US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1075

UNCLAS COLOMBO 001075 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INR/MR, I/RW, I/REC; PA 
SA/INS (CAMP, DEAN, WALLER) SA/PD (SCENSNY, ROGERS, 
STRYKER); SSA/PAS 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, PHUM, EAID, OIIP, PREL, CE, LTTE - Peace Process, ECONOMICS, Religious Freedom 
SUBJECT:  In Ambassador's meeting with senior media 
figures; peace process, aid issues stressed 
 
1.  (U) SUMMARY:  On 6/24 Ambassador Lunstead met senior 
editors of Sri Lankan newspapers in an on-the-record 
roundtable discussion.  The conversation focused on the 
June 1 co-chairs meeting in Brussels, but provided ample 
opportunity for a wide-ranging discussion of the peace 
process, the USG position on the LTTE, and bilateral trade 
issues.  The discussion, which was spirited and wide- 
ranging, enhanced the mission's rapport with high-level Sri 
Lankan media representatives.  Reaction follows in Septel. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (U) Ambassador Lunstead met in a roundtable discussion 
with a wide cross-section of Sri Lankan newspaper editors 
on 6/24. Mission set up the session as part of our strategy 
to get out the message of the June 1 Brussels Co-Chairs 
meeting. Representatives of both government-owned and 
independent media houses (English as well as vernacular) 
were present.  Ambassador Lunstead focused on the 6/1 co- 
chairs statement, emphasizing that, absent progress in 
peace negotiations, donor attention and funding might be 
redirected.  "Aid money just doesn't sit in a box," he 
said.  "It needs to be utilized.  A lot of it has already 
been utilized, but progress needs to be made or donor 
funding and attention might go elsewhere." He emphasized 
that this was a message to everyone--the Government, the 
opposition, and the LTTE. He stressed that this was not a 
threat, but just a statement of fact. In a world of many 
crises, he said, the attention of concerned countries would 
go elsewhere if the Sri Lankan peace process continued to 
drift. 
 
3.  (U) Responding to a question regarding continued USG 
listing of the LTTE as a foreign terrorist organization, 
the Ambassador emphasized our repeated message that the 
Tigers would continue to be a banned organization until it 
renounced terrorism. 
 
4.  (U) Asked about the possibility of a Free trade 
Agreement (FTA), Ambassador said that the two countries had 
been discussing the possibility of such an agreement for 
some time, but had not decided to commence negotiations. He 
noted that given the full U.S. plate on the trade 
negotiating front these days, an early decision was 
unlikely. He emphasized that trade relations between the 
two countries could be addressed in a number of ways and 
noted our Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. He also 
mentioned the recent visit of a Millennium Challenge 
Account team to Sri Lanka as signs of U.S. interest in 
investment in Sri Lanka.  Asked whether the upcoming U.S. 
Presidential elections would affect the U.S.-Sri Lanka 
relationship, Ambassador Lunstead responded that the 
relationship between the two countries was based on 
national interests that would remain constant regardless of 
the outcome of the elections. 
 
5.  (U) Asked about religious freedom issues and in 
particular the controversy in Sri Lanka over an "anti- 
conversion" bill, Ambassador Lunstead emphasized the USG's 
continued and deep interest regarding this matter, noting 
that freedom of religion was given a place in the Sri 
Lankan Constitution, and that he hoped Sri Lankan religious 
leaders could come together to find a positive way to deal 
with this issue. 
 
Lunstead