US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1817

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001817 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/04/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, CE, Political Parties 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA:  JVP DENIES RUMORS OF RIFT IN ALLIANCE; 
BLAMES UNP 
 
REF: COLOMBO 1794 
 
Classified By: DCM JAMES F. ENTWISTLE.  REASON:  1.4 (B,D). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) Members of the JVP leadership denied recent press 
speculation of a growing rift between President Kumaratunga's 
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and alliance partner Janatha 
Vimukti Peramuna (JVP).  Despite some internal 
disagreements--like the size of the Cabinet--there is 
consensus on matters of general policy, they claimed--a 
consensus that they are confident the upcoming budget will 
reflect.  Although the JVP is committed to the peace process, 
the intransigence and insincerity of the Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam, coupled with Norway's partiality toward the 
Tigers, undermines prospects for negotiations, they charged. 
While the JVP's rosy description of relations with the SLFP 
papers over some significant differences in perspective and 
policy, the former revolutionaries appear to have decided to 
remain in the alliance--perhaps banking on the upcoming 
budget to help them make good on pie-in-the-sky campaign 
promises--in the near term.  End summary. 
 
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JVP ACKNOWLEDGES PROBLEMS-- 
BUT NO CRISIS--IN ALLIANCE 
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2.  (SBU)  In a November 4 meeting with poloff, Tilvin Silva, 
General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP), and 
JVP MP and Propaganda Secretary Wimal Weerawansa discounted 
press reports of a growing rift in the alliance between their 
party and President Chandriika Kumaratunga's Sri Lanka 
Freedom Party (SLFP).  Instead, they blamed the opposition 
United National Party (UNP) for spreading the rumors and 
ensuring their sensationalized coverage in the press. 
 
3.  (SBU) Occasional problems and differences of opinion are 
to be expected among alliance partners, Silva acknowledged, 
but most of the recent controversy has been manufactured by 
the press and UNP.  The press in Sri Lanka does not report 
news; it fabricates news, he grumbled.  Reports of an 
intra-alliance clash over an agricultural project were 
completely overblown, Weerawansa claimed (Reftel); the real 
cause of the problem is the "competition" SLFP MPs feel with 
the JVP because of the popularity of the JVP-sponsored 
program.  The UNP, meanwhile, feels threatened by the JVP's 
growing popularity and is thus trying to discredit the 
party's image, Weerawansa charged, adding that he feels lucky 
that the UNP is focusing on a mythical rift in the alliance 
instead of the (very real) escalating cost of living to 
attack the JVP. 
 
4.  (SBU) The "understanding" on policy between the two 
alliance partners will be reflected in the upcoming budget, 
Silva asserted confidently.  Among the programs Weerawansa 
and Silva said they expect to see supported in the budget are 
promotion of local production (through more generous support 
for agriculture and small- and medium-sized industries) and 
salary increases for public servants and estate workers. 
Although they would not confirm the size of the proposed 
salary increase, they indicated they expected to be satisfied 
with the amount.  (Note:  The JVP had originally pressed for 
a 70 percent pay hike.  Small Industries Minister and JVP 
Trade Union Leader Lal Kantha has led a few token strikes 
over the past week, including in the health sector, to demand 
a "reasonable" increase.  End note.) 
 
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THE ALLIANCE'S MORAL CONSCIENCE 
-------------------------------- 
 
5.  (SBU)  Weerawansa sidestepped questions about his recent 
speech criticizing President Kumaratunga (Reftel), only 
blaming UNP manipulation of the press for taking his comments 
out of context.  (He did not, however, deny the remarks 
attributed to him.)  That said, more than 50 percent of the 
people who voted for the ruling alliance voted for the JVP, 
Silva asserted, because "they believed we will continue 
struggling for the masses."  Thus, if the JVP observes the 
government doing something wrong, the party is obliged to 
criticize such actions, he said.  That was the promise the 
JVP had made to the masses; it must be honored.  Such 
criticisms focus on actions and performance, rather than 
personalities, Silva emphasized, and should not be 
misconstrued as personal attacks.  Weerawansa cited the 
ever-expanding Cabinet as an example of Government wrongdoing 
that merited JVP censure.  The appointment of 83 ministers 
"has to be criticized," he said, especially since the JVP had 
made a point on the campaign trail of limiting the Cabinet to 
35. 
 
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LTTE INSINCERE; NORWAY PARTIAL 
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6.  (SBU)  The JVP is strongly committed to achieving lasting 
peace in Sri Lanka, Weerawansa said.  Unfortunately, progress 
toward that peace has come to a standstill because of the 
insistence of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) 
that its proposal for an Interim Self Governing Authority 
(ISGA) form the sole basis for resumed negotiations, he 
continued.  Given the lack of other signs of movement, 
Weerawansa said that JVP participation in the President's 
National Advisory Council provides a "useful opportunity for 
us to exhibit our commitment to lasting peace," while 
offering other interested parties, such as religious 
organizations and NGOs, a forum to exchange views.  Because 
finding an equitable settlement to the conflict is not a 
simple issue, Silva noted, multipartisan fora like the 
National Advisory Council are needed to develop a national 
consensus on on the many questions involved. 
 
7.  (SBU)  Both Weerawansa and Silva believe that the LTTE is 
not sincere in pursuing negotiations at this time. 
Experience shows that the LTTE always comes to the table with 
ulterior motives, Silva asserted.  Now the LTTE is using its 
insistence on the ISGA as a way to buy time while it attempts 
to reclaim its lost support in the East, he charged.  The 
Tigers may also be waiting for a UNP government to come back 
into power, Silva suggested, since they believe the UNP is 
more pliable than the alliance.  Despite their mistrust of 
LTTE motives, however, Weerawansa and Silva said they believe 
the government must pursue dialogue with the Tigers.  Any 
negotiated settlement must ensure multi-party democracy, 
pluralism and respect for human rights, Silva 
emphasized--principles that the JVP clearly does not see 
reflected in the ISGA. 
 
8.  (SBU)  Weerawansa and Silva acknowledged that the 
international community can play a helpful role in promoting 
a peaceful resolution--as long as it is aware of what is 
actually going on in the North and East.  As a facilitator, 
Norway has not developed that awareness, they suggested. 
Accusing Norway of blatant partiality toward the Tigers, 
Silva claimed that most of the problems in achieving a 
negotiated settlement "intensified" after Norway's 
involvement. 
 
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COMMENT 
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9.  (C) While the UNP would surely welcome--and might even 
help propagate--rumors of a split in the alliance, the 
reports have been too widespread, including in the pro-SLFP 
press, for the phenomenon to be wholly an opposition 
fabrication.  More than anything else, the President's 
failure to consult the JVP on certain policy issues, 
including Cabinet appointments and the peace process, rankles 
her coalition partner, eliciting periodic reminders, 
generally conveyed through the media, from that partner of 
just how dependent her coalition is upon the JVP's continued 
goodwill.  That said, the JVP appears acutely aware of its 
obligations to prove itself to the "masses" by fulfilling, at 
least in part, some of its many generous campaign promises. 
While the JVP duo's descriptions of intra-alliance amity and 
consensus sound too good to be true, it seems clear that the 
JVP leadership for now has decided to stay the course with 
the alliance--and see what it can squeeze out of the budget. 
 
LUNSTEAD