US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO155

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000155 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR D, SA, SA/INS, S/CT; NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
PLEASE ALSO PASS TOPEC 
 
E.O. 12958:        DECL: 01-27-14 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, EAID, CE, NO, JA, EU, LTTE - Peace Process, Political Parties 
SUBJECT:   In readout, Japanese Ambassador sees visit by 
Special Envoy Akashi as net positive for peace process 
 
Refs:  Colombo 150, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead. 
Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  On January 26, Japanese Ambassador 
Suda provided Ambassador Lunstead and the other local 
co-chairs of the Tokyo process with a readout of Special 
Envoy Akashi's recent visit to Sri Lanka.  In Akashi's 
meeting with the LTTE, the group requested that more be 
done to funnel aid to the north/east.  While concerned 
with the cohabitation confusion in the south, the Tigers 
indicated that they remained committed to the peace 
track.  Akashi also met separately with both the 
President andtwice with the Prime Minister.  Both 
principals indicated that they wanted to resolve the 
ongoing cohabitation impasse, but blamed the other for 
the situation.  Suda thought that Akashi's visit was a 
net positive for the peace process.  We agree and think 
that the visit helped set the stage for the meeting of 
the Tokyo co-chairs in Washington scheduled for February 
17.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C) Late January 26, Japanese Ambassador Akio Suda 
provided the local co-chairs of the Tokyo process with a 
readout of Special Envoy Yasushi Akashi's January 19-25 
visit to Sri Lanka (see Reftel for review of the Tokyo 
followup meeting hosted by Akashi on January 23 in 
Colombo).  The meeting was attended by Ambassador 
Lunstead, and representatives from Norway and the EU, 
including the Netherlands in its role as rotating 
president (Ireland does not have representation in 
Colombo). 
 
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Akashi Meets the Tigers 
----------------------- 
 
3.  (C) Suda kicked off with a review of Akashi's 
January 22 meeting with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam 
(LTTE) Political Chief S.P. Thamilchelvam.  The meeting 
took place in the LTTE-controlled town of Kilinochchi in 
northern Sri Lanka.  Suda said Thamilchelvam had 
expressed concerns that aid was not getting through to 
the north/east.  Thamilchelvam had also expressed 
concern over political developments in the south. 
According to Suda, the Tiger official repeatedly 
stressed that the LTTE did not think political consensus 
would be reached in the south any time soon and said the 
Tigers were very skeptical that they could find a stable 
negotiating partner there at any point soon. 
Thamilchelvam reiterated, however, the LTTE's continuing 
commitment to the peace process and its position that 
the group would negotiate with anyone in the south who 
could take firm responsibility for peace negotiations. 
Akashi also asked Thamilchelvam to reconsider the LTTE's 
decision not to send a representative to the January 23 
Tokyo followup meeting in Colombo.  (Note:  The Tigers 
were invited to the conference, but declined to attend.) 
Thamilchelvam expressed his appreciation for the 
invitation, but demurred, saying the situation was 
complicated, and due to a lack of political clarity in 
the south, the Tigers would not send a representative to 
the meeting. 
 
------------------------ 
Meeting with Kumaratunga 
------------------------ 
 
4.  (C) Suda reported that Akashi had briefed President 
Kumaratunga late January 23 on that day's Tokyo followup 
meeting.  Akashi explained the donors' view that it was 
imperative that aid continue to flow on an island-wide 
basis in support of the peace process despite the lack 
of progress in peace negotiations.  President 
Kumaratunga agreed with this strategy, noting that 
during earlier times of political uncertainty 
development work had gone forward.  Kumaratunga 
expressed what Suda reported as "harsh" views toward the 
LTTE, lauding the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization 
(FTO) listing of the group.  She also averred that "too 
much flexibility with 
the Tigers" would not be positive, citing the group's 
record on, among other things, child recruitment. 
 
5.  (C) Turning to the cohabitation crisis, Suda said 
Kumaratunga had reacted dismissively, noting that what 
others were calling a "crisis" had been in effect since 
the Prime Minister took power in December 2001.  She 
asserted that there was a lack of communication with the 
PM that was his fault.  Kumaratunga said she would like 
to resolve the cohabitation impasse, but that she felt 
she had done "all she could," and that the initiative to 
compromise was with the Prime Minister.  Akashi urged 
her to be flexible and to work in the national interest 
toward a compromise with the PM.  Kumaratunga said she 
would like the Prime Minister to proceed with the peace 
process, and claimed she would not interfere in his 
decisions.  Wrapping up, Kumaratunga noted that she was 
not totally happy with the recent alliance between her 
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the radical Janatha 
Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), but that she had been "forced 
into it because of the Prime Minister."  In a related 
vein, Suda said Akashi had also met with Opposition 
Leader and senior SLFP MP Mahinda Rajapakse, who was 
skeptical about how long the SLFP-JVP alliance would 
last. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Meetings with the Prime Minister 
-------------------------------- 
 
6.  (C) Suda noted that Akashi had met twice with Prime 
Minister Wickremesinghe, once on January 20 in Colombo, 
and again on January 24 in the north-central town of 
Anuradhapura.  In his discussions with Akashi, Suda 
said, the PM mentioned mistakes the GSL had made 
regarding development.  The PM related, for example, 
that the GSL had failed to draft a comprehensive plan to 
develop the north/east, and had not developed a 
mechanism to provide aid to that region in the near- 
term, such as a joint GSL-LTTE committee. 
Wickremesinghe commented that the GSL was drafting a 10- 
year infrastructure plan for the northern town of 
Kilinochchi, which the government would provide to the 
Tigers soon.  Wickremesinghe also touched on the 
ceasefire agreement, noting that specific articles of 
that document focused on normalization, which the GSL 
was now struggling to implement due to the uncertainty 
over who was in charge of the peace process. 
 
7.  (C) On the cohabitation impasse, Akashi stressed the 
need for the PM to be flexible.  Wickremesinghe 
responded that he had been studying various ideas on how 
to share control of the Defense Ministry.  The PM noted, 
for example, that he might be willing to discuss the 
setting up of a national security council with the 
President.  Suda reported that during Akashi's second 
meeting with the PM, Akashi provided Wickremesinghe with 
an account of his meeting with President Kumaratunga. 
Akashi again stressed that the Prime Minister should 
show a willingness to compromise with respect to 
resolving the cohabitation crisis, and give the 
President some way to save face.  Wickremesinghe said he 
was considering compromising but that the extent of any 
such effort would depend on the President's actions. 
 
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COMMENT 
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8.  (C) Toward the close of the briefing, Ambassador 
Lunstead asked whether Akashi had left Sri Lanka with 
any sense of optimism that the cohabitation impasse 
would be resolved soon.  While the situation was very 
complex, Suda related that Akashi saw some positive 
threads.  Akashi, for example, felt the PM was taking 
the situation seriously and seemed willing to work to 
resolve the crisis.  President Kumaratunga, in the 
meantime, had listened to Akashi carefully, and was more 
relaxed than in past meetings.  Overall, Suda said he 
thought the visit was a net positive.  We agree with 
that assessment.  The visit was timely, especially in 
reminding the protagonists in the cohabitation impasse 
that the international community is watching 
impatiently, wanting them to overcome their differences. 
In its focus on helping resolve the cohabitation 
dispute, engaging the LTTE, and working with donors on 
ways to get more aid flowing, we also think Akashi's 
visit helped set the stage for the Washington co-chairs 
meeting scheduled for February 17.  END COMMENT. 
 
9.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
LUNSTEAD