US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO550

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000550 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INR/R/MR, I/RW, I/REC; PA 
SA/INS (FOR JWALLER); SA/PD (LJIRWIN, LSCENSNY, 
WREINCKENS); SSA/PAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, OPRC, KMDR, OIIP, CE, External Relations 
SUBJECT: MEDIA PLAY - IRAQ 
 
1. Sri Lanka's English-medium front pages found room for 
only two war-related headlines on 4/1:  "U.S. pounds 
Baghdad, battles to the south," said one; "U.S. in first 
major clash with Republican guard" said the other.  More -- 
and more strident -- headlines appeared on the vernacular 
front pages, however.  "Iraq Information Ministry heavily 
damaged by missile attack, "Missile attacks Saddam's son's 
palace," and "America faces the Iraqi super force for the 
first time" said the Sinhala dailies, while the Tamil 
dailies led with headlines such as "Stiff resistance from 
Iraqi forces," "Four thousand suicide bombers ready to face 
coalition forces," and "U.S. Commanders say 'No hurry in 
capturing Baghdad.'" 
 
2. Under the headline "Double standards on peace, the 
editors of the DAILY NEWS (government-owned English daily, 
islandwide circulation) wondered why some Sri Lankans are 
simultaneously pro-peace in Iraq and "deafeningly silent" 
regarding peace in Sri Lanka itself.  Excerpts: 
 
"... war involves killing and loss of life and this stark 
fact has to be bemoaned regardless of where it occurs. 
 
"What leads us to these thoughts is the emergence of a 
perplexing mindset among some sections of local opinion on 
the question of peace in Sri Lanka.  While these sections 
would, rightly, denounce the loss of life in the war in 
Iraq, they tend to be deafeningly silent on the moral 
correctness in ending the conflict in Sri Lanka by peaceful 
means. 
 
"In other words, the very same sections are some of the 
most vociferous critics of the current peace process.  A 
clear instance of double standards -- to say the least. It 
is this mental anomaly which led Prime Minister Ranil 
Wickremesinghe to observe recently at a rally in Matara 
that: 'Some sections among our people are against the war 
in Iraq, but the same people are against the peace process 
in Sri Lanka.'" 
 
3. LANKADEEPA (independent Sinhala daily, islandwide 
circulation) writes an editorial to ask "What's the 
objective of war in Iraq war?"  LANKADEEPA's answer: 
American imperialism.  Excerpts: 
 
"The U.S. has now launched a new imperialism.  It is now 
the richest and most powerful nation on earth and won't let 
any other nation come close.... 
 
"Whatever the U.S.'s ulterior motive, the war is against a 
very helpless population, which suffered enough during the 
first Gulf War, which has gone homeless, suffered 
embargos....  What will become of them?" 
 
Wills