US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO234

Disclaimer: This site has been first put up 15 years ago. Since then I would probably do a couple things differently, but because I've noticed this site had been linked from news outlets, PhD theses and peer rewieved papers and because I really hate the concept of "digital dark age" I've decided to put it back up. There's no chance it can produce any harm now.

Identifier:	04COLOMBO234
Wikileaks:	View 04COLOMBO234 at Wikileaks.org
Origin:	Embassy Colombo
Created:	2004-02-11 10:39:00
Classification:	CONFIDENTIAL
Tags:	AMGT CE MV Political Parties
Redacted:	This cable was not redacted by Wikileaks.

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000234 
 
SIPDIS 
 
OFFICIAL INFORMAL 
 
FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  02/11/14 
TAGS: AMGT, CE, MV, Political Parties 
SUBJECT:  OFFICIAL INFORMAL NUMBER 021 (02/11/04) 
 
Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead for reasons 1.5 
(b) and (d). 
 
CONTENTS: PRESIDENT SACKS NON-CABINET MINISTERS 
 
PRESIDENT SACKS NON-CABINET MINISTERS 
------------------------------------- 
 
(C) We heard word late today that President Kumaratunga 
has ordered that 27 non-cabinet ministers and 12 deputy 
ministers be sacked with immediate effect.  This follows 
reports flagged in our recent cables that she was intent 
on the streamlining of the PM's ministerial cohort 
(apparently in order to curb the UNP government's 
influence and ability to provide largesse during the 
election campaign timeframe).  (Those sacked, by the 
way, lose their all-important official cars.)  As of 
COB, it remains unclear how the UNP plans to react to 
the President's order.  Our understanding is that the 
President has the right to do this (the PM hinted as 
much during his February 9 meeting with Ambassador 
Lunstead -- see Colombo 226).  We are checking, but 
think that the secretaries (chief civil servants) will 
take over the functioning of the affected ministries 
until a new government is formed after the April 2 
election.  The dep. minister slots will apparently 
remain unfilled until then.  We will report more on this 
breaking story via front-channel tomorrow.  By the way, 
the 34-member cabinet, including the PM himself, remains 
in place (at least for now).  (POL) 
 
LUNSTEAD