US embassy cable - 02COLOMBO2195

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 002195 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, SA/PD FOR IRWIN; AND S/CT 
 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL: 11-26-12 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, EAID, KPAO, CE, NO, LTTE - Peace Process, Political Parties 
SUBJECT:  OSLO MEETING REAPS LAVISH, UPBEAT PRESS 
COVERAGE; DEPUTY SECRETARY'S REMARKS EARN PRAISE 
 
Refs:  Colombo 2184, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Charge d'Affaires. 
Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY:  The Oslo meeting on the Sri Lankan 
peace process has received lavish, upbeat press 
coverage.  Deputy Secretary Armitage's remarks -- which 
were specifically highlighted in the press coverage -- 
earned special praise.  President Kumaratunga has not 
yet issued a public statement on the meeting, but 
members of her party are planning a rally in Colombo 
today protesting the GSL's peace initiative.  Our 
preliminary assessment is that the Oslo meeting provided 
the peace process a solid boost.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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OSLO GARNERS LAVISH, UPBEAT COVERAGE 
------------------------------------ 
 
2.  (SBU) The November 25 Oslo "Sri Lanka Peace Process 
Support Meeting" received lavish and upbeat press 
coverage back home.  In November 26 newspaper editions, 
coverage was front-page and above-the-fold, with large 
photo spreads.  With most of the focus on 
Deputy Secretary Armitage's remarks (see more in 
Para 6), representative headlines from the major papers 
included: 
 
-- "Daily News" (English):  "U.S. urges LTTE to Renounce 
Terrorism" 
 
-- "Daily Mirror" (English):  "United States urges 
Tigers to Give Up Terror" 
 
-- "The Island" (English):  "PM Calls on Global 
Community to Help Lanka Now" 
 
-- "Dinamina" (Sinhala):  "America Says LTTE should 
Publicly Declare that they have Given Up Armed 
Confrontation" 
 
-- "Lankadeepa" (Sinhala):  "Armitage -- LTTE should 
Give Up Idea of Separate State and Armed Struggle" 
 
3.  (SBU) Most editorials portrayed the Oslo meeting as 
a key boost for the peace process.  The editorial in 
"The Island," a paper that invariably takes a strongly 
anti-peace process tack, did not mention the Oslo 
meeting, however.  (Note:  "The Island" preferred to 
lambaste putative plans by the government to allow a re- 
broadcast on a government radio channel of LTTE leader's 
V. Prabhakaran's annual "Heroes' Day" address on 
November 27 -- see Reftel.) 
 
4.  (U) Television and radio also provided significant 
coverage of the meeting.  Opening remarks by Prime 
Minister Wickremesinghe, Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam (LTTE) special negotiator Anton Balasingham, and 
Deputy Secretary Armitage were given special attention. 
 
5.  (SBU) "TamilNet," the pro-LTTE website, provided 
several stories on the Oslo meeting.  Most of its 
reporting, predictably, focused on Balasingham's 
remarks.  Reflecting a newfound commitment to balanced 
reporting, however, TamilNet also provided a thorough 
review of Deputy Secretary Armitage's remarks, including 
his call for the LTTE to renounce, terrorism, violence, 
and separatism. 
 
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SPECIAL PRAISE FOR U.S. REMARKS 
------------------------------- 
 
6.  (C) In discussions with a wide variety of contacts, 
Deputy Secretary Armitage's remarks drew special praise. 
Most of the comments focused on that section of the 
remarks that referred to the LTTE.  Reaction included: 
-- Kethesh Loganathan, an analyst at the Center of 
Policy Alternatives, a local think-tank, told us that 
the U.S. presence at the meeting was constructive in 
underscoring international support for the peace 
process.  In addition, the Deputy Secretary's remarks 
had set "clear-cut boundaries" (renounce terrorism and 
violence, etc.) that the LTTE needed to absorb fully if 
the group wanted increased international acceptance. 
 
-- Taranjit Sandhu, the polcouns at the Indian High 
Commission, also praised the Deputy Secretary's remarks. 
He stressed that the comments re the LTTE should prove 
beneficial in convincing the group that it needed to do 
more to convince the international community that it had 
transformed itself.  Sandhu went on to express some 
concern that the LTTE might get the wrong message from 
the meeting and believe that the fact that it was 
allowed to be present at all signified international 
acceptance. 
 
-- Harim Peiris, a spokesman for President Kumaratunga, 
told us that he thought that the Deputy Secretary's 
remarks were positive and should prove "bracing" for the 
LTTE.  It was important that the group not believe that 
it had already earned international acceptance. 
 
-- Joseph Pararajahsingham, a senior Tamil National 
Alliance MP, welcomed U.S. participation at the Oslo 
meeting.  While not commenting directly on the Deputy 
Secretary's remarks re the LTTE, Pararajahsingham was 
 
SIPDIS 
not critical of those remarks either.  He said he 
thought Oslo was a great success for the peace process. 
(Note:  Pararajahsingham is extremely pro-LTTE.  He said 
he had just gotten back to Colombo from a LTTE "Heroes's 
Day" celebration in his hometown of Batticaloa.) 
(Note:  TamilNet cited Balasingham as welcoming U.S. 
participation in the Oslo meeting by stating:  "The 
American participation in this meeting is an 
extraordinarily important matter for us because it 
reinforces the point that the LTTE is a crucial partner 
in resolving the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.") 
 
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OPPOSITION PLANS RALLY 
---------------------- 
 
7.  (C) President Kumaratunga, who has long been at odds 
with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, has not yet come out 
with a public statement in reaction to the Oslo meeting. 
Her assistant, Harim Peiris, said he would hold a press 
conference tomorrow to review the president's stance. 
Peiris seemed to indicate that the president would not 
be taking a negative position, but that her reaction 
would be positive-themed. 
 
8.  (C) In the meantime, members of Kumaratunga's 
People's Alliance (PA) party are planning a rally in 
Colombo today (November 26) protesting the GSL's 
handling of the peace process.  Several senior PA MPs 
reportedly plan to participate in the rally, including 
Anura Bandaranaike (the president's brother), Mangala 
Samaraweera, and Dinesh Gunarwardena.  MPs from the 
radical Janantha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) will also 
participate.  (Note:  Judging from previous anti-peace 
process rallies, most of the crowd will consist of JVP 
supporters.)  Queried about the rally, Peiris separated 
the president's office from it, asserting that the rally 
did not involve President Kumaratunga. 
 
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COMMENT 
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9.  (C) It is still early, but our preliminary 
assessment is that the Oslo meeting provided the peace 
process a solid boost.  Per expectations (see Reftels), 
most of the focus at the meeting reportedly was on the 
message that the international community supports the 
peace process -- and not on pledging by donors.  That 
political message was well received and was amplified 
significantly by U.S. participation.  In addition, based 
on the press coverage, our message re the LTTE was also 
broadcast loud-and-clear.  Whether the LTTE picked up on 
our message -- aside from Balasingham's publicized 
comments to the effect that the LTTE could not totally 
forswear violence at this time -- will be tested in the 
first instance on November 27 by the substance of 
Prabhakaran's annual address (see Reftel).  END COMMENT. 
 
10.  (U) Minimize considered. 
AMSELEM