US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO933

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000933 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, ECON, EAID, CE, LTTE - Peace Process, Political Parties 
SUBJECT: SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT VOWS TO PASS JOINT MECHANISM, 
REQUESTS SUPPORT OF PUBLICLY-OWNED UTILITY RESTRUCTURING 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead for reason 1.4 (d). 
 
SUMMARY 
 
1.  (U)  President Chandrika Kumaratunga gave an 
extemporaneous and sometimes emotional opening speech to the 
Sri Lanka Development Forum in Kandy on May 16, vowing to 
sign the "Joint Mechanism" on tsunami relief with the 
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).  She also asked 
donors to support her government's efforts to restructure 
(but not privatize) the "strategic" (yet inefficient) 
governmentally owned transport and energy sectors.  The 
President continues to say she will go forward with the 
mechanism, but opposition to it is increasingly vocal as we 
head into a long holiday weekend.  End Summary. 
 
"FROM THE HEART" 
 
2.  (SBU)  President Kumaratunga's opening speech before 
donors, ministers and political party leaders at the Sri 
Lanka Development Forum in Kandy on May 16 was extemporaneous 
and lengthy.  According to the Foreign Minister Lakshman 
Kadirgamer, the "bureaucracy" had prepared a speech for 
Kumaratunga, which was to be an innocuous 15-minute 
presentation, yet she decided to speak "from her heart." 
(Note:  She appeared to have brief notes hand-written on a 
crumpled envelope, but never seemed to consult them.) 
Appearing tired and stressed, it took some time for 
Kumaratunga to warm up and express what she apparently wished 
to say:  that she intended to pursue the Joint Mechanism for 
the delivery of assistance to the north and east. 
 
JOINT MECHANISM TO "OPEN MANY DOORS" TO PEACE 
 
3.  (U)  Kumaratunga expressed a drive to continue providing 
relief with the LTTE in the tsunami-devastated areas.  She 
described the Joint Mechanism as merely the formalization of 
the cooperative efforts that have already taken place for 
four months in the two kilometer-wide strip along 
LTTE-controlled regions of Sri Lanka's north and east.  While 
clarifying that the Joint Mechanism is not a part of the 
peace process, she noted that the formalization of the Joint 
Mechanism could "open many doors" toward peace.  She stated 
that working together would build confidence between the 
government and the LTTE with the Tamil population as a whole. 
 
4.  (U)  She asserted (as she has in the past) that a 
majority of the Sri Lankan people and its government support 
the Joint Mechanism, and that no political party should try 
to gain "petty political advantage" in stalling the Joint 
Mechanism.  She promised that her government had the courage 
to move forward with the initiative, and that she was willing 
to risk her life, limb and political future in this regard. 
 
RESTRUCTURING NEEDED 
 
5.  (U)  Turning to larger developmental issues, Kumaratunga 
also advised that restructuring of the ailing public 
transport sector and the power sector will take some time. 
"We need time to convince the people that we need to 
restructure the ailing public transport sector and the power 
sector established under a closed economy to turn them into 
efficient and effective public enterprises," she added, and 
informed the audience that the government does not believe in 
the privatization of strategic enterprises.  She requested 
support of the donors in this matter. 
 
FROM THE PULPIT (OR PEANUT GALLERY) 
 
6.  (U)  At the conclusion of her speech, Buddhist monk and 
Jathika Hele Urumaya (JHU) party leader Ver. Athuraliya 
Rathana, sitting in the front row of spectators, interrupted 
the event to read out a statement of his own.  Asserting that 
Kumaratunga had no authority to enter into the Joint 
Mechanism, he declared that it should be debated in 
Parliament.  He denounced the LTTE for its terrorist 
activity, and said that the government should not enter into 
any agreement with the LTTE until it ceased killing opponents 
and recruiting children, and demolished its recently 
constructed airstrip. 
 
CONTINUING CONTROVERSY 
7.  (U)  Kumaratunga's dramatic speech and the JHU 
intervention have sparked continuing comment and controversy. 
 On May 19, the JHU party reiterated its objections, with 
threats to walk out of Parliament if the Joint Mechanism was 
signed.  Several JHU MPs staged a non-violent protest that 
included an eight mile walk from Parliament.  In contrast, 
the opposition United National Party on May 19 asked why the 
Kumaratunga was taking so long to sign, noting that past 
presidents signed controversial agreements rather than making 
protracted proclamations of intent.  Also on May 19, the 
Marxist-Nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) strongly 
rejected the Joint Mechanism, stating that it would be 
unconstitutional, undemocratic, and would create chaos not 
only in the country but in the whole South Asian region. 
Instead, the JVP proposed setting up a national committee to 
rebuild the affected areas, which would be headed by the 
President and made up of Cabinet ministers, political party 
representatives, public sector officials, professionals, 
representatives from the business community and senior 
citizens. 
 
COMMENT 
 
8.  (C)  Kumaratunga's emotional speech reiterated what she 
told the Ambassador a week ago:  that she will proceed with 
the mechanism come what may.  But as Sri LAnka heads into a 
long holiday weekend, there is no sense of when she plans to 
do so, and opposition to the mechanism' is becoming more 
vocal with each passing day, especially from the President's 
coalition "partner" JVP. 
LUNSTEAD