanaraike Kumaratunga called 
in the Charge' late on November 5.  With her foreign affairs 
advisor Lakshman Kadirgarmar sitting in, the President told 
the Charge' that she wanted to make sure that Washington got 
the "full story" on the actions she had taken to "ensure the 
integrity of the nation," especially in light of the "lies" 
that are being spread against her. 
 
3.  (C) The President said that she had originally intended 
to keep the defense portfolio, as Presidents historically 
have.  PM Wickremasinghe had "whined so much" about how he 
needed to put his own defense minister in to move forward on 
the peace process that "I gave it to him and have regretted 
it ever since."  The President then went through an 
exhaustive review of various "failings" by the Prime 
Minister in his dealings with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam (LTTE), in particular, according to her, repeated 
instances in which he had turned a "blind eye" to the Tigers 
efforts to rearm and re-equip, in order to not damage the 
"peace process."  The President said she had had enough and, 
after the latest flap with General Tellefsen, the head of 
the Scandinavian monitoring mission, and after two years of 
"being ignored" by the PM on defense matters, decided that 
she had to act to take back control.  The President stressed 
her commitment to a "negotiated settlement" ("I like that 
term better than `peace process.'") but said the PM's 
efforts had allowed the LTTE to "run wild" since "they 
realized that Ranil would allow anything to keep the peace 
process going."  "I will be gently firm with the Tigers but 
they can't be allowed to dance a jig whenever they want." 
 
4.  (C) In the same vein, the President said, she had taken 
over the Interior Ministry to ensure that the police 
function (which historically had resided in Defense, 
according to her) would also be used "for the benefit of the 
nation."  It had been necessary to take back the Mass 
Communications Ministry in order to ensure that the "PM's 
boys don't twist things."  Asked why she had taken back the 
Finance Ministry (which had been "confirmed" to us shortly 
before the meeting), President Kumaratunga looked at the 
Charge' blankly and said she had done no such thing and had 
never even considered it. 
 
5.  (C) Turning to the suspension of Parliament, the 
President said that was necessary to "let things cool down" 
for two weeks and allow people to adjust to the steps she 
had taken.  She acknowledged that the suspension would delay 
the budget debate by a week, but she said that was not a 
significant consideration in light of the other "grave 
matters" facing the country. 
 
6.  (C) Asked about the state of emergency, the President 
said this was a preemptive action so that the military would 
have the necessary powers in hand in case the Prime 
Minister's party loyalists tried to take to the streets. 
She asked that Washington be informed that she is not 
imposing a "state of siege" and that the "jackboots are not 
marching down the street."  "I fervently hope I will not 
have to use any emergency powers."  Rumors to the contrary, 
she said, no curfew has been imposed. 
 
7.  (C) The Charge' told the President that the primary 
concern in Washington was whether her actions were intended 
to scuttle the peace process at a key, delicate moment.  The 
President said that nothing could be further from the truth. 
The Charge' also told the President that the U.S. was 
following the situation on the ground very closely in terms 
of the security and safety of American citizens.  So far, we 
see no cause for alarm but we would continue to pay close 
attention, especially now that terms like "state of 
emergency" were in play.  In particular, he noted, the U.S. 
by coincidence had a number of military cooperation 
activities under way.  We intended to continue with these 
unless the situation became unsafe or we were told to stand 
down.  The President said that safety and security were her 
highest priorities.  She asked that Washington be informed 
that the "situation on the streets" is fine and that there 
is no reason that Americans should not continue to go about 
their business and to travel to Sri Lanka as planned.  The 
President said she plans to "address the nation in greater 
detail" on November 6 and would underline those points in 
those remarks.  She also noted that, "as the new Defense 
Minister," she was very pleased to hear about ongoing 
military cooperation activities and that these should 
proceed as planned. 
 
8.  (C) In conclusion, the President asked that the Charge' 
convey the following points to Washington: 
 
--she is well aware of and grateful for the positive role 
the U.S. is playing in trying to end the conflict in Sri 
Lanka.  She asked that her warm regards be conveyed to 
President Bush and said she hoped to meet him soon. 
 
--she is fully committed to maintaining the cease-fire 
agreement with the LTTE. 
 
--she has no intention of "chasing out" the Norwegians from 
their facilitation role or the Scandinavian monitors from 
their "important work." 
 
--"My commitment to a negotiated settlement is unwavering." 
 
9.  (C) Comment.  The President appeared self-confident and 
composed (as did her pet dog which wandered in and out of 
the room).  That said, she constantly detoured into long, 
angry rants against the Prime Minister for his alleged 
personal slights and insults over the years and historical 
accounts of the myriad ways in which the PM has "betrayed" 
the country. This is clearly a strongly felt personal issue 
for her although she seemed sincere when she spoke about how 
she is acting in the interests of the country.  The 
President listened closely as the Charge' outlined the U.S. 
concern for the peace process and for the welfare of U.S. 
citizens.  We will see what she says to the public tomorrow 
but she is clearly determined and hunkered down for a long 
haul.  End Comment. 
 
10.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
ENTWISTLE