US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO994

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 000994 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, INR/NESA 
NSC FOR E. MILLARD 
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  06-09-13 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PINS, PHUM, SOCI, CE, Political Parties 
SUBJECT:  Domestic Politics Update:  Meeting between PM- 
presidential aide stirs questions; MPs acting badly 
 
Refs:  Colombo 975, and previous 
 
(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Charge d'Affaires. 
Reasons:  1.5 (b, d). 
 
1.  (C) This update of Sri Lanka's domestic 
political situation reviews the following: 
 
-- In meeting, prime minister and key presidential aide 
reportedly discuss coalition government 
 
-- Supreme Court ruling puts provincial chief ministers 
in jeopardy 
 
-- Sri Lanka debates whether to lift long-standing 
moratorium and re-impose the death penalty 
 
-- Cricket board election hurts political prospects of 
Opposition's bright new star 
 
-- Governing party MPs acting badly 
 
=============================== 
Coalition Government Discussed? 
=============================== 
 
2.  (C) There are reports that the GSL and the 
Opposition may have discussed forming a coalition 
government.  Key presidential advisor Lakshman 
Kadirgamar was reported to have proposed a coalition 
between the president's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) 
and the ruling United National Front (UNF) during talks 
with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe on June 6. 
(Note:  The SLFP is the key constituent element of the 
People's Alliance party.  Kadirgamar is a former foreign 
minister.)  The press reports also indicate that 
President Kumaratunga was considering naming Kadirgamar 
as "interim prime minister" under this coalition 
proposition.  In remarks cited by the press on June 8, 
Kadirgamar denied the "coalition proposal" report. 
Early June 9, presidential spokesman Harim Peiris gave 
some validity to the report, telling us that the concept 
of the SLFP and UNF working closer together "probably 
surfaced" during the PM-Kadirgamar discussion.  Peiris 
stressed, however, that the conversation probably did 
not involve a proposal for a joint government. 
 
3.  (C) COMMENT:  What exactly took place during the 
PM/Kadirgamar discussion is a bit mysterious.  In the 
past, there has been off-and-on talk of the two major 
parties, i.e., the UNF and the SLFP, forming some sort 
of "national" government, but those proposals went 
nowhere.  In fact, the SLFP has been discussing a formal 
alignment with the radical Janantha Vimukthi Peramuna 
(JVP) party of late, which would preclude a link with 
the UNF.  While it is possible that the reports are some 
sort of trial balloon put out by someone, our guess is 
that a UNF-SLFP linkage is not in the cards at this 
point, as there is too much bad blood between the two 
sides.  END COMMENT. 
 
========================= 
Ruling re Chief Ministers 
========================= 
 
4.  (C) In a ruling with potentially wide political 
ramifications, Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has ruled 
against the legality of the chief minister of Uva 
province's right to hold his office.  (Note:  FYI.  Uva 
is a tea growing region located in Sri Lanka's 
southeast.)  The ruling stated that the minister, a 
member of the opposition People's Alliance (PA) party, 
was not eligible to be nominated for the vacancy because 
he was not originally a candidate during the 1999 
provincial council election.  While the ruling 
technically addresses only the Uva province chief 
minister's slot, two other PA-party chief ministers (for 
the Western and the North-Central provinces) were 
selected in the same way that the court ruled against. 
We understand that the Uva chief minister is planning to 
appeal the ruling. 
 
5.  (C) COMMENT:  Sri Lanka has seven provincial 
councils, with the PA controlling six of them.  The 
provincial councils and their chief minister positions 
are not very powerful at this time.  That could change, 
especially if the GSL and the Tamil Tigers agree to form 
a semi-autonomous set-up in the north/east, which could 
lead to devolved powers in the rest of the country.  In 
any case, the ruling is a black eye for the PA, which 
controls most of the councils now.  President 
Kumaratunga is said to be upset by the ruling and 
considering next steps.  END COMMENT. 
 
