Key Muslim Minister discusses peace process

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001708

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS
NSC FOR E. MILLARD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10-01-13
TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI EINV CE LTTE
SUBJECT: Key Muslim Minister discusses peace process
issues with Ambassador

Ref: Colombo 1693, and previous

(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead.
Reasons 1.5 (b, d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Ambassador met September 30 with
Rauf Hakeem, Muslim party leader and Minister of Ports
and Shipping. Asked for his views regarding the peace
process, Hakeem expressed his concern over the Tigers'
absence from the negotiating table and their apparent
efforts to marginalize Muslim political leaders.
Despite reports to the contrary, he did not think
Muslims in the east were being radicalized by funding
from the Middle East. Hakeem also spoke about improving
the President-PM cohabitation relationship and touched
on plans for Colombo Port. While clearly worried about
the LTTE, Hakeem appeared relatively upbeat about the
peace process. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) MEETING WITH MUSLIM LEADER: On September 30, in
his first official courtesy call after presenting his
credentials on September 26, Ambassador Lunstead met
with Rauf Hakeem, the leader of the Sri Lankan Muslim
Congress (SLMC),the country's largest Muslim party.
Hakeem also serves the United National Front government
as the Minister of Port Development and Shipping,
Eastern Development and Muslim Affairs. AID Director
and poloff also attended the meeting.


3. (C) INSIGHTS ON THE PEACE PROCESS: Asked for his
views on the status of the peace process, Hakeem
expressed concern about the Tigers' continued absence
from the negotiating table and their apparent efforts to
marginalize national Muslim political leaders by meeting
with "civil society" Muslim leaders at the local level
in the east. Despite personal assurances by the LTTE
leadership that the group would address Muslim concerns,
Hakeem was worried that the Tigers' focus on Muslim
civil society groups was, in fact, an attempt to avoid
substantive political dialogue with Muslim leaders. The
important thing, the Ambassador and Hakeem both agreed,
was maintaining a pluralistic political society in the
east. Hakeem added that the GSL and the LTTE had agreed
at the Bangkok round of talks in January to include a
separate Muslim delegation at an appropriate point in
the future. The Tigers had now backed away from that,
and were refusing a separate Muslim delegation. Prime
Minister Wickremesinghe had further indicated that he
would welcome a Muslim-delegation response to the
Tigers' awaited "counterproposal" to the government's
north/east interim administration proposal. Sharing his
thoughts about the motivations behind the LTTE's delay
in returning to the negotiation table, Hakeem
characterized the group's actions as a stalling tactic.
He felt the Tigers were using the break in talks to
create legitimacy for their own infrastructure and
organizations in the north/east.


4. (C) Hakeem also expressed appreciation for the
United States' sustained expression of public concern
about the LTTE. In that regard, the Ambassador
explained that the LTTE would soon be redesignated a
U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization. The Ambassador
also noted the significance of the international
community's united front in support of the peace
process, as evidenced by the joint statement issued at
the Tokyo conference follow-up meeting held in Colombo
on September 12.


5. (C) MUSLIM RADICALIZATION IN THE EAST?: Responding
to a question, Hakeem stated he was monitoring the
environment in the east, but did not think that Muslims
there were being radicalized. Although Middle East
sources were providing some funding for mosques and
madrassahs, the needs of Sri Lankan Muslims, as a
minority needing to co-exist in the wider community,
were different from Middle Eastern Muslim-majority
countries. Hakeem felt that radicalization, if it were
to occur, would be the result of the poor socioeconomic
situation prevailing in the east. He and AID Director
then discussed the unemployment problem affecting the
Muslim community in the east and the possibility of AID-
supported skills development programs.


6. (C) COMMENTS ON COHABITATION: Regarding Sri Lanka's
endemic cohabitation tensions, Hakeem stated that the
President and the Prime Minister needed to put aside
their differences and work together in the national
interest. That said, he believed the PM had made a
serious error by not formally including the Opposition
in the peace process from the beginning. Dismissing all
the specific issues that provoke public cohabitation
tension, Hakeem said the President's agitation stemmed
from her lame-duck status: she is unable to run again
for President when her term is up in two years, but
would not be content to swap the executive presidency
for the prime minister's office. Hakeem said he would
try to work to calm down cohabitation tensions.


7. (C) IMPROVEMENTS AT COLOMBO PORT: Switching gears,
Hakeem and the Ambassador also discussed the development
potential of Colombo Port. Hakeem described a "quantum
leap in productivity" for the largest port in South Asia
and one of the largest 35 in the world. Ships were
being processed three times as fast and the port was
handling 24 percent more containers compared with last
year. Hakeem said he had negotiated long-term
agreements with several major shipping companies despite
their financial interests in the privatized side of the
port. The Ambassador stated that U.S. companies were
very interested in Sri Lanka, and infrastructure
improvements, such as those for the port, would be key
in these companies' investment decisions.


8. (C) COMMENT: Hakeem used the meeting to brief the
Ambassador on his concerns regarding the Tigers. That
said, after getting these concerns off his chest, Hakeem
seemed relatively upbeat about the peace process. In
particular, he seemed fairly confident that the Muslims
would have an independent seat at the peace negotiating
table, despite current Tiger opposition. END COMMENT.


9. (U) Minimize considered.

LUNSTEAD