US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO1112

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001112 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, CE, LTTE - Peace Process, Tsunami, Political Parties 
SUBJECT: NORWEGIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER ON JOINT 
MECHANISM:  PRESIDENT WANTS ME OUT OF TOWN WHEN IT IS 
SIGNED, AND SHE WANTS ME TO LEAVE TOMORROW 
 
REF: COLOMBO 1088 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: AMB. JEFFREY J. LUNSTEAD.  REASON:  1.4 (B,D). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen told 
donors on June 23 that the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) will 
sign a controversial agreement to coordinate tsunami aid with 
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) early June 24. 
The so-called "joint mechanism" agreement is also expected to 
be tabled in Parliament for debate as an adjournment motion 
later the same day, according to Majority Leader Maitripala 
Sirisena.  No changes will be made to the text to satisfy 
Muslim demands for greater representation.  The Norwegians 
are focusing now on implementation of the agreement and on 
strengthening the ceasefire.  The World Bank is ready to 
implement the Joint Mechanism-linked Trust Fund quickly.  The 
Sinhalese nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which 
left the government alliance on June 16 over disagreement on 
the joint mechanism, has threatened an islandwide walk-out by 
its unions to protest the agreement on June 24.  End summary. 
 
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NORWEGIAN SAYS TSUNAMI AID AGREEMENT 
TO BE SIGNED ON JUNE 24 
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2.  (C) Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen 
briefed the donor community on June 23, as he neared the 
conclusion of his visit to Sri Lanka.  Helgesen said 
President Chandrika Kumaratunga "will sign" the so-called 
"joint mechanism" agreement to coordinate tsunami relief with 
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).  He did not 
specify a date before the large donor group, saying only that 
the two sides were "very close to signature."  In private 
conversation with the Ambassador after the larger meeting, 
however, Helgesen said that "the President wants to sign 
after I have left the country, and she wants me to leave 
tonight."  He then confirmed that the joint mechanism should 
be signed on June 24.  Relief, Reconstruction and 
Rehabilitation Director General Harim Peiris will sign for 
the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL); Norwegian Ambassador 
Brattskar will then carry a copy of the agreement to 
Kilinochchi for the LTTE signature. 
 
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NO CHANGES FOR MUSLIMS 
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3.  (C) Helgesen confirmed that he had a stormy session with 
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem, who 
wanted to renegotiate parts of the agreement to give Muslims 
a greater voice.  Helgesen told him that was not possible. 
Helgesen told donors the important thing for Muslims would be 
to decide on their representatives for the various 
committees, and that the GSL and the LTTE have already been 
thinking about their representatives. 
 
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NOW COMES THE HARD PART 
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4.  (C)  In general, Helgesen said, the focus now needs to be 
on implementation of the agreement.  We need to avoid the 
situation which developed after the signing of the Ceasefire 
Agreement, when the two sides agreed to set up a 
"Subcommittee on Immediate Humanitarian Needs" (SIHRN), only 
to see that commitment collapse amidst bureaucratic 
bickering, he said.  The objective now will be to get "quick 
funding for quick projects." 
 
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COMMON FUND READY TO GO 
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5.  (C) In line with this, World Bank Director Peter Harrold 
said at the same gathering that although the Bank has not yet 
been formally requested by both sides to set up a Common 
Fund, it has prepared all of the paperwork.  In fact, the EC 
and Australia have already indicated that they have monies 
ready to contribute to the Fund.  With regard to non-Fund 
monies, the role of the joint mechanism will be largely to 
decide on priorities for funding.  It was noted that most 
donor and NGO funds are already committed and MOUs signed, so 
incremental funds to be apportioned through the mechanism 
will be limited. 
 
6.  (C) Helgesen said that besides implementation of the 
joint mechanism, the focus now needs to be on strengthening 
the ceasefire.  The joint mechanism and the ceasefire can be 
synergistic; an efficient joint mechanism can strengthen the 
ceasefire and vice versa.  The converse also holds--if the 
joint mechanism flops, the ceasefire will come under more 
pressure, and if the ceasefire is violated, it will be more 
difficult to implement the joint mechanism.  Helgesen added 
that he had raised the issue of ceasefire violations with the 
LTTE during his visit to Kilinochchi on June 22. 
 
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PUTTING THE MECHANISM IN (AS A ) MOTION 
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7.  (U) Responding to a question posed by Janatha Vimukthi 
Peramuna (JVP) MP Wimal Weerawansa in Parliament on June 23, 
Leader of the House and River Basin Development Minister 
Maitripala Sirisena said that the government will bring the 
joint mechanism as an adjournment motion for debate in 
Parliament on June 24.  (Note:  There is no vote on an 
adjournment motion.)  Sirisena reportedly sidestepped a 
direct follow-up question from Weerawansa on whether the 
joint mechanism would be signed before, during or after the 
debate in Parliament, responding only that the agreement 
"might be" signed at some point on June 24.  Trade Minister 
Jeyaraj Fenandopoulle offered no greater illumination on the 
subject when he interjected that all details would be 
revealed to Parliament on June 24.  (Note:  The pro-LTTE 
Tamil National Alliance, as well as the United National 
Party, the main opposition party, have urged the government 
not to bring the agreement to Parliament for debate before 
signing it.  End note.) 
 
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JVP TO CALL OUT UNIONS, 
RAISE BLACK FLAGS 
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8.  (SBU) According to JVP sources, the party is planning an 
islandwide walk-out of all its affiliated trade and labor 
unions in the private and public sectors on June 24 to 
protest the joint mechanism.  Affected sectors could include 
petroleum, electricity, the postal system, railways, and 
buses, among others.  Union members aligned with the Marxist 
nationalist party, which quit its alliance with the 
government on June 16 to protest the joint mechanism, are 
being asked to raise black flags to signal opposition to the 
proposed agreement. 
 
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COMMENT 
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9. (C) Things could still fall apart, but absent some 
cataclysmic change, the joint mechanism will finally be 
signed on June 24.  Helgesen is exactly right; the tough part 
will be in getting the mechanism to work.  The two sides are 
like an engaged couple--focusing on the wedding day and 
forgetting that they have to live together afterwards. 
Nonetheless, if all goes as planned, June 24 will be a 
momentous day.  The joint mechanism will be the first 
agreement of any sort that President Kumaratunga, who ran for 
office 11 years ago as the peace candidate, will have signed 
with the LTTE.  Now if she can only make it work. 
LUNSTEAD