US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO742

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000742 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA/INS, DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2015 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, CE, Religious Freedom, Political Parties 
SUBJECT: TWO RELIGIOUS "ANTI-CONVERSION" BILLS, TOO MUCH 
CONFUSION 
 
REF: A. COLOMBO 648 
 
     B. COLOMBO 572 
 
Classified By: DCM James F. Entwistle.  Reason 1.4(b,d). 
 
1.  (C)  Summary:  The government's anti-conversion 
legislation is ready for Parliament but must be formally 
published before it can be presented to the legislative body. 
 There is no timeframe to formally publish the bill.  The 
private member Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) bill will likely 
come before Parliament on May 6, but must complete 
legislative steps before reaching a vote.  Mission continues 
to encourage all parties to initiate dialogue on the issue, 
focusing on the tensions caused by so-called "unethical 
conversion," instead of focusing on legislative prohibitions. 
 End Summary. 
 
The Government's Bill 
--------------------- 
 
2.  (C)  With Parliament in recess and many government 
officials out of town on extended holiday, most interlocutors 
are unsure of the status of the Government of Sri Lanka's 
(GSL's) draft legislation on anti-conversion (Ref B). 
Earlier reports indicated that the GSL bill would be on the 
parliamentary agenda for May 6, but in more recent 
conversations with parliamentary officials reveal that the 
bill is not/not on the docket for the May 3-6 session. 
(Note:  The agenda for the next session after that, May 
17-20, has not yet been finalized.)  Moreover, the 
government's bill has not been "gazetted" (officially 
published), a formality required before it can be presented 
in Parliament.  An April 20 call to officials at the 
Government Printing Office confirmed that the bill has not 
been published.  (Note:  The Constitution requires that a 
government bill must be gazetted seven day prior to a first 
reading in Parliament.  End note.) 
 
3.  (C)  If the GSL bill ever reaches the stage of a 
parliamentary vote, the government may request voting by 
secret ballot.  This is not typical for the Sri Lankan 
 
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Parliament, where votes are usually counted by show of 
hand--the one exception being the election of the Speaker, 
which is generally conducted by secret ballot.  A secret 
ballot vote, however, could relieve pressure on MPs with 
large Buddhist constituencies to support the bill.  (Note: 
Sri Lankan politics being what it is, it would not be safe to 
assume that even the results of a secret ballot would not 
leak out one way or another.  End Note.) 
 
The Private Member's Bill 
------------------------- 
 
4.  (SBU)  Information available about the Jathika Hela 
Urumaya's (JHU's) anti-conversion bill is similarly 
confusing.  The JHU presented the draft legislation as a 
private member's bill for a first reading in Parliament in 
July 2004.  Large numbers of religious and human rights 
groups challenged the bill in the Supreme Court, which ruled 
last August that many parts of the bill were 
unconstitutional.  Since then, there have been no further 
developments with the bill. 
 
5.  (C)  While there is no scheduled date for the 
government's bill in Parliament, the JHU's bill is apparently 
on the agenda for May 6, according to the JHU administrative 
secretary.  To date, the JHU has not amended its bill as 
 
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recommended by the Supreme Court.  One option for the party 
is to present the original bill for a vote, although it would 
require a two-thirds majority, followed by a national 
referendum, for passage into law.  The alternative is to 
allow the Speaker of the Parliament to request the Ministry 
of Justice to make the necessary amendments to the bill.  JHU 
officials told POL FSN on April 19 that the party had not 
decided on tactics for the May 6 session. 
 
6.  (C)  Before the session, the JHU may introduce its bill 
in a Parliament Standing Committee to allow a wider debate 
among MPs and gauge their reactions.  In the committee, the 
JHU could decide to amend its bill as a result of comments 
from its fellow MPs.  An amended bill is treated the same was 
as a new bill, meaning that if the amended bill is then 
presented in Parliament on May 6, it will be the bill's 
"first reading," and no vote will take place.  Also like a 
new bill, this amended bill would be open to a Supreme Court 
challenge. 
 
Government Attitude 
------------------- 
7.  (C)  The Foreign Minister recently emphasized to the 
Ambassador that the government will not push this bill in 
Parliament.  During a telephone conversation regarding 
comments made in Washington by Sri Lankan Ambassador Bernard 
Gunatilleke, the Foreign Minister assured the Ambassador that 
Gunatilleke was not correctly stating the government's 
position. 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
8.  (C)  Given that the JHU has made "unethical conversions" 
one of its defining platforms, its attempt to resurrect its 
draft is to be expected.  More surprising is the GSL drafting 
its own version--especially since most interlocutors believe 
that popular support for such legislation is limited and we 
have been assured repeatedly at the highest levels that the 
GSL is not pushing the bill.  Some observers have speculated 
that the GSL draft may be an attempt to curry favor--for 
other legislative endeavors like constitutional amendments to 
abolish the executive presidency--with the seven remaining 
JHU MPs.  Another possibility:  President Kumaratunga's Sri 
Lanka Freedom Party, which draws the bulk of its support from 
the predominantly rural Sinhalese Buddhist south, may be 
unwilling to cede to a smaller opposition party any 
initiative, however unpalatable, that so obviously panders to 
that vote bank.  By drafting its own bill, the GSL can show 
that it is just as concerned as the JHU about Sinhalese 
Buddhist interests.  But by letting the JHU float its own 
bill first, the GSL can deflect all the political risk 
associated with a possible defeat onto another (opposition) 
party.  Should the JHU bill once again meet opposition in 
Parliament, the GSL will likely ease off pursuit of its own 
legislation. 
 
9.  (C)  Comment continued:  Despite the lack of popular 
enthusiasm for this legislation, the JHU's success in keeping 
this issue alive indicates a degree of public receptivity to 
claims, however unfounded, of "unethical conversion."  In our 
view, a better way to address such tensions is through 
ecuemenical dialogue at all levels of the community.  Along 
with our many repeated and firm messages to government and 
political figures discouraging the pursuit of anti-conversion 
legislation--including Assistant Secretary Rocca's April 20 
meeting with Foreign Secretary Palihakkara (septel)--we 
emphasize the need for better and more regular communication 
among government, religious, and civil society leaders on 
this issue. 
LUNSTEAD