US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO17

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000017 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, DRL/IRF, DRL/CRA, INR/NESA 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  01-06-14 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, SOCI, PINR, CE, Religious Freedom, current biographies 
SUBJECT:  Ambassador underscores importance of respect 
for religious freedom in meetings with GSL Ministers 
 
Refs:  (A) 03 Colombo 2173, and previous 
 
-      (B) 03 State 335646 (Notal) 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead. 
Reasons 1.5 (b, d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  The Ambassador underscored the 
importance of respect for religious freedom in separate 
January 5 meetings with Sri Lanka's Buddhist and Hindu 
Affairs Ministers (see bio-data in Para 8).  Both 
ministers asserted that the GSL was trying to tamp down 
religious tensions, noting that the PM had formed a 
committee to review the issue.  That said, both 
ministers indicated their support for proposed 
legislation that would outlaw so-called "unethical 
conversions."  The proposed anti-conversion legislation 
seems quite popular across a wide swathe of Sri Lankan 
society, although it is not yet clear whether the GSL 
plans to move forward with it.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Buddhist Affairs Minister discusses Draft Bill 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
2.  (C) On January 5, Ambassador Lunstead held separate 
meetings with Minister of Buddhist Affairs W.J.M. 
Lokubandara and Minister of Hindu Affairs T. Maheswaran 
to review Ref B points on religious freedom in Sri 
Lanka.  The Ambassador also used the meetings to stress 
that the GSL should take immediate steps to prevent 
further attacks on Christian churches.  In their 
meeting, Lokubandara told the Ambassador that he was 
strongly against the attacks.  He asserted that the 
Sinhalese extremist Janantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) 
party was behind the violence (though he did not provide 
any evidence to back up this claim).  He added that he 
and fellow MPs were in the process of bringing a motion 
in Parliament condemning the attacks. 
 
3.  (C) Concerning religious issues more generally, 
Lokubandara mentioned that Prime Minister Wickremesinghe 
had recently set up a committee to deal with recent 
tensions sparked by the death of a radical Buddhist monk 
in early December (see Ref A).  The committee is 
comprised of ministers who have reponsibility for 
religious-based issues (one each covering Buddhism, 
Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam) in their portfolios. 
The general mandate was to look into the source of the 
recent religious tensions, as well as to examine 
proposed legislation that would ban so-called "unethical 
conversions."  Lokubandara noted that, immediately 
following his meeting with the Ambassador, he had to go 
to a meeting of this committee. 
 
4.  (C) Regarding the proposed anti-conversion 
legislation, the Ambassador wondered whether it would 
not be better to pursue something positive, such as 
developing a code of conduct for all faiths in Sri 
Lanka, rather than implementing legislation that 
possibly would be punitive.  Lokubandara responded 
favorably to this suggestion, but admitted feeling 
pressure from some extreme factions within the Buddhist 
clergy to move forward with the proposed legislation. 
He acknowledged that the proposed legislation put the 
government in a tight spot:  The Sri Lankan Constitution 
protected all religions, but it placed Buddhism in the 
"foremost" position.  There was an inherent conflict in 
this and the GSL had to deal with different social 
groups with widely differing views of religious issues. 
The Ambassador noted the difficulty in distinguishing 
between different types of conversions, such as between 
an "inducement to convert" and a good work by a 
charitable organization.  Lokubandara said he agreed 
with the Ambassador on the value of ensuring religious 
freedom, including the freedom to convert by choice.  He 
made a point of stating that if it had not been for 
Henry James Olcott -- an American convert to Buddhism 
who came to Sri Lanka in the late nineteenth century -- 
Sri Lankan Buddhism would have never had the revival it 
experienced then, nor be as vibrant as it is today. 
That said, Lokubandara commented that he still believed 
that "unethical conversions" had occurred around the 
country and needed to be prevented. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Meeting with Hindu Affairs Minister 
----------------------------------- 
 
