C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 001501

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL; NSC FOR

E. MILLARD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/15/2012
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINR PREL PARM CE NO
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT KUMARATUNGA SAYS SHE WILL MEET RANIL ON
COHABITATION

REF: COLOMBO 1491

Classified By: Ambassador E. Ashley Wills. Reasons 1.5 B, D.


1. (C) SUMMARY: My dinner with President Kumaratunga last
night (August 14) went well. She was vivacious, relaxed and
chatty. We hardly discussed substance at all, but she did
say she will try to meet with Ranil before she leaves for the
UK this weekend. She is prepared to discuss new terms for
cohabitation but would not reveal what she has in mind. She
apologized for her brother's intemperate remarks re President
Bush (he did too). My dog liked her. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) President Kumaratunga came to dinner last night
(August 14) at Jefferson House. She arrived 90 minutes late
with her son - Wednesday's regular Cabinet meeting ran late -
and stayed until 0100. Her sister, Sunetra, and her brother,
Anura, arrived before her and were pleasant companions.
Anura apologized for his remarks regarding President Bush's
election. (Later in the evening, CBK pulled me aside and
apologized as well for what he said.)


3. (C) Our conversation was overwhelmingly light-hearted.
The President turned gossipy at various points, entertaining
us all with her earthy characterizations of various leading
figures in Sri Lankan public life. It turns out she likes
bourbon, a sure sign of refinement. She revealed a relaxed,
radiant personality that disarmed the Wills clan, including
my Golden Retriever, who disloyally sat beside the President
the whole evening.


4. (C) At a couple of points, we ventured into substance.
She confirmed that former Foreign Minister Kadirgamar is
trying to broker a meeting between her and the PM on
cohabitation, and she said she would try to meet with Ranil
before she leaves for the UK this weekend. (She is away for
a week to spend time with her daughter and thus will not be
in country during the Depsec's visit.) I told her the
obvious, namely that her and Ranil's bickering serves the
LTTE's interests, not Sri Lanka's. She agreed. She
acknowledged that some of her phrasing in her TV speech last
week was intemperate, but she blamed the UNP's constant
harassment of her for her lack of restraint. All things
summed, she came across as reasonable and in full control of
her emotions and sense, an assessment I conveyed to the PM
this morning, per his request (see reftel).


5. (C) COMMENT: Chandrika can be beguiling and was on this
occasion. I can see why she is so admired, especially but
not only by middle and lower income Sri Lankans who respond
well to her populist plain-speaking. It was interesting to
see her having to put up with the good-natured ribbing of her
brother, sister and son. Her humanity showed. END COMMENT.

Wills