US embassy cable - 02COLOMBO1541

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 001541 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/21/12 
TAGS: PGOV, CE, Political Parties 
SUBJECT:  President meeting with JVP leads to much 
speculation; most observers see no lasting PA-JVP pact 
 
Ref: Colombo 1450 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador E. Ashley Wills.  Reasons 
1.5 (b,d). 
 
1. (C) Summary:  The President recently met with the JVP 
in what many saw as a move to thwart the UNF peace 
initiatives.  PA representatives and other observers 
state the meetings between the President and JVP were 
simply a show of strength.  The upcoming no confidence 
vote against a UNF Minister might be the first test of 
that strength.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) On August 9, President Kumaratunga met with the 
leader of the radical Janantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) 
Tilvin Silva.  The meeting elicited strong responses 
from Tamil politicians who described the talks as a 
threat to the peace process.  MP G.G. Ponnambalam of the 
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) stated that her meeting 
with the JVP proves that when the President "talks of 
building a pluralistic society it is merely lip 
service."  According to him, working with the Sinhala- 
nationalist JVP shows that the President has no 
credibility.  MP T. Thangavadivel summarized the TNA 
response when he said the PA and JVP working together is 
a "rotten alliance." 
 
3. (U) Presidential Spokesman Harim Peiris countered by 
describing the meeting, and subsequent discussions, as 
simple political posturing in hopes of staving off 
possible snap elections (see Reftel).  He asserted that 
the PA had no desire to coordinate policy with the JVP. 
A secondary reason for the meeting, he asserted, was to 
show the United National Front (UNF) that the President 
would not accede to their demands on a range of issues 
without a fight. 
 
4. (C) Some political observers believe any agreement 
between the JVP and PA can only be of a limited nature, 
because of the adverse effects any such alliance would 
have within and on the PA.  Kingsley Rodrigo, Executive 
Director of PAFFREL, a NGO promoting democratic reform, 
stated that a true alliance between Kumaratunga and 
Silva would result in a number of PA MPs' abandoning 
their party.  Kethesh Loganathan of the Center for 
Policy Alternatives (CPA) believes that any joint 
efforts by the JVP and PA will be only for election 
purposes:  too many people in the party do not trust the 
JVP.  Loganathan emphasized that the single largest 
reason for the unwillingness of many PA MPs to work with 
JVP is that the electorate wants peace and the JVP has 
taken a strong anti-peace process stance. 
 
5. (C) Referring to a possible alliance between the PA 
and JVP, General Secretary of the UNF Senarath 
Kapukotuwa claimed that the first test of any such 
relationship would be the PA-sponsored no confidence 
bill against Minister of Interior John Amaratunge. 
Kapukotuwa claimed that the Kumaratunga meeting with 
Silva was an attempt to show strength, but the 
reluctance of some PA members to speak against 
Amaratunge is the true indicator of the PA's weakness. 
Observers such as Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Executive 
Director of the CPA, agreed with the assessment that the 
events leading up to the vote on the no-confidence bill 
will give some indication of the strength of each side 
going into the debate over a constitutional amendment 
designed to limit the President's powers. 
 
Wills