5.  (C) During his meeting with the Ambassador, Hindu 
Affairs Minister T. Maheswaran expressed views similar 
to those expressed by Lokubandara.  Regarding the 
proposed anti-conversion legislation, Maheswaran noted 
that he felt there was "absolutely no need for people to 
move from one religion to another."  Explaining the 
genesis of the proposed legislation, Maheswaran related 
that Hindu religious leaders had approached him last 
year and asked him to draft legislation that would "not 
allow people to change their religion for incentives." 
Maheswaran said he had gone ahead and done so. 
Ambassador Lunstead made the point that religious 
freedom, particularly the ability to change one's 
religion, was an important matter for the U.S. and 
others in the international community.  In discussing 
the issue, it would be difficult to distinguish between 
groups that offered inducements to convert and groups 
that did "good works."  The Ambassador noted the example 
of the (Hindu) Ramakrishna Mission, which practices 
charitable works.  Minister Maheswaran took the 
Ambassador's point, indicating that he did not want to 
stop "willing conversions." 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
6.  (C) No one in Sri Lanka publicly defends the recent 
church attacks, which seem to be the work of a fringe 
network of Buddhist extremists.  Based on the Ministers' 
comments and what we have picked up elsewhere, however, 
the proposed anti-conversion legislation seems quite 
popular across a wide swathe of Sri Lankan society 
including Buddhists and Hindus.  The Catholic Church, 
the majority Christian community, has also come out 
against so-called "unethical conversions," although it 
has not actually endorsed the proposed legislation.  The 
only group left out in the cold is the Evangelicals, who 
are under one percent of the population and, as a very 
small minority, are the target of the proposed 
legislation. 
 
7.  (C) COMMENT (Continued):  All that said, it is not 
clear if or when the GSL plans to push ahead with the 
proposed legislation.  It is tricky for the GSL, for 
example, to define so-called "unethical conversions" in 
a way that that everyone can agree with.  In addition, 
the PM and other members of his immediate circle, who 
hail from "cosmopolitan" Colombo and are concerned with 
Sri Lanka's international reputation, appear reluctant 
to move forward at this time (hence, the PM's 
essentially stalling tactic in forming the committee 
discussed by Maheswaran and Lokubandara).  It is not 
clear how long the PM and his allies can hold out, 
however.  END COMMENT. 
 
8.  (C) Bio-data on Ministers Lokubandara and Maheswaran 
follows: 
 
-- Minister of Buddhist Affairs W.J.M. Lokubandara is an 
attorney-at-law.  Born in 1941, he is an honors graduate 
from the University of Peradeniya.  He also earned a 
degree in the UK in Sanskrit.  He was first elected to 
Parliament in 1977 as a United National Party (UNP) MP 
from Haputale in Uva District in southeastern Sri Lanka. 
In the present government, he is also the Minister of 
Justice, Law Reform and National Integration.  For Prime 
Minister Wickremesinghe, Lokubandara is considered to be 
a key link to the important Buddhist clergy.  He is 
amiable and quite knowledgeable on Buddhist matters.  He 
is Sinhalese Buddhist and is married.  He speaks 
excellent English. 
-- Minister of Hindu Affairs T. Maheswaran was born in 
1966 and educated at St. John's College in Jaffna.  A 
businessman, he entered politics in 1998 when he was 
appointed the UNP organizer for Jaffna.  He was elected 
to Parliament from Jaffna in 2000, and has served as 
Hindu Affairs Minister since December 2001.  In his 
capacity as minister, he also serves as Chairman of the 
Hindu Cultural Trust Fund and is responsible for the 
Palmyrah Development Board.  He takes a strong pro-Tamil 
stand on many issues, and is considered close to the 
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.  Of late, he has 
gotten into sharp arguments with the Sri Lanka Army 
(SLA) in Jaffna over the "high security zones" and over 
vehicle accidents involving SLA personnel.  He is 
friendly by nature.  He is a Tamil Hindu and is married. 
He does not speak much English. 
9.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD