US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO3

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000003 
 
SIPDIS 
 
OFFICIAL INFORMAL 
 
FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  01/02/04 
TAGS: AMGT, CE, MV, KWMM, Religious Freedom 
SUBJECT:  OFFICIAL INFORMAL NUMBER 173 (01/02/04) 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR JEFFREY J. LUNSTEAD FOR REASONS 1.5 
b and d. 
 
CONTENTS:  RECENT THREADS RE PEACE PROCESS, COHABITATION 
           PM ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ISSUES, MEETING WITH 
           PRESIDENT 
 
RECENT THREADS RE PEACE PROCESS, COHABITATION 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
1.  (C) FYI.  We just wanted to highlight the following 
recent threads of information regarding the peace 
process/cohabitation situation that emerged over the New 
Years' period: 
 
-- Tiger chief negotiator Anton Balasingham, according 
to a January 1 report on the pro-LTTE website 
"TamilNet," stated: "It is impractical to hold peace 
negotiations when one party talks to the Tigers while 
another keeps the defense ministry in Sri Lanka." 
Balasingham was also quoted as saying:  "In the future 
we will talk only with a Sri Lankan government that 
would have full power and the mandate of the people." 
The LTTE clearly is upping the pressure on the 
cohabitation antagonists here in Colombo. 
 
-- GSL minister G.L. Peiris, addressing his weekly press 
briefing on January 1, said the government had begun 
informal talks with Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar 
on how donors can implement their aid pledges made at 
the June 2003 Tokyo donors conference despite the 
ongoing cohabitation impasse.  Peiris said "What we are 
concerned about is that the economic benefits must flow 
to the people in the entire country."  Peiris also 
rejected Kumaratunga's recent assertion that there was 
no "crisis" in the country (see 03 Colombo 2191). 
Turning to the question of when President Kumaratunga's 
term expires (also see 03 Colombo 2191), Peiris said the 
GSL's position was clear that the President's term of 
office should end in December 2005.  Addressing reports 
that the President had been "secretly" quietly sworn in 
a second time in 2000, perhaps in order to allow her 
legal cover to extend her time in office until 2006, the 
inimitable Peiris said:  "Nowhere in the democratic 
world have we heard of a head of state taking oaths in 
secrecy...What are the reasons and motives behind such a 
secret swearing-in ceremony?  It is truly unique in the 
 
SIPDIS 
annals of the democratic world." 
 
-- Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauf Hakeem, 
in a press conference on January 1, said the SLMC would 
be postponing delivery to the GSL of his group's 
proposals on forming an interim administration in the 
north/east in order to deliberate on the inclusion of a 
reference to an "interim constitution."  Addressing the 
issue of a possible interim constitution, Hakeem said 
"One way to achieve the objectives of the Oslo 
Declaration would be to concentrate on an interim 
constitution for the country."  Hakeem also stressed 
that any interim administration structure should 
function for a limited period. 
 
PM ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ISSUES 
------------------------------ 
 
2.  (C) Please also pass to DRL/IRF:  During their 
December 31 meeting (see 03 Colombo 2200 for report on 
discussion re cohabitation, etc.), Ambassador Lunstead 
asked Prime Minister Wickremesinghe about the recent 
spate of church attacks and the proposed anti-conversion 
legislation (see 03 Colombo 2191).  The PM said he was 
aware of the tense situation.  He said the GSL was 
planning to work with religious leaders to address their 
concerns, and would, in that effort, focus on ways that 
religious groups could comport themselves in positive 
ways (as opposed to focusing exclusively on negative 
issues such as so-called "unethical conversions").  In 
other religious news, a fast undertaken by some Buddhist 
monks on December 29 has ended, after Buddhist Affairs 
Minister W.J.M. Lokubandara agreed to revise a 
commission in his ministry so that it gives the Buddhist 
clergy more influence over the ministry's projects. 
From what Mission can make of all of this, it seems that 
the GSL is trying to placate Buddhists by giving them 
more influence in Lokubandara's ministry and possibly 
more funding.  FYI:  Ambassador Lunstead has separate 
meetings with Minister Lokubandara and Hindu Religious 
Affairs Minister T. Maheswaran on January 5 that will 
deal largely with religious freedom issues.  (POL) 
 
AMBASSADOR TO MEET WITH PRESIDENT 
--------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C) The Ambassador will meet with President 
Kumaratunga at 5:00 this evening (Friday, Jan 2) to 
deliver the letter from Secretary Powell.  At least the 
meeting is scheduled for 5:00 - President's office has 
advised the Ambassador to wait by his cell phone and 
they will tell him when to really come over. Ambassador 
this morning had a brief conversation with Indian High 
Commissioner Sen, who has also been talking to both the 
President and the PM. Completely unprompted, Sen offered 
his opinion that the sticking point now in resolving the 
political crisis is the PM. "There are technical means 
of squaring the circle," Sen said. "But Ranil does not 
want just that much, he wants everything back. The 
problem now is his objection to accepting any piecemeal 
solution." Ambassador will meet Sen early next week for 
further discussion. 
 
LUNSTEAD