US embassy cable - 02COLOMBO1848

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001848 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS 
 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  10-04-12 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, PINR, CE, Political Parties, LTTE - Peace Process 
SUBJECT:  President Kumaratunga's swipe at the PM sparks 
another cohabitation dustup 
 
Refs:  Colombo 1828, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by W. Lewis Amselem, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons 1.5 (b, d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  In a recent speech, President 
Kumraratunga accused Prime Minister Wickremesinghe of 
soliciting bribes years ago.  The accusation has 
prompted another cohabitation dustup, with the PM's 
supporters responding with salvos of their own aimed at 
Kumraratunga.  In a more muted fashion, Kumaratunga and 
her advisers are also hitting out at the GSL's peace 
initiative.  The sum result of the latest fracas is that 
it probably strengthened the PM's determination to take 
steps to rein in Kumaratunga's powers.  End Summary. 
 
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Kumraratunga Lashes Out at PM 
----------------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU) The cohabitation waters are riled again.  In a 
September 29 speech given in the north-central city of 
Anuradhapura, President Kumaratunga lashed out at Prime 
Minister Wickremesinghe.  In widely publicized comments, 
the president effectively accused Wickremesinghe of 
soliciting bribes when he was education minister in the 
late 1980's.  Without providing any evidence, she 
asserted that the Wickremesinghe and his staff had 
demanded that she (Kumaratunga) pay 25,000 Rupees 
(roughly USD 260) in order to gain admittance for her 
son, Vimukthi, to Royal College, a well-known local high 
school.  The president asserted that she would not pay 
the bribe and her son did not gain admittance. 
 
3.  (C) (((Note:  The latest presidential version of why 
her son did not get into Royal College is a new one.  In 
the past, she has asserted that Wickremesinghe had 
blackballed her son from getting into the prestigious 
school for political reasons.  She did not mention the 
bribery charge.  Whatever the truth is regarding her 
son's application to get into the school, it is apparent 
that whatever happened made a deep imprint on 
Kumrartunga, with many observers citing it as one of the 
key reasons she does not get along with the PM.  End 
Note.))) 
 
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Dustup Ensues 
------------- 
 
4.  (SBU) The accusation has led to another cohabitation 
dustup, with the PM's supporters harshly criticizing 
Kumraratunga.  Commerce Minister Ravi Karunanayake, a 
bitter foe of Kumaratunga's, was quoted as stating:  "We 
know the president attacks us (other ministers in the 
government) and we don't take those insults seriously, 
but we will not allow her to cast aspersions on the 
prime minister."  Buddhist Welfare Minister W.J.M. 
Lokubandara stated:  "We must understand that we cannot 
have cohabitation with the president under the present 
circumstances."  According to press reports, the weekly 
cabinet chaired by the PM on October 2 also turned into 
a hotbed of anti-Kumaratunga invective.  In obviously 
leaked reports, various ministers were cited as calling 
for Kumraratunga's immediate impeachment, among other 
things. 
 
5.  (C) The ferocity of the response to her accusation, 
including the generally negative press play it 
generated, put the president a bit on the defensive. 
Her staff asserted that she had been misquoted, but 
video feed of the speech showed her making the bribery 
claim.  Her staff then took another tack -- Harim 
Peiris, one of the president's press spokesman, told us 
that "she was just joking."  Be that as it may, the 
damage had been done, with many finding the president's 
remarks beyond the pale.  Taranjit Sandhu, polchief at 
the Indian High Commission, told us that Kumaratunga's 
comments "had badly backfired.  The PM is widely 
respected and few people believe that he is corrupt. 
Most people took the president's remarks as another sign 
of her own instability." 
 
------------------------------------- 
Chipping away at the Peace Initiative 
------------------------------------- 
 
6.  (SBU) In a more muted fashion (compared with her 
Anurahapura remarks in any case), the president and her 
advisers have also been criticizing the GSL's peace 
initiative.  In the latest salvo, the president's office 
publicly issued a letter she had sent to the PM dated 
September 27 in which she expressed concern over two 
matters.  First, she warned the PM not to take any 
rushed steps related to "high security zones" that might 
affect "national security."   (Note:  At the recent 
talks in Thailand, the two sides agreed to form a joint 
body to examine high security zones in the north and 
east, with the aim of allowing increased numbers of 
displaced persons to return to their point of origin.) 
Second, she asked to PM to look into press reports that 
the Tamil Tigers had held a large graduation ceremony 
for military cadets on September 19 in the Trincomalee 
area (see Reftel). 
 
7.  (C) In addition to the president's letter, Harim 
Peiris spoke to the press regarding the peace process, 
stating that the Tamil Tigers needed to be disarmed 
before the GSL agreed to the formation of an interim 
administration for the north and east.  Explaining his 
stance, he was quoted as commenting, "A heavily armed 
LTTE taking over government-controlled areas is 
untenable."  (Note:  It is widely expected that the 
Tigers would dominate any interim administration formed 
for the north and east.)  Reacting to Peiris' comments, 
Jehan Perera, the head of a local think-tank, told us 
that the disarming of the Tigers could not even be 
considered at this point as the group would not even 
hear of it.  To make such a demand, "could end the peace 
process," Perera averred. 
 
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Comment 
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8.  (C) For his part, the PM did not publicly comment on 
the president's accusation, although he was said to be 
infuriated in private.  The sum result of the latest 
fracas is that it probably strengthened the PM's 
determination to take steps to rein in Kumaratunga's 
powers.  Already, the PM is moving a bill in Parliament 
meant to constrain the president's power to call new 
elections.  It is not clear whether the bill has the 
needed support, but the latest outburst by Kumaratunga 
probably helped the PM's cause. 
 
9.  (C) In terms of the latest soundings re the peace 
process, the president seems to be trying to appear as 
skeptical and hard-line toward the Tigers as possible in 
order to accuse the GSL of naivete if the process is 
somehow derailed.  She seems a bit tentative on the 
subject, however, perhaps because she does not want to 
alienate a public which strongly supports the GSL's 
peace initiative at this time.  End Comment. 
 
10.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
WILLS