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 LTTE
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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Dus

tup Ensues
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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."

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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
--------------


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