US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO1942

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001942 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR D, SA, SA/INS, SA/PD, S/CT; DS/DSS/ITA; DS/IP/NEA/SA 
DEPARTMENT ALSO PLEASE PASS TOPEC 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  11-10-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, PTER, ASEC, CE, Political Parties, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  Sri Lanka update:  PM begins next steps in 
governing; President invites PM for talks 
 
Refs:  (A) Colombo-SA/INS 11/10/03 unclass email 
-      (B) Colombo 1930, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead. 
Reasons 1.5 (b, d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has 
begun consulting with party members and members of the 
international community to map out the next steps for 
his government.  Indications are that he may transfer 
control of the peace process to President Kumaratunga, 
given difficulties with her responsibility for defense 
matters.  Reports indicate that Parliamentarians will 
request that the President resume Parliament earlier 
than November 19.  On November 10, President 
Kumaratunga, for her part, invited the PM for talks, 
following her November 7 call for the formation of a 
"government of reconciliation."  Despite earlier 
reports, the President's office now denies that a state 
of emergency was ever declared.  A planned visit by 
Norwegian peace facilitators is still on.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C) PM RETURNS, BEGINS CONSULTING:  Following Prime 
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's November 7 return to 
Colombo, the PM spent the weekend consulting with party 
leaders in an effort to map the next steps for his 
government.  (Note:  The 19-mile journey from the 
airport took the Prime Minister 9 hours as crowds 
thronged the route in a show of support.)  On November 
9, the PM met with Ambassador Lunstead, Norwegian 
Ambassador Hans Brattskar, and separately with Indian 
High Commissioner Nirupam Sen, outlining possible UNP 
actions.  Septel contains a readout of this and other 
meetings. 
 
3.  (C) NO SHARED RESPONSIBILITY FOR PEACE:  G.L. 
Peiris, a key government minister and the United 
National Party (UNP) spokesman told a press conference 
on November 9 that the PM was willing to transfer 
responsibility for the peace process to President 
Kumaratunga.  Referring to the President's control of 
the defense portfolio, Peiris noted that there could not 
be a situation of "shared responsibility" between the 
President and PM.  He further stated that, in the view 
of the government, it would not be possible to proceed 
with the peace process unless one party had full 
control.  Peiris added that "if he (the PM) does not 
control defense, the interior and the media, it is not 
possible for the Prime Minister to accept responsibility 
for the process." 
 
4.  (C) SPEAKER CONVENES PARTY LEADER MEETING:  Speaker 
of Parliament J.M. Perera called a meeting of 
Parliamentary party leaders on November 10 to discuss 
the situation following President Kumaratunga's November 
4-5 actions.  In addition to the PM's United National 
Party (UNP) leaders, members of the Tamil parties -- 
Tamil National Alliance, Ceylon Workers Congress, 
Upcountry People's Front -- as well as the Sri Lanka 
Muslim Congress also attended the meeting.  The 
President's People's Alliance (PA) party, the Muslim 
National Unity Alliance (NUA), and the extremist Marxist 
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) boycotted the meeting. 
According to Mission contacts, of those present at the 
meeting, it was unanimously decided to petition the 
Speaker that Parliament be reconvened on November 12. 
The petition, to be signed November 11, would then be 
submitted to the President. 
 
5.  (C) PRESIDENT INVITES PM FOR TALKS, OUTLINES PLANS 
TO NATION:  Late November 10, the President's office 
released a statement, saying that the President has 
invited the PM for talks regarding her November 7 call 
for a "Grand Alliance" of all parties.  The invitation 
follows her televised November 7 speech (ref A) to the 
nation where President Kumaratunga cited her reasons for 
assuming control of the defense and interior portfolios 
and called for a national government of reconciliation. 
In the speech, the President said her decision to take 
control of the ministries was based on the "callous 
irresponsibility" of the government's actions regarding 
defense and police matters.  Later, she shared her 
proposals for Sri Lanka's future, including: 
 
-- Grand Alliance:  The President called on all parties 
in Parliament, asking them to join her in a "Grand 
Alliance" with the objective of forming a "Government of 
National Reconstruction and Reconciliation." 
 
-- Ceasefire:  Despite declaring the ceasefire "invalid" 
because it was not "signed under the hand of the 
President," she later stated that the ceasefire "will 
continue to stand."  The President further said that the 
armed forces "have been instructed by me to abide by the 
ceasefire agreement." 
 
-- Norwegian Facilitators:  Qualifying her support for 
the Norwegians as peace process facilitators, the 
President indicated the Norwegians' efforts will 
continue with "clear instructions regarding the 
parameters and limits of their responsibilities." 
 
-- Peace Process:  The President called upon the Prime 
Minister to continue the peace process, while she 
retained responsibility for defense issues. 
 
-- Parliament:  Referring to its two-week suspension, 
the President declared that Parliament "will meet from 
November 19 onwards." 
 
6.  (C) NO STATE OF EMERGENCY, DESPITE EARLIER REPORTS: 
In an official press release on November 7, the 
President's office said that a state of emergency had 
not been signed by the President.  Contrary to earlier 
media reports (November 4-6) that a state of emergency 
had been declared and the President's own November 5 
admission to Charge' about the state of emergency (see 
Ref B), the press release stated that emergency 
regulations had been prepared only for an "eventuality." 
Those draft regulations, the release said, led to the 
belief that a state of emergency had actually been 
declared.  Instead, the President reportedly ordered 
armed forces to protect certain government 
installations, under public security ordinances already 
in place. 
 
7.  (C) NORWEGIAN VISIT STILL ON:  Norwegian Ambassador 
Hans Brattskar confirmed to Ambassador that the planned 
November 10-13 Sri Lanka visit by Vidar Helgesen, 
Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister, and special envoy 
Erik Solheim was going forward as scheduled.  The visit, 
planned in the wake of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam (LTTE) October 31 counterproposals submitted to 
the GSL, was to evaluate the island-wide reaction to the 
counterproposals and discuss modalities for returning to 
talks.  The Norwegian team is still planning to travel 
to the Vanni and meet with the LTTE, presuming the Sri 
Lankan Air Force provides a helicopter, as usual.  A 
late report on November 10 is that Tiger leader V. 
Prabakharan himself will meet with them. 
 
8.  (C) COMMENT:  In contrast to the President's sudden 
November 4-5 actions, the Prime Minister, buoyed by 
overwhelming support upon his return from Washington, 
has carefully begun to address the political situation. 
While his party has gone about efforts to continue 
governing and retaining support, the PM has focused on 
the need for the peace process to continue with a sole 
responsible leader.  The President, perhaps sensing she 
miscalculated, has tried to soften her actions by 
calling for all parties to work together, including 
inviting the PM for talks (in addition to her clumsy 
effort to wriggle out of the state of emergency issue 
now that she sees the negative fallout from it).  The 
PM, however, seems in little mood for a compromise.  As 
for the Tigers, despite low rumblings of discontent over 
the President's actions, they remain quietly wary.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
9.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD