US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO787

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000787 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2015 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, PREL, CE, Religious Freedom, Political Parties 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA:  A/S ROCCA RAISES ANTI-CONVERSION 
LEGISLATION WITH LEADERSHIP, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS 
 
REF: COLOMBO 742 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Amb.  Jeffrey J. Lunstead for reason 1.4 (B, D). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) In a series of separate discussions on April 20 with 
political leaders, government officials and human rights 
activists, Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs 
Christina Rocca and the Ambassador highlighted U.S. concerns 
over proposed anti-conversion legislation (reftel).  A/S 
Rocca warned that passage of the legislation could undermine 
Sri Lanka's long-standing reputation for religious tolerance 
and affect negatively our cordial bilateral relations. 
Government interlocutors assured A/S Rocca and the Ambassador 
that the Government was not pushing for passage of the bill. 
Other sources said they view the Government's proposed bill 
as a short-term political ploy to gain favor with more 
conservative elements and were generally skeptical that the 
draft bill would pass.  Human rights activists cautioned that 
President Kumaratunga's game of "political chess" could 
backfire by inciting latent communal sentiments.  End summary. 
 
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GOVERNMENT ANTI-CONVERSION LEGISLATION: 
THE OFFICIAL WORD 
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2.  (C) In a series of separate discussions on April 20 with 
political leaders, government officials and human rights 
activists, Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs 
Christina Rocca and the Ambassador stressed continued U.S. 
concern over proposed bills (one drafted by the Government 
and one by an opposition Buddhist monk party) aimed at 
curbing religious conversions.  A/S Rocca and the Ambassador 
repeatedly emphasized the potential damage such legislation 
could spell for religious tolerance as well as the possible 
negative impact on existing cordial bilateral relations. 
 
3.  (C)  Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse assured A/S Rocca 
and the Ambassador that he did not believe the Government of 
Sri Lanka (GSL) bill would ever come to a vote in Parliament, 
adding that every U.S. official he has met recently has 
raised the issue with him.  A/S Rocca noted that the 
Administration as well as many in Congress were very 
concerned about the potential harm the legislation could 
inflict on Sri Lanka's history of religious freedom.  The PM 
admitted the GSL was using its bill for political reasons--to 
thwart attempts by Buddhist monk MPs of the Jathika Hela 
Urumaya (JHU) to pass similar legislation.  He underscored 
that the "President was against" the legislation--as if 
implying that such a statement should be adequate assurance 
that the bill would never see the light of day.  The 
Ambassador countered that as long as the bill exists--with 
the implied support of the GSL and thus the ever-imminent 
threat of its introduction into Parliament--people in the 
international community and in Sri Lanka will remain 
concerned. 
 
4.  (C)  In a separate meeting, A/S Rocca told Foreign 
Secretary H.M.G.S. Palihakkara that passage of the bill 
 
SIPDIS 
"would stop people in their tracks," with Congress especially 
focused on the issue. The Foreign Secretary tried to 
re-assure A/S Rocca and the Ambassador that many steps still 
had to be taken before the bill could become law, such as 
public notice and review and further judicial review.  There 
was no unanimity in the government over the bill, Palihakkara 
asserted, adding that he shared some of the U.S. reservations 
about the bill.  "Having said that," he declared  "we do have 
a problem with unethical conversions" perpetrated by certain 
groups.  He hinted, however, that the government was working 
on arriving at a solution. &The President is very concerned 
about this,8 he allowed.  He also mentioned that the GSL had 
invited the U.N.,s Rapporteur on religious freedom to visit 
the island. 
 
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OTHER PARTIES' POINTS OF VIEW 
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5.  (C) The proposed legislation featured prominently in A/S 
Rocca's discussions with leaders of various political parties 
as well.  Rauff Hakeem, head of the Sri Lanka Muslim 
Congress, told A/S Rocca and the Ambassador that his party 
would not support the bill, adding that the government has no 
right to legislate on matters of religious belief.   He also 
called on the Ambassador to convince leaders of the Sri Lanka 
Freedom Party and the United National Party (the two largest 
parties) to refrain from allowing their members to vote their 
conscience on the matter because he believed such a 
laissez-faire policy would increase the likelihood that the 
bill will pass.  In a separate discussion, Janatha Vimukthi 
Peramuna (JVP) leader Somawansa Amarasinghe stated that his 
party had no official stance on the bill.  He continued by 
adding in a somewhat convoluted manner that &we condemn 
bribery in both politics and religion8  (thereby implying a 
certain degree of credence in "unethical conversion" charges 
leveled against Christian denominations), but concluded by 
saying that all religions should peacefully exist in a 
secular society under a secular government. 
 
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UNP SEES TSUNAMI CONNECTION 
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6.  (C)  Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe told A/S 
Rocca that his United National Party (UNP) was against 
proposed anti-conversion legislation.  When the JHU 
introduced its bill last year , he said, the UNP had tried to 
stop it in committee. The party was blindsided by the GSL 
bill, he acknowledged.  Wickremasinghe reported that he 
believes the government is not committed to the bill; 
pursuing it will cause the GSL to lose Christian votes. 
However, if the bill were to come up for a vote, the UNP 
would have to follow the SLFP in allowing a &free vote,8 
making it hard for members to vote against it, he speculated. 
  Having reviewed the draft, he said, the UNP believes the 
GSL bill should go to committee and form the topic of 
consultations with religious leaders from all groups to 
ensure all opinions are considered and rights are protected. 
Discussion of the bill in Parliament could prove so divisive 
and jeopardize communal harmony so much, he said, that the 
best strategy is to prevent the bill from ever being voted 
upon.  Wickremasinghe assured the Ambassador that the JHU 
bill was not on the agenda (the "standing orders") in 
parliament.  Rather, it was on the "order book" which, he 
assured us, meant nothing.  (Note:  Per reftel, the JHU 
thinks it is on the agenda.  End note.) 
 
7.  (C)  UNP MP Milinda Moragoda tied the latest push toward 
anti-conversion legislation to the influx of money for NGOs 
engaged in tsunami relief work.  Many are suspicious that aid 
money is &Christian money for conversion.8  Wickremasinghe 
said that there is a belief among some that the U.S. Congress 
is funding fundamental Christian churches.  A/S Rocca asked 
if any of the numerous stories about forced conversions were 
real.  Moragoda responded that about 90 percent were likely 
fabrications, but stressed that many of the Buddhist clergy 
believe the stories and vociferously spread them, such as one 
rumor that World Vision was putting a Bible in each tent it 
provided for the displaced.   Ambassador and A/S Rocca 
strongly counseled that the ramifications of a successful 
anti-conversion bill would have a negative impact on all of 
Sri Lanka and could affect aid and other assistance to the 
country.    Wickremasinghe indicated he understood and agreed 
that all international assistance could be jeopardized. 
 
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NGOS:  THE THREAT IS REAL 
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8.  (C) During an April 20 luncheon, human rights activists 
underscored to the Ambassador and A/S their concern at both 
bills.  Nayomini Weerasooriya of the National Evangelical 
Alliance (herself a convert from Buddhism) said that the 
proposed legislation is part of a continued pattern of 
harassment and intimidation of Christians, especially in 
rural areas.  Public support for such legislation was not 
widespread, participants agreed; the furor was perpetrated by 
just a handful of zealot monks.  That said, an undercurrent 
of suspicion/misunderstanding/ignorance of Christian values 
helped fuel rumors of forced conversions, Weerasooriya 
asserted.  She added that she believes President Kumaratunga 
herself is personally quite tolerant of ethnic and religious 
minorities, but that she is using the GSL bill in a game of 
"political chess" to win JHU support.  The President may 
believe that, once having secured that support, she can 
somehow turn off the bill later.  If so, Weerasooriya warned, 
the President may be miscalculating.  Communal sentiments, 
she concluded, once riled, are difficult to defuse. 
 
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COMMENT 
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9.  (C) With the obvious exception of the JHU, no political 
party has told us unequivocally it supports anti-conversion 
legislation.  (In separate discussions, the Tamil National 
Alliance has told us firmly it would not support the 
legislation.  About 30 percent of Tamils are Christian.) 
Even the GSL, which drafted one of the current bills, 
insists, somewhat schizophrenically, that it is not seeking 
its actual passage.  That said, for an issue with so few 
avowed advocates, the anti-conversion specter has continued 
to dog Sri Lankan politics for several years.  If the GSL 
bill is, as popular wisdom seems to hold, a gambit to win a 
handful of JHU votes, it is a dangerously short-sighted game 
to play.  Sri Lanka has already suffered more than 20 years 
of ethnic violence.  Creating legislation bound to exacerbate 
comparatively mild religious tensions and further split this 
already deeply divided society seems exceptionally foolhardy. 
 We will continue to urge, in the strongest possible terms, 
that the GSL work to prevent passage of such legislation. 
 
 
10. (U) A/S Rocca cleared this cable. 
 
 
 
 
ENTWISTLE