US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO1229

C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 001229 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2020 
TAGS: PGOV, KIRF, PHUM, CE, Religious Freedom 
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT SAYS SHE NEEDS TO FIND WAY TO STOP 
ANTI-CONVERSION BILL 
 
REF: COLOMBO 1169 
 
Classified By: Amb. J. Lunstead for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: In a conversation with the Ambassador, 
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga expressed her 
surprise at the gazetting of a Government drafted 
anti-conversion bill and indicated she would try to find a 
way to stop the bill from moving forward.  In response to the 
bill's gazetting on June 24 (Reftel), the Catholic Archbishop 
of Colombo told the Ambassador that the Catholic Church is 
preparing to file a case in the Supreme Court as soon as the 
bill is officially introduced in Parliament.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (C) At a farewell dinner for the Netherlands Ambassador 
hosted by President Kumaratunga, Ambassador Lunstead asked 
President Kumaratunga for her reaction to the June 24 
gazetting of the government's anti-conversion bill. With an 
annoyed look on her face, President Kumaratunga said: 
"Ratnasiri told me he would not move ahead with the bill, and 
then he did it anyway. I will have to find a way to kill it." 
(Note: Ratnasiri Wickremanayake is the Minister of Buddhist 
Affairs, the Ministry in the Government that drafted the 
anti-Conversion bill.  End Note.) Ambassador asked how the 
President could do that, and she replied that she did not 
know, but would have to find a way. 
 
3. (SBU) In a conversation on a different occasion, Catholic 
Archbishop of Colombo told the Ambassador that the Catholic 
Church was readying its legal team to file a case in the 
Supreme Court as soon as the bill was officially introduced 
in Parliament. (Note: In the Sri Lankan system, the Supreme 
Court rules on the constitutionality of a bill when it is 
introduced into Parliament, not after it becomes law.  End 
Note.) 
 
4. (C) COMMENT: As unlikely as it seems, the President's 
comments seem to confirm our earlier suspicion that the 
Buddhist Affairs Minister has taken this action on his own, 
and apparently in direct contravention of what he had 
promised the President. END COMMENT. 
LUNSTEAD