==================== 
Death penalty debate 
==================== 
 
6.  (C) Sri Lanka continues to debate whether to lift a 
long-standing moratorium and re-impose the death 
penalty.  A parliamentary debate recently took place on 
the issue.  The June 5 debate was introduced by eight 
MPs from the ruling UNF who are in favor of bringing the 
death penalty back.  The eight argued that Sri Lanka has 
a law-and-order problem and needs the death penalty as a 
deterrent.  Other UNF members, including Foreign 
Minister Tyronne Fernando, stated their opposition to 
the death penalty.  MPs from the opposition People's 
Alliance (PA) also came down on both sides of the issue. 
Regarding President Kumaratunga's views, presidential 
spokesman Harim Peiris is quoted as saying the president 
continues to oppose the death penalty. 
 
7.  (C) COMMENT:  Sri Lanka has not had an execution 
since 1976 and it is not likely to have one anytime soon 
in spite of the debate on the issue.  Even if the UNF 
government decides that the death penalty should be 
brought back (and it is not clear where the PM stands on 
the issue), the matter is ultimately in the hands of the 
president, who, per Peiris' comments, seems dead set 
against re-imposition.  All that said, some in the UNF 
are genuinely worried by rising crime -- and also 
clearly see a lot of political mileage to be gained by 
raising the issue and using it to get at the president. 
END COMMENT. 
 
============================================ 
Cricket Board election hurts Opposition Star 
============================================ 
 
8.  (C) The June 6 election of officers for Sri Lanka's 
national cricket board has hurt the political prospects 
of the Opposition's bright new star.  (Note:  The 
technical name of the body is "Board of Control for 
Cricket in Sri Lanka."  The election involved the 
tabulation of votes of members of cricket clubs around 
the country.)  In the election for president of the 
board, Arjuna Ranatunga, an MP for the president's 
People's Alliance (PA) party, lost the race in decisive 
manner, polling less than five percent of the votes. 
The loss was a bitter defeat for Ranatunga, a well-known 
former cricketeer, who as captain of the team led Sri 
Lanka to the 1996 world championship.  The winner of the 
race, Thilanga Sumathipala, is a businessman, who 
maintains close ties with the governing UNF. 
 
9.  (C) COMMENT:  Cricket is Sri Lanka's most popular 
sport, maintaining the combined popularity that our "big 
four" sports -- football, baseball, basketball, ice 
hockey -- have all wrapped into one.  As such, the 
cricket board presidency is a very prestigious job, 
which has been held in the past by powerful politicians, 
including Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando.  The fact 
that Ranatunga, a protege of President Kumaratunga, lost 
the race in a landslide dulls his political star a bit. 
That said, Ranatunga is good on the hustings and could 
recover a bit of his previous lustre over time.  It is 
not clear whether or not the winner of the race, 
Thilanga Sumathipala, has political ambitions.  END 
COMMENT. 
================================ 
Governing Party MPs acting badly 
================================ 
 
10.  (C) A recent spate of alleged criminal activities 
by parliamentarians has hit the newspapers.  Almost all 
of the cases involve members of the UNF governing 
coalition, although there have been some involving 
members of other parties.  Recent incidents include: 
 
--  On June 6, Minister of Fisheries Mahinda Wijesekara 
is alleged to have publicly threatened a reporter who 
wrote a negative article about the minister some 18 
months ago.  The incident allegedly took place at a local 
restaurant.  Wijesekara, with a bit of a wink and a nod, 
has repeatedly denied threatening the reporter. 
 
--  June 1 newspaper reports accused Minister of State 
Transport Upali Piyasoma with assisting visa fraud. 
Piyasoma was accused of interfering with his daughter's 
effort to obtain a visa to the UK by telling lies about 
her status.  She was ultimately refused a visa. 
 
--  On May 25, UNF MP Dulip Wedaarchi fired shots outside 
a wedding reception at a hotel in Colombo.  No one was 
injured in the firing.  Wedaarchi said he was upset and 
decided to shoot off his gun. 
 
11.  (C) COMMENT:  The prime minister is said to be very 
angry over these reports and has called for his party to 
create a code of conduct for MPs.  A draft code is 
currently being hashed out.  Few people, however, 
believe that the proposed code will put a stop to such 
incidents.  Indeed, if past patterns hold up, some 
observers expect that the incidents will continue to 
pile up the longer the government is in power.  (Note: 
By the end of its time in power in late 2001, the 
previous PA government -- which had already been in 
power for seven years -- was experiencing a recurring 
nightmare of violence-tinged incidents involving MPs. 
These incidents seriously hurt its reputation.)  END 
COMMENT. 
 
12.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
AMSELEM