US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO864

S E C R E T COLOMBO 000864 
 
SIPDIS 
 
OFFICIAL INFORMAL 
 
FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL: 5/24/14 
TAGS: AMGT, CE, MV, Political Parties, Human Rights 
SUBJECT:  OFFICIAL INFORMAL NUMBER 075 (05/24/04) 
 
 
Classified by DCM James F. Entwistle for reasons 1.5 (b) 
and (d). 
 
CONTENTS:  FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER CROSSES THE AISLE 
-          POSSIBLE PEACEKEEPING ROLE FOR SRI LANKA ARMY 
-            MALDIVIAN AT GITMO 
 
FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER CROSSES THE AISLE 
----------------------------------------- 
 
1.  (SBU) FYI.  Late May 21, longtime UNP MP and former 
Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando formally joined 
President Kumaratunga's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). 
The probable reason for Fernando's defection is his ire 
at the UNP for being left off the UNP's "national list," 
and thus out of Parliament for the first time in years. 
As we reported in April, Fernando resigned from the 
party and wrote a public letter of complaint to former 
PM Wickremesinghe on April.  It is not immediately clear 
what role Fernando will play in the SLFP.  (POL) 
 
POSSIBLE PEACEKEEPING ROLE FOR SRI LANKA ARMY 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) Please also pass to WHA, IO/PHO, PM/SO/CCP:  Post 
learned on May 21 that the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has been 
invited by the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping 
Operations to send a battalion to the UN mission in Haiti. 
SLA staff officers have been tasked to quietly ascertain 
what equipment would be needed, what costs would be 
associated and how the mission would be executed.  Calls 
have been made to army peacekeeping experts in Nepal and 
possibly Bangladesh, and queries have been made with our 
Defense Attache.  While we are not aware of a political 
decision to deploy troops outside of Sri Lanka, the SLA has 
been building a peacekeeping school at Kukule Ganga that 
will officially open in June 2004.  Post would appreciate 
any additional information available on the veracity of the 
invitation or the mission requirements for a battalion to 
deploy.  (DAO) 
 
MALDIVIAN AT GITMO 
------------------ 
 
3. (S) FYI - we are preparing a frontchannel on this subject 
based on our conversations over there last week.  Moreover, 
we got a dipnote from the GoRM today advising us that the 
left behind family in Maldives is "depressed" since they 
haven't heard anything about the detainee's welfare for 
eight months and asking for an update on his condition. 
(DCM) 
 
LUNSTEAD